A few centuries ago, practical skills were the name of the game. In our days, without good communication abilities, it’s less likely that you’ll land the job of your dreams. Technology has advanced, globalization is on the rise and networking is becoming more and more important in a swiftly-changing world. In this context, being able to find your words both in conversation and on paper is a useful skill that can be generalized to a variety of situations. If the hallmark of intelligence is adaptation, then communicating effectively is one of the main strategies for adapting to the present.

1. Writing Trains Your Prefrontal Cortex
   Writing is something that we learn from a small age. In time, it helps us hone our skills of rational, analytical thinking, focused attention, planning and delay of gratification. All these abilities have their center in the prefrontal cortex and they’re immensely valuable for performing in virtually any type of career or job.

Think of all the time and effort needed to research for an essay. You have to put all other activities on hold and keep your attention on the task. Planning a structure of the assignment is the next step. Your short-term memory develops because you have to keep in mind all the ideas you want to include. Finally, the writing process itself requires your full attention and commitment. That new episode from your favourite show simply has to wait.

All of these micro-skills, if practiced through repetition, build the foundation for traits that many employers are looking for: analytical thinking, diligence, ability to meet deadlines and respect requirements, commitment to the task. The process of noting down thoughts on paper disciplines the mind and that discipline can generalize to more areas of your life. Writing an essay isn’t easy business, but it’s destined to pay off.

2. Writing Can Broaden Your Mind
   In researching for an essay, you’re meant to stumble upon different perspectives on the same subject. The world is a varied place and not even science is always scientifically correct, simply because there might be no ultimate truth to sustain. Both the research and the writing process can broaden your perspective by confronting you with new, sometimes opposing ideas. Through writing, you can even surprise yourself with thoughts you never knew you had!

One of the main signs of creativity is being able to see a variety of solutions to the same problem. Perspective taking and divergent thinking are often needed in the workplace, not only in management positions but also in executive ones. Both troubleshooting and innovation processes gain from individuals who are open-minded and knowledgeable. Writing can enhance both your knowledge base and your ability to come up with unique and eloquent ideas.

3. You Can Market Yourself Better
   People with good writing skills are generally perceived as more professional and credible. This becomes obvious starting from your resume. A well-written CV and letter of intent boost your chances of getting the job that you want. What employer likes to see grammar or spelling mistakes, poor sentence structure or overly simplistic vocabulary? The way you present yourself is through words and if those words are chosen and combined right, you’re more likely to be seen as a potential employee and not as just another name on a list.

In university, writing skills are held in high regard. The skill you have in your domain is highly likely to be noticed through the written assignments that you have as homework. If you manage to stand out from the crowd, you can participate at conferences, write publishable papers and even get recommendations from your teachers. In this manner, you can improve both your resume and your direct chances of landing a desired job.

4. A Cross-Domain Skill
   Your essay writing efforts are likely to pay off, as the skills that you gain are easy to generalize to other communication-related contexts. Not only do you learn to write an academic paper, but you also improve your abilities to write e-mails, reports, notes, memos or newsletters. It’s evident why writing skills are paramount in careers such as journalism or public relations, but these aren’t the only types of work that require constant communication.

In 2004, the College Board’s National Commission on Writing reported that writing skills are important in two-thirds of jobs in big US companies. Most of the time, it’s about networking: e-mails, notes, messages. The precision and the style of your writing influences how you’re perceived by your manager, your co-workers and your clients.

More than that, writing and reading skills are knit together. For example, more than half of Canadian workers spend up to 4 hours daily reading written text. In this context, good writing skills can improve comprehension of received information. If you’re comfortable with producing text, it’s more likely that your brain is primed for managing written information in general. This way, writing prowess can help you become a more efficient and more precise reader and this can further improve your job performance.

It’s becoming more and more obvious why we are talking about a cross-domain ability. According to the California Writing Project, writing is a “threshold skill” in a wide variety of workplaces. Corporate leaders and managers report that they’re more likely to promote and less likely to outsource or fire employees with writing proficiency. The leaders themselves see their writing skill as a meaningful ingredient to their success as well!

In a Nutshell…

Gone are the days when only the intellectual elite had to be efficient writers. Connections and networking are the lifeblood of today’s society. Whether you want to work from home, in an office, in a writing-based profession or in a workplace where writing is just a means to an end, you’ll probably need to know the basics of expressing yourself correctly and with good coherence. This varies from job to job, as some practical or artistic careers will rely less on the written word, but generally, it is safe to say that writing is a cross-domain skill.

Of course, you can always rely on some of the best essay writing services out there. But writing is like running a race: other people can coach you and encourage you, but no one can run in your place. Let’s say they do. Then, it will be their muscles that will develop, not yours.

