Struggle for Words
Over the past few years I have poked fun at sloppy, typo-riddled resumes and other egregious mistakes that professionals make in their written communication. The fact of the matter is that a great percentage of writing skills among young professionals are abominable. They turn out incomplete sentences, rambling text that never gets to the point, and use complicated words like "edifice" instead of "building." The Wall Street Journal’s Business Education section a couple of weeks ago highlighted this serious issue among MBA graduates. We churn out students with exceptional quantitative skills from many of the top programs, but employers like General Mills and Morgan Stanley (as well as we recruiters) complain that these same graduates writing skills are not up to snuff and are, frankly, getting worse. Booz Allen Hamilton, in fact, will not let new recruits work on written proposals alone until they have perfected their skills. I suggest that writing samples should be included in candidate screening, so at least an employer will know what he or she is in for when they receive the first memo from John or Sally. U no watt I meen?

Tony LoPinto is a senior client partner and head of Korn//Ferry International’s Real Estate Practice and founder of SelectLeaders. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.

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