Page 253 - Complete Idiot's Guide to The Perfect Resume

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Chapter 16

You’ve

Got Style

In This Chapter
➤ Avoiding exaggerated formality in your letter
➤ Choosing words that demonstrate confidence and sincerity

➤ Using an active voice that’s loud and clear
➤ Sidestepping some common errors in word usage

➤ Referring to spelling and grammar resources

Your writing technique says a lot about whether your letter is a winner that will get you
the result you want or a loser that will get tossed into the wastebasket. Now don’t wince
at the word technique. I’m not suggesting you pull out your old high school textbooks to
study dangling modifiers and past participles. I’m talking about down-to-earth, easy com-
munication.
This chapter explains how to use a writing style that sounds like you, not some old gram-
mar book buried in a library basement. I’ll show you how to write in an engaging, confident
style that will make the reader sit up straight and listen to what you have to say.

Writing with Style

There’s nothing mysterious about good letter-writing style. The biggest mistake most people
make is that they try too hard. In an effort to make their letter sound just right, they use
extraordinarily long sentences, dense paragraphs, tons of multisyllable words, and overly
formal language. If there’s a longer, more complicated way to say something, they’ll do it
in a sincere but often useless effort to impress the reader.
My advice is to relax and just be yourself on paper. Let the words flow out of your pen
or onto your computer screen as if you were talking with a friend or someone you would
like to know. After all, you’re hoping that your letter will spark a relationship that could
last for years. So think of your letter as one part of a conversation, not a lengthy, detailed
dissertation.