Avoid the Top Three Cover Letter Mistakes!

As a career coach and professional resume writer, I'm often asked 'How important are cover letters to my job search?' My answer is, 'It depends on how long you want to search for your next job.' If you are in no hurry to get interviews, then don't worry about your cover letter.

Walker, Deborah. STC Puget Sound (2005). Careers>Resumes>Cover Letters>Business Communication

Build Your Writing Inventory

Want a professional writing secret? Build your writing inventory. Unless you have an inventory, you have nothing to sell.

Booth, Angela. Digital-E (2003). Careers>Writing>Business Communication>Blogs

Business Correspondence and Resumes

This chapter focus on business correspondence-general format and style for business letters as well as specific types of business letters.

McMurrey, David A. Io.com. Careers>Resumes>Writing>Business Communication

Business Objectives: A Key Tool for Demonstrating the Value of Technical Communication Products    

Little has been written for technical communicators on how to identify the business goals of the projects we work on, or how to write those goals in observable, measurable terms. When we prepare goals in observable, measurable terms, we call these goals objectives. This article is intended to fill that gap. It first describes the challenges of setting business objectives for a project, next describes the three ways that a performance improvement program can contribute to the business performance of an organization, and then explains how to write a business objective. Finally, this article describes the benefits of writing business objectives.

Carliner, Saul. Technical Communication Online (1998). Careers>Writing>Business Communication

Business Plans Build Good Business  

Developing a business plan—without it, your independent practice will flounder.

Frick, Elizabeth G. 'Bette'. Intercom (2004). Careers>Management>Planning>Business Communication

Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators

The IABC Code of Ethics is based on three different yet interrelated principles of professional communication that apply throughout the world. These principles assume that just societies are governed by a profound respect for human rights and the rule of law; that ethics, the criteria for determining what is right and wrong, can be agreed upon by members of an organization; and, that understanding matters of taste requires sensitivity to cultural norms.

IABC. Careers>Business Communication>Ethics

Developing a Personal Tagline

Part of professional development involves recognizing your strengths and learning how to express it to others. It is a helpful exercise to develop a tagline for yourself, in the same way that professionals in a previous generation were encouraged to develop a mission statement. With shortening attention spans, today's professional needs only a few-word tagline to fit in the sound bite of management's smaller time slots. Beyond what Chris Benz would call shameless self-promotion, having a personal tagline keeps your career development focused and on track.

Albing, Bill. Carolina Communique (2007). Careers>Business Communication>Workflow

Directives Do Right: Writing for the "Mounties"  

Coates's job as a senior writer and editor for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is full of variety and challenges.

Coates, Melanie. Intercom (2006). Careers>Business Communication>Case Studies

Enhancing Competence, Cooperation, and Confidence by Strengthening Communication Skills of Diverse Workers  

This article explains how strengthening communication skills of our diverse workers could enhance competence, cooperation, and confidence in the workplace. A study focusing on language barriers was used to emphasize how variations in communication can, if not handled properly, escalate into conflicts in the workplace. Findings from the study that negatively affect productivity: lack of adequate training, lack of awareness of the culture of diverse groups and the perception that some were being subjected to racism and stereotypes are discussed.

Nealy, Chynette and Amiso George. Association for Business Communication (2004). Careers>Business Communication>Discrimination>Education

Finding Proposal Money for Nonprofits  

Offers tips on how nonprofit organizations can search for and attain funding.

Munger, Roger H. Intercom (2001). Careers>Business Communication>Proposals

Five Tips for Developing the Soft Skills IT Pros Need  

As an IT support pro, you not only need to be able to diagnose computer problems, you also must be able to effectively communicate the problem to the user. Use these tips to develop your soft skills, become a star player, and move up the IT ladder.

Firey, Carla. TechRepublic (2003). Careers>Business Communication>Technology

Freelancing From Home: Don't Interview Folks in Your Pajamas

Have you ever considered breaking out of your nine to five and 5-by-5-foot cubicle to become a full-time freelance writer?

Hartsock, Nettie. WhitePaperSource (2006). Careers>Freelance>Business Communication>White Papers

From Sentence to Bullet: How to Style a One-Page Résumé for Traction  

The one-page MBA résumé has become, in graduate management education, the self-representational document of choice. Sentences are out, bullets are in, details remain. The key is how to detail the bullet to describe, define, and deliver, in non-narrative form, professional achievements and accomplishments. In this paper, I examine samples of raw quasi-narrative descriptions and suggest restyled improvements for single-line bullets that more clearly, precisely, and effectively represent how authors describe their achievements. The raw data come from a data set of some 400 résumés submitted as a task in a studio-based broadcast course on business communication. The authors are mid-level managers in Latin America enrolled in a global MBA program. The paper examines the content and form of the objective, summary, and professional experience sections of the résumé and provides a set of tips for written language use in the résumé.

