Now more than ever before, the written word holds significant power within society. It’s easy to understand why. Given the number of jobs that require constant remote communication, and the frequency at which professionals send emails, texts, chats, and other written messages, understanding basic elements of good writing is essential for any ambitious student. Regardless of your field of expertise, knowing how to communicate effectively in text will provide you with a massive advantage over those who don’t. And to underline that point, here are five reasons you need to take your English classes seriously –– because it will affect you in the real world.
Landing a Job
Before you even enter the workplace, most businesses will require you to demonstrate a basic understanding of writing skills and etiquette. In addition to producing a CV without any spelling or grammatical errors, plenty of companies will ask you to provide a cover letter to accompany your resume. Botching this aspect of the job-seeking process could dramatically hurt your chances –– or even prohibit you from landing a lucrative new position.
Getting a Loan
If you desire to go into business for yourself someday, chances are you’ll have to apply for a loan at some point. Fortunately for business owners with writing savvy, putting together a solid loan package can help you secure vital funding –– even if you don’t have great credit. And it doesn’t matter if you’re working to develop a new line of urine tubes, or if you’re opening a sports bar, banks and lenders will want to see a fully-fleshed out business plan before they approve you for a loan.
Switching Careers
Good writing is one of the most easily translatable skills from one career to the next. There’s not a job under the sun that doesn’t in some way value a sound understanding of how to form a sentence properly. Plus, understanding how to write reports and do long-form research is the basis to a whole myriad of jobs in different industries.
Impressing the Boss
In addition to your other abilities, knowing how to write efficiently can give you the leg up when your company looks to promote from within. Not only are good writers able to take on more tasks than their counterparts who struggle linguistically, but also strong writers can edit existing content on a business’s site. Suggesting the odd upgrade here or there could help you impress your boss and get that promotion you’ve always wanted.
Making Connections
As mentioned above, more and more interactions in the corporate world occur over a digital medium. So if you’re not able to articulate yourself in emails and texts, you’ll likely have difficulty connecting with team members and clients who you don’t interact with on a face-to-face basis. Considering how vital relationships are to achieving long-term success in business, the last thing you want to do is make a bad first impression with a slapdash email. In brief, learning how to write effectively prevents you from looking like an idiot. That motivation alone should help you focus the next time you go to write a thesis sentence for an essay.