English On The Job - Writing Skills

[Music] there's more writing in any job than you probably [Music] realize the writing skills you're learning now at school can help you with your future occupation [Music] almost everyone uses on the- job writing skills some people like machinist Dave melon use writing skills to get their [Music] jobs all right what do writing skills have to do with getting a job well how would you apply for this one many ads ask you to write a letter of application since this is going to be your first contact with a potential employer you want to make a good first impression right how can you write a letter that reads well I noticed your ad in the newspaper I would like to apply for your position of machine adjuster that sounds pretty good and it reads well you've included the exact title of the job that's important because the company might have advertised several openings there's also no waste of words it's clear being clear in your writing is important but is it really enough being complete is important too I'm 18 years old and have attended McKinley High School where I have had experience with many kinds of machines and Shop classes I graduated in June to be complete you need to include all the information the prospective employer might be interested in the machines include the drill press and the turret lathe and along with being clear and complete you try to be correct both in what you write the content and how you write it the form proof reading can help you make certain that your writing is accurate with any writing proof reading is a good idea while checking the mechanics of your writing you know the capitalization spelling and punctuation you can also check the correctness of your information if your first draft looks sloppy why not copy it over you want the job and if your letter can make a good impression you just might get it being clear complete and correct are skills that can help you do any kind of writing Carol Gil found that out when she wrote a resume a resume is just a listing of all the important facts about you it gives more details about yourself than a letter of application it's like an outline with headings and subheadings for a resume to pay off with a job it has to communicate and it will if it's clear complete and correct writing a resume and a letter of application are just two ways of applying for a job another way is just going to a business where you know there's a job opening even so one of the first things you'll probably be asked to do is write you'll need to fill out an application form filling out the form correctly is easy if you skim it before writing try not to Omit any important facts you can help yourself by writing ahead of time the information the company is likely to want things like your work experience references and a health history once you start writing do it clearly print if you're asked to you may not get the job if your writing can't be read and these forms don't give you much room for writing long involved explanations and answers if you take the time to think try to understand why the questions are being asked you can be direct into the point in your writing taking a minute to think before you write always makes it easier for you to be clear and complete understanding the questions helps you be brief and correct in your explanations these writing skills you use getting a job also can be applied to writing on the job your first job might be like Cal Williams he drives and delivers for an uptown Bakery like Cal you might find that a small part of the job requires writing just routine writing invoices and things but maybe someday you might be faced with something new like an accident report a lot of the on the job writing deals with forms like this one with any new form skimming it first helps you make sense out of it accident report forms are usually designed so that the questions are presented in an orderly way this accident form has an outline structure with each question similar to an outline heading the outline structure helps you lay out a clear report you may have to write some reports for which there are no forms that's the way it is for George Fletcher no one gives him an outline for his monthly sales reports sales reports are a common type of on the job writing in which outlining can help you every month George writes a sales report to his boss in St Louis has been selling encyclopedia since he's been out of the army he enjoys being out of doors and meeting people at first George didn't like the idea of making reports he felt he was hired to sell not to write but he discovered that outlining his report first helped him lay out the information in a logical and understandable Order each main topic corresponds to a section of the report the subtopics help form the sentences and paragraphs of the report so with the job writing of reports or forms if you're clear complete and correct you can do the job much better another kind of common on the job writing is the business letter these letters particularly should be written with care to prevent costly errors to help your letters do their job try to get to the point as quickly as possible thank you for your letter of February 27 I will personally see that the part you requested is shipped as soon as possible each paragraph in your letter should Express a single idea when you present a new idea start a new paragraph As you probably no the fire at the supply plant has caused a 4-week delay in the shipment of Parts throughout the Midwest however you can expect shipment of the distributor head part DX 589 as soon as a part becomes available to us what makes this a good letter is that it says just what it has to and stops it's brief but it's clear and complete and it's correct because it contains the right information and it follows the form and standards set by company policy the business letter is just one type of Correspondence people have to do on jobs another type is the inter office memo Carol is starting her vacation next week she is writing a memo for her temporary replacement it's about the company's procedure for letters once again the aim should be to be clear complete and correct with all our routine letters we make two carbons when you're done with the letter give it to Mr Williams for approval and signature after approval put the letter into the envelope then put the envelope into the top tray on the desk it'll be picked up by a messenger this is a pretty clear memo but is it complete what happens to the carbon copies of the letter one carbon goes into the correspondence file behind the desk you'll be using the other carbon goes to Mrs Alton good writers try to anticipate readers questions like who is Mrs Alton where is she she's Mr Lewis's secretary and works in room 405 on this floor good writers include all the essential information in their writing with all on the job correspondence memos or letters writing that's clear complete and correct adds up to good total communication so you can see there's probably a lot more writing related to work more than you may have realized and by now you also know that good on the job communication is clear complete and [Music] correct good writing skills can pay off for you they can help open the way to more responsibility and better paying [Music] jobs