Staczek, John J. Association for Business Communication (2005). Careers>Resumes>Management>Business Communication

Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal

This Proposal Guide has been created to provide both instructions on how to write a funding proposal and actual examples of a completed proposal. The Guide is designed as a tool for advanced graduate students and others to learn more about the actual proposal writing process. (This Guide is a companion to the Guide for Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation.)

Levine, S. Joseph. Michigan State University (2001). Careers>Business Communication>Proposals

Hate Selling? Try Helping!

You cannot succeed in any business without selling. Delegating or ignoring selling skills is one of the worst things you can do. How to develop your sales skills, even if you think you hate it. Wendy Peck explains.

Peck, Wendy. Wise-Women (2004). Careers>Business Communication>Marketing

How to Break into Marketing Communications  

Many technical writers, editors, illustrators, graphic designers, managers, and others would like to break into technical marketing. But how to do it? This mini-workshop gives technical communicators some practical tips for making the transition without the requisite “experience required”. As an added bonus, it shows that marketing jobs in general pay more than similar ones held by traditional technical communicators.

Vaughan, Caroleen L. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Business Communication>Marketing

How to Write a Tender  

For practical purposes, we may say that a tender is 'an offer to do work.' This article discusses quotations for work, standard terms and conditions and letters of agreement. The article is written within the context of UK legislation. It originally appeared in Communicator 7:1, Spring 2001.

Unwalla, Mike. TechScribe (2001). Careers>Writing>Business Communication>Contracts

IABC Job Centre

The IABC Job Centre is resource for the communication profession, serving job seekers and employers in all industries and communication functions.

IABC. Careers>Job Listings>Business Communication

Improving Managerial-Employee Communication: A Case Study  

Technical communicators can use their professional skills to help industry improve managerial-employee communication, an area that directly affects productivity. This case study investigates upward and downward communication at an aerospace company. Beginning with a survey that indicated a number of statistically significant differences between the attitudes of managers and other employees, the researcher then attended a randomly selected series of meetings. As she followed the flow of information within the company, she observed omissions and inaccuracies. The company devised a new process for information deployment as a result of this study.

Horowitz, Renee B. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Business Communication>Workplace

Information Technology and Organizational Change    

The profession of technical communication is in transition. While a few might argue that we are in danger of being swallowed up by large, institutional realignments, it seems more likely that the future workplace (as characterized by Senge, among others) will put communication, culture, and collaboration at the center of work. However, in order for the profession to exploit these opportunities, we must understand the impact of integrated information technology (IT) on organizations. I summarize the interaction of corporate culture, leadership/management, human resources, and advanced networking and web-based applications (more commonly called an Intranet) for the successful integration of new IT products into an established and well-defined organization. Background research for this paper was conducted as part of an Army Summer Faculty Research and Engineering grant.

Carlson, Patricia A. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2001). Careers>Business Communication>Technology>Collaboration

Keep Pesky Business Types at Bay by Focusing on the Strategic Goal  

If you have ever been forced to deal with business types who have no technical know-how, then you know how these types can work against IT's progress. Here's how to improve your business/IT communication by concentrating on the strategic goals.

Hardin, Ken. TechRepublic (2003). Careers>Business Communication>Project Management>Collaboration

The Last Ditch Sales Pitch

I recently encountered a young web entrepreneur who understands that in business, 'no' doesn't necessarily mean 'never,' and that a last ditch sales pitch can pay off - maybe not today or tomorrow, but some day. It's a wise investment because one sales letter can be adapted and personalized for many different uses over time. And it can help you retrieve prospects you thought you had lost!

Reimer, Heather. Write Thinking (2002). Careers>Consulting>Marketing>Business Communication

Managing Your Customers' Expectations  

How many customers do you know who deliberately set out to make your life difficult? Not many, I’m sure. They probably don’t anticipate that adding three new chapters to a manual means that the project deadline needs to change or another writer needs to be hired. They may not realize that another round of reviews requires more (billable) hours of work. In most cases, good two-way communication prevents problems in the first place and provides solutions for the unforeseen issues that arise.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2003). Careers>Business Communication>Project Management

Marketing Yourself as a Marketing Writer  

Technical communication consultants may find that marketing writing makes an excellent second line of business. Technology companies, marketing services firms, and advertising agencies often use freelancers to write marketing documents. They particularly need good writers who understand technology. This paper discusses the business of freelance marketing writing and how it differs from independent technical writing. Topics include the kinds of projects that marketing writers work on, how development cycles typically differ from those of technical documents, and how to effectively market yourself as a marketing writer.

Massa, Jack A. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Collaboration>Marketing>Business Communication