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The Write Stuff
by
Diane Domeyer, executive director of Office Team
Research shows that half of hiring managers
take a certain qualification into account when making hiring and promotion
decisions. What is it? Experience? Technical aptitude? Business acumen?
Actually, the mystery attribute is writing ability. This statistic from a
survey conducted by the National Commission on Writing affirms that no
matter your field or position, your ability to communicate using the written
word plays a major role in career success as an administrative professional.
Don’t fret, though, if your writing skills could use a refresh. The
following tips can help you improve:
Know what you want to say. Before sitting down to write, make sure
you know what you want to convey. It seems like an obvious step, but many
people rush into a document and discover halfway through that they’ve barely
touched upon the topic they set out to discuss. Formulate a one-sentence
statement that describes the purpose of your piece and jot it down. For
example, your goal may be to “suggest a new system for generating monthly
reports.” Refer back to this statement as you write, and use it as a way to
remain focused on your message.
Keep it simple. A common problem among business documents is that
they are difficult to decipher.
To be clear and concise, keep these tips in mind:
- Cut unnecessary words and phrases. That
means changing statements such as “it would appear that” to “apparently”
and “in addition to” to “also.”
- Use short sentences and paragraphs. Long
blocks of copy can be intimidating and seem inaccessible to readers.
- Include bullets, like the ones used here,
to call attention to certain details.
Identify your reader. Many documents
also suffer from an overflow of jargon and technical speak. When composing a
memo, report or presentation, customize it to your audience. If you’re
supporting your manager or executive in finance, for example, and you need
to write a memo to other administrative professionals in your company, you
would want to define accounting and finance terminology in your reports and
explain the concepts in simple terms.
Trust your ear. The true test of any written document is how it
sounds. So, before distributing your work, read it aloud. Chances are you’ll
have an innate ability to recognize words and phrases that sound awkward or
forced.
You may think that success in your administrative position depends very
little on your ability to write well. Think again. Next time you write, take
steps to ensure the documents you produce would make your high school
English teacher proud.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Diane Domeyer is executive
director of OfficeTeam, the nation’s leading staffing service specializing
in the temporary placement of highly skilled administrative and office
support professionals. OfficeTeam has more than 300 locations worldwide and
offers online job search services at
www.officeteam.com.
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Karen Porter, The Administrative Professional Job Performance and Career Success Coach™
