Ten Ways to Advance Your Career with Writing

IN THIS CHAPTER

check Using writing to improve relationships

check Elevating your value to employers, present and future

check Inspiring yourself with clearer goals and pathways

Good writing helps you succeed. Despite the business world’s growing need for effective communications, good writers are ever more difficult to find. So, use writing to stand out and build the professional image you want. When you write every message well, over time you are seen as authoritative, reliable, and resourceful. Draft, review, edit, proofread. This chapter gives you ten specific ways to use your skill to your advantage. And all the ideas presented here are fully covered in the relevant chapters of this book.

Write to Build Relationships

Many written messages today help you interact with people you don’t yet know — and may never meet. Consciously use business email and correspondence to personalize your messages, as appropriate.

Get friendly gradually. A first message should be fairly formal. If your correspondent mentions a vacation or a personal milestone, perhaps inquire about that in subsequent correspondence. Or fall back on the weather or vacation time, as you do in face-to-face conversation. Once you create a relationship, foster it with written contact, typically via email or social media.

Many cultures expect more formality than the North American culture you may be accustomed to, but may also see relationships as prerequisites to business. Write with formality, but be sensitive to the other person’s cues — like moving to a first name basis, for example, or inquiring about the family.

Write a Great Elevator Speech

Introducing yourself well at meetings, industry events, and public occasions can open doors magically. To craft an effective 15-second pitch, focus on your own value to the people you want to meet: How can you help them? This 15-second speech should say who you are, what you do, and what makes you unique.

Once you own a message you like, practice, then take it on the road. Find out where prospects, investors, collaborators or anyone else you want to connect with get together in person. If you’re under 35, you may see a few of your cohorts showing up and are likely to find yourself welcomed with open arms.

Write Your Own Long-Range Career Plan

If you don’t know where you want to be next year, or in five years, or ten, use the power of writing to catalyze your planning. First write down what you’d most like to achieve in your chosen time frame. Then look at where you are now and write down the steps that can get you where you want to go. Do you want to acquire training? Take on certain assignments? Find intermediary jobs that qualify you? Meet particular people?

This thinking helps you recognize the opportunities you might overlook and make better decisions. But write it down. Otherwise, your thoughts revolve around the same old paths, and moving ahead looks like too big a step. Expect to make adjustments along the way as you refine your journey.

Write an Ad for Your Dream Job

Another good way to channel your thinking about the future is to create an ad for your ultimate job. Put yourself in the employer’s place and figure out what he is looking for. Describe the job in detail and list every relevant responsibility, credential, and personal quality you can think of. This shows you how well you currently match up and what you need to work on. Go a step further and write a cover letter as if you were applying for the job right now.

Go Out of Your Way to Thank People

The busier people feel, the more they forget to be polite, let alone appreciative. Make a good impression by saying thank you, in writing, when someone does you a good turn — an opportunity, referral or reference, advice, introduction, or interview.

A good thank you reflects what the other person values hearing. Be specific. For example, “Your virtual introduction helped me understand the profession better, and also, how to prepare myself for it.” For extra points, send a hand-written note.

Take Notes to Control the Conversation

Write things down. Later, you may be the only person who knows what actually happened. People forget quickly when they have a lot going on. It’s hard to argue with someone who knows when something was done or what everyone’s assignment was. Most people duck the role of note-taker at meetings, but writing the recap gives you the chance to articulate the main points and decisions. It also puts you in the loop for new information.

Use Social Media Strategically

Focus your online participation by developing a plan to promote your goals, whether you want to network, build a following for your blog, find job opportunities, or establish your expertise. Always write thoughtfully online and with a positive tone. See everything you post as a chance to showcase your skills. Your online presence lets people evaluate you almost as if they’re eavesdropping. Remember that everything you post is part of your résumé today and will never really go away.

Think your ideas through. Express them well. Edit out misspellings, bad grammar, and anything that suggests you are less than the person you want to be.

Know How to Explain Your Value

Always be prepared to tell other people what you contribute and the value of your department’s work. This enables you to articulate your value to a prospective employer or new boss and field unanticipated challenges.

Be clear on how you fit into your department’s work and the organization as a whole. Aligning with company goals helps you do a better job — and you may well be noticed. To better engage employees with their “mission” is a big driver for most organizations.

If you’re self-employed, be ready to speak about your value to customers or clients. You never know who may be a prospect for your services, and spelling out to yourself what makes you outstanding enables you to adapt the conversation to the other person’s concerns.

Profile Your Higher-Ups

Creating written, detailed profiles of your supervisors shows you how to communicate with them better, ask for what you need, and perform to higher expectations. Create a list of applicable factors, such as management style, communication style, how he makes decisions (ideas? statistics? impact on people?), and values and priorities (efficiency? teaming? bottom line? new technology?).

Think also about your boss’s hot buttons, his positioning in the company, his biggest problems and ambitions, what he cares about, and what keeps him up at night. You may be surprised at how much you know and can intuit, and how much the information helps you when you want something or wish to contribute more and be recognized. You may be able to turn a relationship around because you can see interactions from the other person’s perspective.

Create Talking Points

Politicians do it, CEOs do it, celebrities do it, Boy Scouts do it. So can you: Prepare. Instead of going into interviews, presentations, and challenging situations cold, develop a page of talking points by brainstorming first the main points you want to make, and second, the questions you may be asked — especially the worst-nightmare ones. Review your points before the event. Having a firm grasp on what you want to say and how you answer tough questions makes you 100 percent more effective and confident. You’re also ready to handle the unanticipated.