Writing samples are a commonly required component when applying for jobs that heavily feature writing. That makes complete sense—potential employers want to make sure that a candidate’s skills are up to their standards, and they simply can’t do that through a basic résumé.
What’s not always obvious, however, is which piece of writing would best represent what you can do for that particular job. Luckily, there are a few safeguards you can take both before and during the application process that will ensure you’re picking the right sample for the right position.
What do employers want?
While different employers are going to look for different things depending on the specific job position and industry, there are some basics that everyone will want to see. The actual content of what you write, as well as proper spelling, punctuation, and overall grammar, will be scrutinized. This means a healthy proofread will be necessary, even if you’ve already submitted the work elsewhere.
Identify what type of writing the job requires.
While many job descriptions will tell you outright what kind of sample they want to see, sometimes employers leave it up to your imagination. If that’s the case, hop on their website to not only closely examine the job description itself but also to take a look at the type of writing most commonly used within the company—then try and pick a sample that matches that. Depending on the job you’re applying for, this could be blog posts, research papers, marketing copy, articles, or press releases.
Pinpoint the company’s tone.
This requires a bit more research on your part. Once you identify what type of writing they want, be sure your sample matches the tone of the writing that already exists (you can usually find this on their website or in press releases or blogs that they’ve published in the past).
Do they take a strictly professional tone? Is it a bit more creative and casual? Do they stick to technical writing? Identifying this helps you home in on which of your samples will best reflect what’s already out there.
Keep it relevant.
You want to try your hardest to match the writing sample to what the job role would require. For example, you’d likely want to submit a news article when applying for a job at a newspaper, a press release for a job in public relations, or an excerpt from a research paper for a job in a lab.
Choose quality over subject.
There is a big but that comes with the previous tip: If the choice is ever between a relevant piece of writing that needs some polishing and a better written piece that is more tangentially related to the job, choose the better written piece. Of course, ideally you would simply polish up the more relevant piece—but if that’s not an option for some reason, always choose the one that is written the best. The idea behind this is that employers can always train you to adapt to a different writing style, but they can’t necessarily help you become a better writer.
Don’t get carried away.
It can be extremely tempting to send in multiple writing samples—or a long one if it’s a particularly good research paper, for example—to really showcase your range and skill. Resist this urge! The job description will most likely have a word count or page limit, so stick to it. If it doesn’t have a limit posted, keep in mind that the typical sample consists of around 750 words.
Make sure your sample is updated.
This may not apply if you’re submitting, say, a creative writing piece. But positions that require samples like research papers or news articles will notice right away if you use references that are outdated. Take time to update anything that may be out of date, especially if the piece was written more than a year or two ago.
Utilize your cover letter.
Be sure to briefly explain each writing sample in your cover letter. This is the time and place to mention the sample’s intended audience, its purpose, and any positive feedback that it produced. Think increased sales numbers as a result of your marketing copy, a rise in readership from a particular blog, etc.
Write something new if necessary.
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, there is simply no writing sample that matches the content and style that’s needed for a particular job opening. While this is unfortunate, it’s not a reason to give up on the job entirely. It simply means that you’ve got a bit more work to do by writing a piece from scratch. In fact, this can actually be a good thing since you’ll be writing it with the content and tone for a particular company in mind.
Andrea Moran lives outside of Nashville with her husband and two kids. She’s a professional copywriter and editor who loves all things books. Find her on LinkedIn.
