RU sure U NO the FX of texting on riting skillz?

Greene County schools' spring break is just around the corner, and then it's just a matter of time before the end of the school year. For rising and graduating Seniors, the "real world" just got a whole lot closer. Today, in honor of our Greene County upperclassmen, I'd like to talk about your writing skills.

If you know what LOL, PLOS, B4N, BTW, FWIW and BRB mean, it won't help you in the job market, because the only time you'll use text-speak is on your lunch hour when you're texting friends to make plans after work. So, in order to avoid FUD ("fear, uncertainty and disinformation"), here's the skinny on what you need to know about writing for the job search. Although I'm aiming this article at students, all of us who are currently in the workforce, or looking to re-enter it, should take note.

The most important writing you'll do in your job search is your résumé and cover letter, or rather, the many résumés and cover letters that you'll send out in the course of your current job search and your entire working life. As I mentioned in my last blog post, your résumé is your own personal marketing brochure, so it needs to demonstrate, through strong word choice and proper spelling and punctuation that you will represent your intended employer as gracefully and articulately in real life as you are expressing yourself on paper. Your cover letter demonstrates your written communication skills, so it's important that you craft cover letters to convey clear information about your skills and goals. Whether we like it or not, employers often make snap judgments about us based on these documents alone and make inferences about our writing skills, so there's no room for error.

For high school Juniors and Seniors who will be applying for college admissions, college scholarships, vocational programs and trade unions, strong writing skills are often the difference between being moved to the next tier in the selection process and being left behind. Not only do you need to be aware of your grammar and spelling, but you also need to be aware of your audience. Any essay which is required as a formal part of an admissions or application process should not be written in an overly informal or conversational style. The mechanics of writing these essays are the same as academic writing you do in school. The reader should be able to identify within your opening paragraph the basic elements you intend to discuss in your essay. The body of your essay should support any assertions you make in your opening paragraph, and your conclusion should re-state your arguments for receiving that scholarship or program admission. Additionally, avoid using rhetorical questions in the opening paragraph of your essay. For example, if the essay requests that you discuss how you came to be who you are today, and you begin your essay with "Who am I? I am a high school senior" , it is likely to cause the evaluator to read it less closely than it deserves. Ditto for "Webster's dictionary defines (X) as...". A good opening sentence can impress an evaluator and keep them engaged until they get to the meat of your essay, the part where you dazzle them with your academic prowess or your community engagement activities, or your commitment to building your skill sets. You need to master these skills now while you still have your teachers as resources, because you'll also need these skills when you apply for internships or experiential learning opportunities. These are important because very often they lead to your first job. That said, don't over think it: essays should reflect a certain amount of your personal style because evaluators are looking for information about your personality and character. Bigger, fancier words don't always make for better writing; using vocabulary and syntax wisely does.

When applying for internships and jobs, companies will sometimes request writing samples. This may seem strange, particularly if the job announcement doesn't seem to indicate that there will be a lot of writing involved on a day to day basis. However, if the company is asking for writing samples, it wants to know that you have the education, grammar and skills to be a suitable representative of the company. Also, remember that most companies use email as a means of internal and external communications, and email lives forever. Ironically, our reliance on technology and electronics put writing skills on display more than ever before.

The important thing to remember is that in a showdown between two otherwise qualified job, scholarship, or internship applicants, employers will often choose the better writer. As one job seeker put it, "for some odd reason, people think you are smarter and more competent."

Valerie Abshire is a Community Employment Specialist at WorkOne Linton and writes about employment topics in her blog. If you need help improving your writing skills, please contact Valerie at WorkOne Linton, 812-847-4479 x223 or by email at vabshire@dwd.in.gov for one-on-one assistance. Also, the (free!) MindLeaders e-learning program offers courses in grammar and business writing and Valerie can grant you a MindLeaders license when you register at WorkOne.