Disclaimer: Anything written in this blog represents the opinions of the author, and no one else. Each blog is written lightly, and is not intended to offend any of the mentioned businesses, locations, students, or staff.

I am a professional liar – or, as I like to call it, a professional manipulator. I have learned throughout my 13 years of public education that in order to succeed, it is a necessity to learn how to form your own words in a way that is gentle to the ear of the listener and also humble yet complimentary to the speaker. Once you master the art of linguistics, you have the ability to both form the views of yourself that others hold as well as see through the facades of others.

Manipulation is most commonly looked at as a negative trait, but in this respect it can be positive. This is because in order to represent yourself properly, you must know how to describe your strengths and weaknesses honestly and well. That ability will help you to make yourself appealing to employees through tools such as interviews and your resume.

An example of this manipulation is to know how to form a simple job description such as “Acted as a hostess for 4 years” into a more eloquent sentence like “held a 4 year hostess position and led the dining floor in seating and customer service.” Changing one sentence has the potential to instantly give you more credit as a prospective employee. You can use this ability to also better your weaknesses. For example, instead of telling a future employer that you aren’t good at public speaking you can focus on your strengths and instead say that you work best in intimate and more one-on-one settings as opposed to large presentation surroundings.

Sometimes being flexible and willing to grow as a person and employee trumps experience when applying for jobs. In order to get you that opportunity though, perfect your writing skills so that you can get your foot in the door at your dream job.