Writing tips for graduates: how to communicate with recruiters

Your first communication with a graduate recruiter will most likely be in writing through an e-mail, application, or CV and covering letter. How you present yourself in words and getting the style right is vitally important. We've put together some basic writing tips to help you make the best first impression.

There are very few graduate jobs where you don’t have to write something during the day. You may not craft long reports or strategy documents, but e-mails and memos are a fact of working life. Even for the shortest note clear communication is essential.

The art of communication encompasses the art of clear writing, so graduate recruiters use applications, covering letters and CVs as a first-stage assessment of how well you communicate.

Employers may also evaluate your skills through any other form of written correspondence you send to them. An offhand enquiry e-mail could put you out of the running for a job, so it’s well worth taking the time to brush up on some writing basics and communication etiquette before you make any keystrokes.

Always give yourself a capital ‘I’

If you refer to yourself, your actions or your activities in an e-mail, letter or application, always give yourself a capital ‘I’. The lower case personal pronoun ‘i’ is the capital sin of the text and e-mail generation. Receiving an e-mail or letter with lots of i’s instead of I’s makes graduate recruiters and business professionals see red.

Employers look for clear, accurate communication in all forms of written correspondence: e-mails, letters, CVs, applications.

It's also important to use full sentences in letters and e-mails. Start all sentences and proper names (eg city names) with a capital letter and close with a full stop.

Don't spice things up with txt spk

If you’re looking for an original way to make a job application or e-mail stand out, don’t write it in text language. It’s been done before and even if it did give the recruiter a bit of a laugh, the application still went in the bin.

However, more often than not the use of text speak in e-mails and graduate applications is more a force of habit than a conscious decision. If U want 2 b taken seriously, carefully proofread all your written correspondence and make sure nothing slips in… and reserve smiley emoticons for message boards and Facebook.

Read up on basic grammar and check your spelling carefully

Employers expect graduates to have a higher level literacy than the average person on the street. And they expect this to be demonstrated through clear, accurate communication in all forms of written correspondence.

Correct grammar, punctuation and spelling are tools that give sense to what you say. In Eats, shoots and leaves, Lynne Truss’s guide to grammar and punctuation, the slip of a comma turns a peaceful, bamboo-munching panda into a gun-slinging, restaurant nightmare. If an extra ‘i’ slips into the wrong plaice, everything about your application could get fishy.

Be aware that recruiters have very little time to try to interpret what you really mean, and spelling slip ups shout: LACK OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL. Would you trust someone to do an excellent job if they haven't demonstrated care and attention in an application form or letter?

Use everyday English, write actively… save space

Whilst studying at university, one tends to adopt an overly wordy, passive academic style to convey what one is thinking, asserting and concluding.

Long words and flowery phrasing can make you feel impressive, but it’s better to get straight to the point.

Be active and not passive. The passive voice is where the subject is acted upon instead of acting itself. The typical giveaway is the use of ‘to be’ and its various forms: is, was, were, am, are. Take a look at this example:

I was responsible for the launch of a new process.
Shorter: I launched a new process.
Now you’ve got room to explain what the process did: The process doubled my team’s call-rate and achieved a 20% increase in sales.

Impress recruiters and make their lives easier: use everyday English and active verbs to convey information and actions without a blur of unnecessary words. You’ll have room to include more about yourself, or extra white space to make your key achievements stand out.

Be professional and courteous in everything you write

If you have doubts about how to write for employers always think ‘professional and courteous’. You do not know who will read your e-mail, covering letter or application – the person you contact could be your future boss.

A formal approach is unlikely to offend. However, if you are too casual or cute you risk coming across as disrespectful, impolite and unprofessional. Don’t get overfamiliar too soon.

Quick-fire e-mail caution

If you use e-mail to contact recruiters, take extra care. The immediate nature of e-mail means that it’s easy to fire off quick ones without reviewing their tone and quality of content.

Before you hit send, check your e-mail as carefully as you would a printed letter. This is particularly true when responding to an e-mail from a recruiter that doesn’t meet with your approval (ie the company has turned down your application). You don’t want to burn bridges.