My mechanic…
I quite like my local mechanic, he’s a nice guy, but when I watch him write a booking into his diary I think to myself “I am glad YOU can understand your writing because I certainly can’t!”
Ninja Tool…
You can find all sorts of tools in workplaces, from welders, drills, hammers, knives, brushes and the like, and all of them take some time to master correctly.
Of all the tools ever created, the pen is the Ninja! That is because the mighty pen can be found lurking in every business, poised, waiting for its next task.
Even with advances in technology, paperless offices utilize the fancy-pen-cousin called a ‘stylus’ – the Grand-Ninja!
So, let’s think about your skills with this tool (pen)! Are you a messy writer, or a neat one?
Now I am going to ask you a….
…Question…
Is being able to write (legibly) really important in the working world?
Legibly = clear enough to read
Answer…
ADULTS…. (employers) would say a big fat “hell, yeah” in response to that question.
- How do I know this?
- As a Career Practitioner, I hear the complaints from employers about poor handwriting… frequently!
TEENS…. would say, “I can snap that“, or “I can chat that“…
Can you see the problem here? The ADULT thinks quite differently (wants a writer) to the TEEN (relies on technology)?
Eventually, technology may win, but for the majority of business, we haven’t got to that point yet.
Solution?
The way I see it, there are two solutions to this dilemma:
- The ADULT needs to be dragged into the technology era, or
- The TEEN needs to learn to write ‘proper’.
Who wins? If I were a betting person, I would lay odds on the ADULT because they are the one paying wages! They hold the power to choose you, or not.
Sorry TEENS!
Employer tactics…
I know numerous employers who ask job applicants to HAND WRITE their letter when applying for a job.
Dinosaur alert!
Other businesses will make you fill out a ‘form’ (using a ballpoint ninja-pen…)
You may not know it, but these tactics are part of your interview…
Spoiler alert!
Your handwriting will either work FOR you or AGAINST you.
Why?
Why do they want to check your handwriting?
Well, they just want to know if you can communicate via writing. Simple things like:
- Appointments/bookings
- An instructional note for the next person
- Product orders (eg. for a car)
- Phone messages
- Your time-sheet
For them…
If they can easily READ your writing then this means – if they give you the job – that your easy-to-read-writing is going to save them a lot of TIME in their busy workplace.
For example:
- They won’t need to chase after you trying to find out exactly what your scrawl means.
- There won’t be any costly misunderstandings because they don’t need to second-guess your scribbles.
For you…
If you can write legibly, it means that you are one-step closer to securing work.
Score!
For Poor hand-writers…
Poor handwriting has little to do with intelligence, I know some really smart kids whose handwriting is appalling and some academic struggler’s whose handwriting is as neat as a pin. So, I ask you:
If your handwriting is poor, what can you DO about it?
I am afraid you won't like my answer! But, here goes...
Let’s face it, the ONLY way you get good at things is via practice (just like Minecraft, XBox, Karaoke (I KNOW some of you do that!) and riding bikes!).
Putting TIME into things you want to do, is how you get BETTER at it. Same goes for handwriting.
Told you that you wouldn't like my answer!
What you need…? a purpose and a plan…
I am not going to tell you how to improve your handwriting because you are tots different to everyone out there, but having a purpose and a plan is a great starting point. Here is an…
…Example purpose & plan:
PURPOSE: I will improve my handwriting to increase my chances of getting a job when I leave school.
PLAN: This is what I am going to DO:
- Purchase: a sexy pen (its gotta feel good to hold and smooth to work with). I’ll name it Bart.
- Purchase: a lined book – choose one with a cool cover.
- My goal: “I am going to fill one page a day with writing.”
- My Vision: “I will picture (in my head) my book full of my writing – and I will picture (in my head) that the writing at the end of the book… is way better than the front of the book.”
- My reward: “I will feel way more confident when applying for jobs!”
- Monday: I will concentrate just on letters of the alphabet.
- Tuesday: I will fill a page with my name only.
- Wednesday: I will write lists from a bike magazine.
- Thursday: I will write the first paragraph of an article in my bike magazine.
- Friday: I will write down my six favourite websites – over and over – fill the page
- Saturday: I will write just numbers.
- Sunday: I will have a rest.
- Rule 1: I will not play the Xbox until my page is done.
- Rule 2: I will thank Bart at the end of each page for being patient with me and helping me out.
Is there an app for that?
- When you search ‘handwriting’ you will find a plethora of apps to choose from, for example teachersparadise.com seem to have some OK free apps to play with.
- Is an app the same as pen and paper? Just putting that question out there!
- I won’t tell you which app to choose because only you can decide if something is right (write!) for you.
If you have suggestions for improving handwriting, please share!
