Ask the Experts: Providing Writing Samples to Prospective Employers
Question:
I have been asked to provide a writing sample in an interview. Do I use old research term papers from school? I’m unable to provide written samples from my previous position due to ethical reasons. What do I do?
First Answer:
Your situation is typical of a worker moving between jobs with competitors. In your interview, it is perfectly acceptable to explain the situation and
ask the very same question of the hiring company. Tell them you may be
willing to accept a small assignment in order to showcase your skills. By no
means should you compromise your integrity by disclosing proprietary
information of your current employer. Any hiring company should respect that
and admire your loyalty. In these days of disclosure statements and
copyright enforcement, this is not an unreasonable request.
There are risks is providing writing samples that do not relate to the job or that are dated, however. As a writer, I understand the tendency to
recycle material. But to be honest, I shudder at what my school writing
represents now — almost 20 years after the fact. I hang on to them for
nostalgia’s sake but rarely, if ever, use them to represent my current
abilities. Evaluators also sometimes lose their focus in juding your style
and talent and focus instead on the content of what you have submitted as a
writing sample. And if they disagree with your conclusions, it will lead to
attitudes and opinions about you that may not serve you in landing a
position.
— Jeff Westover is a writer based in Salt Lake City, Utah with over 15 years of business, personnel and human resource management experience.
Second Answer:
If you are able to prepare fresh writing samples based on items you’ve developed for your current position, this would be the recommended approach.
If that’s not feasible, bring out the old research papers, but be sure to
note in your cover letter that they are from your college days.
— Rene’ Hart, Resumes for Success!
Third Answer:
The type of writing samples you provide should depend on the type of job you are interviewing for. If an old college term paper fits that bill, use it. The writing samples you provide should show the interviewer the writing skills you possess for the position you are applying for. If it is for
technical writing, provide technical writing samples. If the position
involves writing research documents, provide research writing samples.
Remember, the main concern of the interviewer is to choose the candidate for the job that possess the best set of skills needed to do that job well.
Your writing samples need to show that you have the writing skills to do
whatever is needed for the job you are applying for.
— Linda Wyatt, Career Center Director, Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Fourth Answer:
Communication is the key to success. The ability to express yourself with clarity and conciseness is critical in today’s workplace. Thus, the request
for a writing sample. It will aid the hiring professional to evaluate you in
greater depth then may be possible in a conversational interview. It will
express more than the content of selection submitted. Things like personal
values, biases, philosophies, interests may be inferred from your writing.
Not to mention how you handle grammar, syntax, punctuation and spelling.
So the choice of the piece is less important than how your selection represents you as a communicator. Perhaps term papers or class reports will
work if you are a recent graduate. If you have work experience, you may wish
to select a report or presentation that was well received. General business
correspondence probably would be low on the selection list for the reasons
you recognize in your inquiry. Perhaps you have written an article for a
publication that could be used?
Consider writing a short piece specifically for this situation, within which you may expand on your desire for the job, what you can offer, how your
skills and experience will solve problems you may have identified within
your prospective firm. This to me is an opportunity waiting to be applied to
your advantage.
Finally, make the selection your own work. Don’t plagiarize with the thought it will make a good impression. To be always looking over you shoulder, so
to speak coupled by the embarrassment of being found out will overwhelm any
initial gain you may enjoy.
Good luck and be well.
— Robert C. Resch, Career Center, Triton College.
Fifth Answer:
Evaluate what kind of sample is required based on the job you apply for:
- For a publicist, a press release or a speech (once it’s published, you can use the clipping);
- For an economist, an extract from a research paper that exemplifies your critical reasoning and writing skills in setting forth a hypothesis and
defending it; - For a customer service rep, a sample letter to an irate customer (you could write just for this occasion, as you might be asked to do in an
“in-box exercise” during an interview; - For an auditor, management consultant, or other business job, a term paper might also do: anything that demonstrates your ability to write clear,
grammatical, succinct business prose with correct syntax; - For a writer or editor, anything you’ve written for publication, or a fiction or nonfiction writing assignment that demonstrates all of the above
plus mastery of punctuation, appropriateness and consistency of tone,
continuity, word division, capitalization, and the latest edition of The
Chicago Manual of Style.
If nothing in your portfolio suffices, write something appropriate or ask the interviewer in advance for a topic, and how long the sample should be.
— Carol Anderson, Career Development and Placement Office, Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University in New York City.
