Write for Business - Blog

My workstation is a quiet place. As I type these words, all I hear is the dull hum of my computer monitor and the faint ticking of a clock behind me. These are suitable acoustics for a writer. Or at least I think so. But listening to the seconds' hand go tick and tock reminded me of a writing challenge a friend of mine recently encountered where the sound of time passing by wouldn't be so pleasing.

Smack in the middle of a job interview, my friend was given 30 minutes to respond to a writing prompt. She was interviewing for a job in retail pharmacy, a profession in which writing is not often thought of as a required skill set, so she was a bit caught off guard.

Apparently on-site writing tests are gaining popularity as an interview assessment tool for all fields of work, even for jobs that don't often deal with writing. In most cases, the objective of the test is not so much to assess your writing aptitude but to see how well you can communicate ideas, respond to deadline pressure, and deal with unanticipated workplace assignments.

My friend noted the last time she performed on-demand (timed) writing was for an AP English exam in high school. I'm sure many of you are in the same boat. Just as I'm sure the very thought of receiving a writing assignment during a job interview sounds as agreeable as a trip to the DMV or listening to a Lady Gaga album. Thankfully, there are simple strategies you can make use of to make on-demand writing less stressful and the writing product more successful.

Here are five easy steps for taking timed writing tests:

1. Consider how much time you have. Formulate your response based on the time limit. For example, if you have 30 minutes, you will need to budget less time on planning and revising than you would with a 60-minute time limit. For a 30-minute time limit, I suggest setting aside five minutes for planning, twenty minutes for writing, and five minutes for revising.
2. Analyze the prompt. What is the subject of the prompt? What is it asking of you? What audience will most likely read your response?
3. Develop a plan. Before you begin writing, take some time to plan your response. What is your main feeling or thesis regarding the subject? How can you support your view? Consider organizing your ideas and support in a quick outline or numbered list.
4. Relax and write. Focus on getting your ideas down in an organized manner rather than stressing over the perfect word or skillfully crafted sentence. Begin by stating your thesis or main idea. From there, develop body paragraphs based on ideas that support your thesis.
5. Revise for clarity and content. Save enough time to read over your work. Remember, your prompt will be evaluated on clarity and content. So don't sweat the small stuff. Do change any spelling or glaring grammar errors.

Fingers, up! Looks like my time is up for this blog post. Now I'll hand it over to you: Have any of you encountered a timed writing test at work or in a job interview? What strategies worked best for you? As always, comments are welcomed.

- Tim Kemper