Subtlety has its place in writing, of course. Specifically, it has its place in literature, where it’s often agreed that the more interpretation possible, the better the work. But subtlety has no place in employee communications. And it certainly has no place in “great place to work” applications. At least, not in the actual part […]
getting on the Working Mother best company list
Saying More With Less: Winning the Word Count War
Around about now, you might be trying to write your Working Mother or NAFE “Best Companies” essay and despairing of cramming everything you want to say into 2,500 words. Admittedly, twenty-five hundred words probably sounded like a lot when you began. You might even have wondered if you could find enough to say. But you […]
Quick tip: Put those shiftless subheads to work
I’m too busy helping companies with their Working Mother submissions to write a full blog post. But here’s a tip for today. Make your Working Mother and NAFE essays easier to digest by incorporating subheads—without wasting valuable words. Get lazy, pointless subheads to work for you. Turn them into a part of your message. For […]
What’s Your POV?
Remember that high school English teacher who kept harping on passive voice? That professor who made you write a paper on the narrator’s perspective? That communications teacher who talked on and on about your “target audience”? To some extent, what they were all yammering on about is Point of View. (I’m going to stop right […]
Conquering the Tyranny of the Empty Page:
For Those Applying to “100 Best Lists” … and Everyone Else Today’s entry will get you started thinking about the essay question in the “Working Mother” and “NAFE” Best Company lists. But really, it’s Writing 101. Even if you’re not planning on applying for these lists this year, you probably face the occasional writing task. […]
3 (Working Mother) Resolutions for the New Year
If you’ve downloaded the Working Mother 100 Best Companies application and it’s moved from your inbox to the center of your desk, you may be fighting rising panic just about now. All those questions! All that data! How will you match the titles and job categories used at your organization with the titles and categories […]