Please note: On a somewhat infrequent basis, Quintessential Careers asks noted
career experts five questions related to their expertise and publishes the interview
in the current issue of QuintZine,
our biweekly newsletter. Here is one such interview.
Phil Hey is a professor of English and writing at Briar Cliff College Sioux City, Iowa.
Q:
As an English professor, you must have some strong opinions about
the importance of writing skills in the workplace. How important are
writing skills? Can good writing skills help you get ahead? Can poor
writing skills hold you back?
A:
Writing skills are not only important but essential. Poor writing skills can:
keep you from being considered for an interview;
get you sent back even to high school to acquire the competency you should have had at hire;
lose the trust and confidence of customers, co-workers and bosses;
cost the company money to straighten out misunderstandings; and
keep you from succeeding, apparently without reason, when your superiors don’t want your writing to represent the company.
Good writing skills are a strong way to support your success:
Your bosses will know that you represent the company well in public view.
Good writing physically represents good thinking, planning and organization.
A good letter or report can become a model for other employees to follow.
A good report is one of the best and commonest ways to be recognized from above.
The Securities and Exchange Commission thinks that good writing is so
important that it has published a Plain English Handbook, a great source
available through mail or online. I advise everyone to get it and use it.
Q:
What's the most common mistake you see your students make on
their resumes and cover letters?
A:
Aside from editing errors, few students know how to give evidence of
achievement - proof that their actions had positive, recognized results. Employers don’t want a dead history of education and job descriptions; they want some outcomes that show that the applicant really can produce on the job.
Q:
What's the biggest mistake job-seekers make that your advice could correct or
prevent?
A:
Small, stupid mistakes - usually in editing - on application letters and
resumes. People have no idea how visible and powerful such mistakes can be,
but often one mistake will take a candidate out of the running. Over-relying
on spell checkers is a common source of such errors. Candidates have to learn
to use their own skills, and they should have several good proofreaders as
friends.
Q:
In what ways do you believe technology will continue to change job-seeking
and the career development field?
A:
For both good and bad, job-seekers and companies will continue to make
quicker and more exact matches with each other. The good side is that
someone can join a company and know very well how they can perform and what
they’ll be doing. The bad side is that companies may miss out on some great
employees who might need training or education to fit into the position. In
any event, immediately applicable skills are becoming ever more important for
job candidates.
Q:
What's the biggest myth about job-hunting?
A:
A powerful one is that since the job market is so good now, you can always
get another job if you blow it with one employer. That might be true for
some people, but sometimes, depending on how you goof up, a single bad job
experience can follow you around for years.
A close second is that success is related to how many resumes you send out.
To me, this notion is a little like sending a written marriage proposal to every
opposite-sex name in the phone book. By contrast, every application should be
prepared by careful research, and every application should be tailored and
targeted to a specific employer.
Phil Hey is a professor of English and writing at Briar Cliff College, Sioux City, Iowa. Last summer, he wrote a
capital proposal for Verity Farms International,
taught at the University of Iowa Summer Writing Festival, edited a book of
poetry, wrote a commissioned hymn, and read incessantly.
