The Chronicle-Herald

Writing Skills Key In Job Market

By Joey Fitzpatrick

Imagine you're competing for a job, and you've made the shortlist.

There is one other candidate with almost identical qualifications and background. If the contents of the resumes are equal, what will often tip the balance is the skill with which the resumes and cover letters were written. The ability to express yourself clearly is something almost any employer will value.

Though we live in a digital age, writing remains a core skill for functioning in most spheres of life. At some level, writing an angry letter to a merchant is not all that different from writing a business proposal, which is not all that different from writing a college essay. You have a point to make and you use the written word to make it.

As Professor Bernie Gaidosch puts it: "Writing is like photographing our thinking."

As a business professor at George Brown College, helping students become better writers is part of Bernie Gaidosch's job. But he also has advice for everyone who would like to improve their writing skills. He's the author of The Professor's Secrets: How To Write Essays and Term Papers.

"It's almost an assumed skill -- the employer assumes that the employee has it, and the employee assumes that he or she has it, when, in fact, they may not."

Gaidosch breaks it down into two categories: the writing you want to do and the writing you have to do. The former would include things like keeping a diary or a journal, or writing to friends in letters and postcards.

Writing that you have to do revolves around your professional life, whether you're a student, employee or business person. Or it could involve volunteer activities and advocacy positions. This is the writing you do because your teachers, bosses, supervisors, clients of colleagues ask you to express your thoughts on paper.

For some this comes easily, for others, not so easily, and for others not at all.

The Professor's Secrets is not available in book stores, but can be ordered by calling toll free 1-877- 439-3999.

Finally, if you want to become a better writer, try this simple step: Read more. "It allows you to become familiar with different styles and different tones," Gaidosch adds. "Reading is your entry into writing".

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