Write About Past, Present, Future

Writing emails, messages, connection requests is not very difficult. But it’s not easy, either.

A very interesting thing that I read regarding thank you letters (the ones you should always write after a job interview) was the following. You should write three paragraphs, and speak about:

1. the past
   Thank for the interview you had, and stress some details you indeed enjoy about the interview.
2. the present
   Is there anything you would do for this job? Did you forget to make a smart question?
3. the future
   Can you help them? Is there anything you can do? And, of course, figure yourself into the job position and tell if you could find a solution to any problem, if you get the job.

The following formula could work for request connections.
You could speake about

1. what happened, what caught your attention
2. what you want to do to add value to the connection
3. figure the advantage both of you will get

As I often say, if you don’t find a reason to connect with somebody on LinkedIn, please don’t even lose the time to request a connection. Having tons of connections can be impressive, but having less, meaningful connections is even better.

The past, present, future rule can work for many other kind of letters, like cover letters. An example?

1. describe your relevant experience, and skills
2. suggest solutions you would implement in such job position (is it future, or an imaginative present?)
3. give a sound reason why you should be invited to an interview

The truth is that even if you don’t write about past, present, future, the only act of focusing on writing of different topics will help you divide the problem and tackle it bit by bit.

The other truth is that you have to write.

• Never send a resume without a cover letter.
• Never send a connection request without a short message.
• Never make an interview without following up with a thank you letter.

If you are like me, you could find useful to write things on paper as well, and then summarize and collect the data in a better organised fashion on your computer.

Do you know other simple, easy, and general concepts that can help writing good content?

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