How Job Seekers Can Boost Their Communication Skills

How Job Seekers Can Boost Their Communication SkillsHow Job Seekers Can Boost Their Communication SkillsAlmost three-quarters of hiring managers say they offer jobs to candidates who showcase results from previous roles. How good are you at providing evidence, and are you highlighting the right skills? The Career Advisory Boards2014 Job Preparedness Indicator survey is designed to identify gaps between the skills candidates have or are showcasing and the skills employers are looking for to fill available positions. The major finding from the study is that gaps exist within one major area for both entry-level and mid-level candidates. The executive summary states At the entry-level, the greatest gap between what hiring managers are looking for and what candidates are showcasing occurs with the adaptability and written communication skills.It continuesAt the mid-level, the most significant gap between what hiring managers need and what candidates are delivering is again seen in the area of written communication.How to prove youve got exceptional written communication skills Throughout the screening and bewerbungsinterview process, you have many opportunities to demonstrate your writing abilities. Each and every piece of written communication between you and your future employer is a demonstration of your skill level. Yet, not all job seekers take the time necessary to make that valuable and positive first impression.1. Your cover letter andrsummust be error-free.First impressions are lasting impressions. A careless typo in either of these documents can instantly raise a red flag for employers. While not all employers are as discriminating, some will instantly reject candidates for careless errors within either of these documents.Fair or not, the logic is that if you make mistakes on these documents, you will make similar mistakes in written geschftliches miteinander communication as well.2. Email communication counts. Employers use email to ask for more inform ation, request interviews and provide position updates. This vital business communication vehicle is another chance to highlight your strengths in written communication. Your writing should be error-free and concise but complete. The tone should be more formal than if you were emailing a friend.When you respond to an employers email, review it and make sure you have addressed any questions or requests for information. As tempting as it is to respond as quickly as possible, avoid replying too hastily, and always double check your work. Timeliness is important, but not at the sake of accuracy or completeness.3. Show samples of work. The best evidence of writing skills are samples you purposefully call attention to. Unfortunately, most academic papers do not supply the same skills required in business writing. Avoid sharing your 50-page report on how Napoleon overtook Europe. Do include your case study summary, your recent business book review or even the summary of key points from a p rofessional meeting you attended. Blogging is another way to highlight your writing skills.If you dont have anything like this to show, you can develop a mock or sample similar to what you would write within your future job. In the meantime, look for volunteer opportunities and projects that will enable you to enhance and showcase your writing skills.How to improve your writing Do you think you may need to take steps to improve your written communication? Here are three universal pieces of advice to improve how you write1. Address your readers needs. The best way to ensure you understand the employers needs is by thoroughly reviewing the job posting and, if possible, speaking with people inside the company who are familiar with the role. Take a highlighter and mark the important skills required or requested. Make sure yourrsumand cover letter address as many of these elements as possible.This is also a great time tonote whether or not you are a fit for the role. The basic rule of th umb is that you should possess more than 60 percent of the required skills to consider yourself initially qualified.2. Write clearly so your reader understands what you are saying. It can be difficult to convey all the intricacies of a project into a single sentence on yourrsum. Conquer this by filtering out nonessential details, and focus on the specific details you know the employer is looking for.Also, avoid using jargon or terminology thats unique to a past employer or project. For example, instead of saying you were troubleshooting the Exterra MBS500, refer to it in generic terms, like electronic scanning component. Let the job description be your guide for determining which words or terms your reader will understand.3. Always proof your work. Review your work toavoid careless mistakes. You can try some of these tricks from Grammarly, an ansprechbar spell and grammar checking application, to improve your editing skillsPut your work aside, and come back to it later. That way, it will sound new when you read it again. Review what you wrote in a different format. So, for example, print your work if youve been viewing it electronically. Read your work out loud. Start reviewing your work with the last paragraph or sentence and move to the first paragraph.Hannah Morganwrites and speaks on career topics and job search trends on her blogCareer Sherpa. She co-authored Social Networking for Business Success, and has developed and delivered programs to help job seekers understand how to look for work better.