About the new Inside Loyola

LOYOLA LINKS

Go

A one-stop-shop of Loyola's most popular and useful Web resources.

A - Z Index

DIRECTORIES

 

Writing Samples: Are they worth the risk?

1622593_693372674070772_4428227082244029688_nMany students ask me the question of whether they need a writing sample. The first thing I turn around and ask them is, “why not?” As a former Chief Executive Officer, I remember doing a ton of hiring and what I really wanted to know was, “what’s their story?” I wanted to know if the individual that I was interviewing was there for the right reasons. Meaning, were they after the money or did they really love every aspect of the position as their cover letter stated? If so, why so? Are they really committed to the field? Are they looking for longevity or is this just a temporary job? Those were some of the red flags I would look for.

I take career development very seriously. If a interviewee was looking for a “bridge job” in their career, in other words, a position to help them get to the next step or level, I could accept that. Why, it was perfectly fine with me, because it told me they were serious about career and professional development/growth. In my view, a true leader is one who creates future leaders. That was my ultimate goal.

As you may have noticed, there were about 3-4 bullets I was targeting. Those 3-4 bullets were the elements I was looking for in a candidate. Each employer has their list and without hearing a “story”, it’s hard to identify which ones have really found their true ambition and want to work for your company specifically, and not just a company. In other words, how do their values and their mission align with the organization’s mission? Bulls-eye, that’s what they want, and this is what you want to reflect in a writing sample.

I meet lots of students just walking around campus. I wonder, do they have a 30-second elevator pitch prepared with so many networking opportunities surfacing daily? More than half of them don’t or aren’t prepared to network. Not only are they not prepared to network, they aren’t prepared to have a professional conversation with me, even at Starbucks, let alone anywhere else with an employer. But they really need to be, as every interaction opens new doors.

One of my mentors, Pedro Manrique, a Program Dean of Engineering, once told me, “Hassan, every interaction you have— no matter where, is your opportunity to elevate your brand”. Employers are looking for interpersonal skills on top of an impressive GPA, education and experience. Not only that, some want to know that you can navigate a power point or can put a writing proposal together. Why? Well, simply because they will train you on a lot of the rest. However, they want strong writing and communication skills. Now this can be as simple as crafting an email. Unfortunately, the majority of the students I work with say “fantastic communication skills” on a resume, but when it comes to action, they are too shy to speak. We need to put things into perspective and add substance to what we are claiming.

This brings me to the main topic of this blog post, writing samples. Are they important? Absolutely, they can make or break you, similar to a video resume. If it’s poorly written and doesn’t tell the “story” well, it can and will break you. What makes a good writing sample? Well, first, it can’t have spelling and grammatical errors. It needs to also be an easy read for the hiring manager, meaning, it has to give them what they want. Just like a resume and cover letter, if you list a million bullets underneath each position, it’s much harder to read and summarize in the hiring manager’s mind. Thus, highlighting the most important aspects or transferable skills clearly gives the reader what they want.

Additionally, a strong writing sample needs to align passion to purpose. It needs to demonstrate the deeper background that tells the person reading it, “this is why they chose this career path and this is what it means to him/her”. Keep in mind that a writing sample is a reflection of your writing skill/s. It must keep the reader engaged and also not be too long. I would limit it to 1-2 pages maximum, with 1 page being preferable. I would be careful not to regurgitate material in the resume and cover letter, as you don’t want to sound redundant.

I was once told by a President of a university that the executive leadership committee thought I was “too good to be true”. This was during a final round interview (interview #7) at 7:30am in the morning. My instinct told me that he was digging for dirt or trying to throw me a curve ball. So my answer simply was, “thank you”. Then I offered him a writing sample which he gladly accepted and it answered his remaining questions. He was concerned that I would leave him after 1 year. I stayed with that employer for almost 5 years.

I’ve learned that it’s not only important to anticipate what employers look for, but to choose the right writing sample, not just make it well written and error free. It needs to be relevant and distinguish you from the crowd. Finally, you must know your audience. Who is going to be reading it? What does the job description list as qualifications and who is their ideal candidate? By speaking to those key points you will demonstrate that the position fits you like a glove. If you give them no reason not to hire you, guess what? Chances are, they will have no other option but to hire you.

Add a Comment

(required)

(will not be displayed) (required)