Cover Image: Yannick Pulver on Unsplash
How to write clearly can be unclear.
Brooks E. Scott - Executive Coach helped my writing with a "see one, do one" method during a coaching call. He and I took a look at a recent email I wrote and he edited for clarity. Then, I did the same.
It was an immediate 💡 moment. As a former sports editor and wanna be journalist, you might think I had that skill. I guess clear writing is "90% mental and the other half is physical" and I struggled with both. 😄
Here are a couple 🛠️ I've used to improve my writing. In case you don't have a coaching call with Brooks on the books. (If you don't, you should! Thanks Brooks. 💪 )
Know of other good resources? Let me know in the comments so we can all be a lot less wordy, use simplistic terms and avoid long run on sentences filled with jargon be more clear.
https://hemingwayapp.com/ - "Hemingway app makes your writing bold and clear" is their tagline. It's a very useful app for writing, from work docs to personal messages. See a brief example of improving a resume summary below. I owe Adam Long a country ham biscuit or three if I ever meet him in NC.
https://textio.com/ - Write inclusive and valuable job descriptions (and more) with Textio
https://developers.google.com/tech-writing - "Every engineer is also a writer." A set of courses that can help you improve technical writing.
5 Ways ChatGPT Can Improve, Not Replace, Your Writing - ChatGPT and other LLMs are helpful in starting ideas, summarizing long text, and giving you an editor-in-a-box like experience.
Your Tech Resume is Garbage: Here's How To Fix It - Harsh but fair focus from @anthonydmays on how to improve a tech resume. 📝 Remember your teachers writing feedback that filled your page with red ink? 🔴🖊 Reading this feels like that memory in all the good ways.
Note: This post is a cross post from my LinkedIn.
Using Hemingway to Improve Your Resume
When I'm updating my resume, I post snippets into Hemingway. I use their app to see if I can be succinct and clear.
Software engineering is full of acronyms and technical terms. You can't avoid them in a resume, but the rest of your text can improve.
Here's a screenshot of a few random "Summary" snippets that you might find in a resume. You'll see how Hemingway highlights them and gives you visual feedback on how to improve.
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