I have read your column for the last several months and would like to give you some constructive feedback: The advice you’re giving is “spot on,” and the titles of your articles are excellent [they "draw me in" every time]. However, the columns themselves tend to be much too wordy. Additionally, you use too many “real world” examples to prove a particular point (long after the reader “gets” what you’re trying to say).

Perhaps my reactions stem from my experience as General Counsel of three public companies: I became acutely aware that, in any written communication to my CEO, I had approximately 30 seconds to grab his attention and make my points. Otherwise, he would simply stop reading. This awareness caused me to: (a) start out with a section of “bulleted” highlights (e.g., the executive summary — what the CEO absolutely had to know); and then (b) organize the fuller explanation below into discrete sections, each with its own heading.

Readers are extremely busy — even those who are unemployed. You have to “grab them” first, then elaborate. If your “highlights” are crisp and clear, the reader will think “hey, this guy really adds value!” and be “sucked into” reading the fuller text below.

With your current writing style, I often find myself wondering “will this guy ever make his point and move on…?” And, if I’m feeling particularly “bludgeoned” that day, I simply quit reading you.

I’m hoping you will take my comments in the spirit I intended them: You have some of the best career advice I’ve ever read. However, I think you could be more effective (and reach more people) if you “tweaked” the style in which you deliver it.

Bes regardst,

Jane Owens