By Alissa Zucker

Essay
writing can make or break an internship candidate. If your resume
seems a little light, you can make up for the lack of experience with
a gangbusters personal statement. On the flip side, even if you’re
perfect on paper it’ll sink your chances of landing that offer if
your writing falls flat. Contrary to popular belief, potential
employers really do read these things so it’s in your best interest
to pull out all the stylistic stops.

I
heard a story just last week from a hiring manager at Google. She
told me that strong grades and great work experience only get you so
far with their internship program. Companies like Google get
thousands applications from straight-A students with storied work
histories. What helps you separate yourself from the pack is the
writing sample
of
good
persuasive topics.
It’s your chance to put a personal touch on your “stats” and
leave a lasting impression on the HR department.

Writing
Tips

If
the thought of talking about yourself in essay format is causing you
undue anxiety, fear not! Just follow these five tips and you’ll be
well on your way to accepting the internship of your dreams.

1)
Write active sentences

Formal
essay writing is not IM or chat or blogging. You need to mind your
grammar and impress with the strength of your sentences. The first
way to do that is to eliminate the passive voice. The essay wasn’t
completed. You completed the essay. See the difference?

2)
Use strong verbs

Again,
style points are key, especially if you’re applying for a job
that’s going to require a lot of persuasive writing. Marketing,
publishing, communications and PR
internships all
eliminate candidates from consideration outright for poor form in the
application essay. One way to impress is to cut out unnecessary
adverbs and use stronger verbs. You don’t walk quietly. You tiptoe.
A strong verb incorporates the adverb within its own meaning.

3)
Explain why you stand out

So
you have good grades and you’ve worked hard your whole life – why
does that make you special? You can’t just list your accolades. You
need to impress your reader by sharing a personal anecdote from your
background that helps him or her connect. Any example of you
overcoming adversity or persevering is golden. Just don’t sound too
cocky. You need to come off as likable as well as competent.

4)
Be specific

When
you’re discussing your past accomplishments, don’t just say you
were one of the best sales associates at XYZ company; demonstrate
with specific examples why you were better than everyone else. Use
specific numbers and time frames. Tell the reader that you increased
sales 20% in the third quarter of 2011. Explain how you used creative
thinking to solve one of the company’s most challenging problems.
Detailed accounts of success in the workplace will always impress.

5)
Write in your own voice

You
don’t want to sound too colloquial, but make sure your essay has a
personal flair to it. These hiring managers probably read hundreds if
not thousands of internship essays. If your prose sounds robotic, his
or her eyes will glaze over and they’ll forget all about you come
hiring time.

About
the author:
Alissa Zucker is a copywriter, working for the professional writing
company Mcessay.com. She is
interested in reading classic and psychological books which give her
an inspiration to write her own articles and short stories.