Critical thinking, effective reading, self-discipline, credibility are just some of the gains of consistently practicing your writing skills. You will be seen as more reliable, efficient and intelligent in your workplace and you will have an advantage both in the recruiting and in the job advancement processes.

By Stephanie Proper.

Stephanie Proper is a writer and a career strategist. 
She tries to find best solutions for career building and self-development. You can find her on Twitter.

1 – Will It Affect Your Reputation In A Way That Matters?

The most obvious point is that if you write a bunch of articles, posts or comments that are of a poor quality or wrong, then that is going to affect your reputation in a negative way. For example, if you post a bunch of incorrect answers within a certain subject/field on Yahoo answers or on the bottom of YouTube videos, then people will know, people will call you on it, and your online reputation will be damaged.

However, let’s move beyond the obvious question and ask this: What is the point in writing something that nobody will see? The whole point of writing for exposure is so that others will see your work. Even though you are an expert in your field, your subject may be one that people are not actively looking for, which means your reputation will be unaffected. Alternatively, you may write a series of high quality posts and yet very few people ever see them. Will writing for exposure actually affect your reputation?

On the plus side, there are many cases where you may use your online answers, comments, articles and blog posts as part of your online portfolio? When people (clients?) ask for samples of your work, you may pass them a list of URLs that feature your work.

2 – Does Writing For Exposure Also Mean Writing For Free?

If writing for exposure means writing for free, then don’t do it. There is no scenario where writing for free is acceptable if you are looking to be a writer as your profession. If you need samples to show other clients, then approach clients with an offer at your usual rates or ask if you can put your name and image to the work in return for giving them a discount. If you are truly stuck for samples, then create a free blog with Google’s Blogger and write a blog post every week. Gain a bit of online recognition, keep your blog active, and use your blog as your online portfolio. On the plus side, if you ever have clients who refuse to pay you, then you can put the work you did for them on your blog so that it doesn’t go to waste.

3 – Is Your Marketing Strategy Geared Around Views Rather Than Conversions?

The more people that you are “exposed” to, then the easier it is to build your brand and your online reputation. However, there is a difference between views and conversions. If you are looking for views and you are looking to build your brand, then you need a marketing plan and a series of goals and targets. If you are looking for conversions, then each piece you write needs to act as an independent stand-alone advert for your services, and each needs a call to action and links to your sales pages, social media pages, or website URLs. Do not add your contact information anywhere other than on your website (preferably via a “contact me” page) because online web spiders can pick out email addresses and phone numbers to be sold to spammers.

4 – Can You Manage Your Exposure In A Way That Doesn’t Preclude You From Jobs?

If you are a professional in one area, it means you cannot work in any other. Be very careful of falling into this trap—especially if you are planning on being a freelance writer. Spread your online reputation as an expert in a certain area, and clients will refuse to give you work in other areas. It is in your interest to be a little malleable and flexible when it comes to written work because there is a wide range of areas that you can write about without having qualifications in the specifics and without being an expert.

For example, if you create a reputation for being a child psychologist, then a client who wants credit card reviews is unlikely to hire you. Yet, you do not need a business degree or even that much experience with credit cards in order to research and write about them. Plus, freelance writing is a very low-paying profession because there is so much competition, and yet if you make yourself appear too qualified then you may price yourself out of the market.

You are going to have to manage your reputation in a way that exposes what is needed to who needs to see it. If you are dealing with clients on a one-to-one basis then this is not so tough. For example, if you are looking to write for a maternity website, then only expose that client to the part of your online portfolio that involves children, expecting parents and babies.

5 – Are You Marketing A Product That Does Not Pay

The simple fact is that books, information products, online seminars, online lessons, and online videos do not pay. This seems to contradict what you are told by a great many online adverts and articles, but the fact is that very (very) few people make a living by selling their own books, information products, online seminars, online lessons, and online videos. Posting a half-naked picture of yourself on an image-selling site is more likely to make you money than any of the items that were just mentioned.

There are products that do sell and that people make a living from. These products are services and skills. You may not get rich selling your services and skills, but you can make a living if you work hard. For example, if you are a skilled copywriter, then you can write descriptive advert text on demand for a range of clients. If you have qualifications, then you may sell your essay writing skills to an essay writing company. Are you good at proofreading, then you may make a good living as a proofreader and editor if you run your business professionally and market yourself conservatively. Business writers, technical writers, translators, and academic writers can make a living in the writing profession. Before you start writing for exposure, make sure you are pushing a product that sells (aka your skills or services).

Written by William Grigsby

William Grigsby is a book addict and professional editor. He lives for literature and its seduction of Mankind. Whatever challenges he goes through, he has one motto to rely on: keep reading, keep writing.