Writing Skills Can Derail Career Growth

In 2022, the Department of Education said that roughly half of U.S. adults, aged 16 to 74 years old — 54% or 130 million people — lack literacy proficiency. Let’s zoom in and make that data more relevant to professionals who are seeking career success or career advancement. In 2024, the National Association of Colleges and Employers report that about 73% of employers actively seek evidence of good written communication skills in the resume of new college graduates. This scrutiny on writing skills will last for one’s entire career.

While working in one of the largest business schools on the east coast, an employer called me to ask if I could recommend a writing class for a new graduate they had just hired. The company was willing to pay for the new graduate to come back to the campus and take a writing class. I took from that conversation that even though the graduate was a great hire for their accounting skills, the graduate’s writing skills needed a lot of improvement. Fortunately this company was willing to make the investment in the new graduate. 

Think about it, some of the first writing samples a potential employer will see from a college graduate include a resume, a LinkedIn profile, a job application and maybe even a cover letter. Some employers may ask applicants for writing samples. While anything can pass as good writing on social media — it’s not the same in the workplace? There are still some expectations for professional writing. No one expects perfection, but little bad habits like abbreviations, informality etc. do sneak into our writing from time to time.

A few years ago, I was in a succession planning meeting with a senior executive who I will call David. David was making decisions about which of his direct reports he was going to recommend for the next leadership development training at the main office. 

After we talked for several minutes about the background, skills and experiences of several employees, I mentioned one specific director who he appeared to be overlooking. To be honest, I was a little bit shocked that he was overlooking this particular director, who I will call Randy. After all, David was often seen with Randy talking sports. They were in each other’s offices talking about the game and their kids’ little league baseball schedules. Their collegial banter would routinely kick off our weekly staff meeting. Everyone, including me thought – oh, those two have a really special rapport.

However, when I asked why Randy was not being included, I received an answer that I have never forgotten. David went on to say that Randy had good interpersonal skills and good energy but that Randy’s writing skills were so poor that there was no way he could be recommended for leadership development training. I asked David if he had ever discussed the poor writing skills with the employee. 

David said no he hadn’t and I suggested that he should. The executive looked back at me seriously and said, “How can someone at his level, with all the tools out there, not know that his writing sucks? Did someone never tell him that before?  I think he is just a jock who just doesn’t care. He doesn’t think it matters and if he doesn’t fix that, he’s just not going anywhere at this company.” 

David was making a decision about the future of an employee with whom he routinely had lunch, based on poor writing skills. I urged David to address writing skills for all his direct reports in an upcoming feedback session. Randy was not the only person who needed to know that something as specific as writing skills was being used to judge their leadership potential. 

My point is that writing skills are important to your career. Your industry, career or company doesn’t matter. In the grand scheme, you may not get screened in for good writing skills but you can definitely get screened out for poor writing skills. Find ways to improve or tools to help you

Take Action

There are many resources for writing assistance. Grammerly.com and Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) are two resources that I trust. The third option that I am just exploring myself is ChatGPT (Open Ai). Find others if you don’t like these, but have a go-to resource to assist you. All of these tools are being updated in real time with the best of AI technology to support writing skills for both personal and business use. 

Dr. Marcia F. Robinson, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is the CEO of The HBCU Career Center. She’s an award-winning HR and leadership expert with 25 years of experience in HR and Career Development Education. Known as Dr. R, she’s on a mission to make workplaces more inclusive and to help professionals find welcoming spaces that align with their V.I.S.A. (Values, Interests, Skills and Abilities).