This explains two stats I have found quite interesting in the job market:

1. 56 % of the recruiters are actually rejecting people because their job application has grammar or spelling errors.
2. 87 % of the people that get the job offer have 2 or fewer typos on their resume.
3. Finishing introductory language courses in Swedish will increase the likelihood of finding a job in Sweden by 86 %.

So, it seems like communication skills are very important for employers. This is understandable. Communication is an essential part being an employee. It is hard to think about a job where communication wouldn’t be a big part of what we do. Whether that communication is writing emails to our coworkers, our customers, or participating in meetings.

How Can We Improve Our Communication Skills to Succeed in the Job Search?

I guess the easiest answer to that question is – communicate. Use your communication skills by creating content about the particular industry niche that you are in. Also, write to people on LinkedIn, send people emails and go to networking events. Try different things and see what happens.

A good start for communicating well on email is this post I wrote where I state 4 rules for more email responses. Also, this post will help you increase success rates on spontaneous applications.

There are also tools you can use. Personally, I have found two tools very valuable to help with my writing and communication.

The first one is a software called Grammarly. This software will see spelling and grammatical errors that you are writing. It also gives you explanations and examples on how you can change. I use it all the time. It even checks your updates on Facebook for spelling errors.

The second tool is the book On Writing Well. This is by many considered the bible for writing non-fiction. It goes through some principles for writing and also gives clear examples. One thing that the author argues for is to remove all clutter. This means, only telling the other person what they need to hear or read and remove everything else. Also, the author is arguing that writing should be simple to understand. In any case, if there is an easier word, use it.

To Sum Up

The most important skill when searching for a job and working is communication skills. So, make sure that you constantly improve the way you communicate. Read about communication, use tools and become better every day.