Advanced Writing Techniques

What are Advanced Writing Techniques?

Master the writing process and develop an advanced understanding of grammar and the four key stages of writing. This program will help you write more efficiently and deliver more compelling content, so that you can save time and money! Writing is at the core of what we do as career services professionals—whether the content is a résumé , blog post, bio, or book—and your continual journey to develop exceptional writing skills is crucial to your success.

This on-demand course has a clear, supplemental focus on résumé writing, providing advanced tips and guidelines for the more experienced writer. You’ll also receive additional resources and exercises, including a “find the typos in this résumé” exercise.

^$500

Register now and be able to:
Provide superior and speedy service to your clients.
Cover the 4 key stages of writing: planning, drafting, revising, and proofreading.
Dive into common grammatical errors, gender-neutral language, and inclusive writing practices to ensure you—and your clients—stand out among the competition.
Brainstorm your work and practices one-on-one in a live Q&A with the Program Director, Heidi Scott Giusto.

Advanced Writing Practices for Career Services Professionals

Advanced Writing Techniques (AWT) for Career Services Professionals is an on-demand, self-paced training led by Heidi Scott Giusto, Ph.D., CPRW, CIC. The program aims to improve your writing skills, so you can write more efficiently to save time, reduce errors, decrease revision and clarification requests, and increase revenue by producing more work and commanding higher prices.

You’ll learn best practices using real-life projects and your own work priorities. You’ll be able to leverage these best practices and apply them directly to your current workload to produce faster drafts and faultless final versions.

Participants in the AWT Program Receive

Direct, Practical Skills for Application

Work on a project of your choosing—a résumé, website copy, blog post, biography, email templates, or anything that suits your personal goals.
1:1 Session with Program Director

Join in on the opportunity to receive targeted feedback customized to your unique concerns with the program director, Heidi Scott Giusto. This one-on-one coaching session will give you direct access to the program director!
Proprietary Process & Tools

By writing more efficiently and effectively, you will save time, reduce errors, decrease revision and clarification requests, and increase revenue by producing more work and commanding higher prices.

Course Content

* Each session includes advanced résumé writing tips paired with that session’s topic.

The curriculum for Advanced Writing Techniques (AWT) for Career Services Professionals is well designed to support professionals in developing meaningful projects of their choosing while learning a set of adaptable practices they can apply to many other writing situations. In addition to serving on the CPRW certifying committee for several years, Heidi is particularly attuned to the writing problems facing the industry. She will address them head-on in the course.

The course is divided into six core sessions, with supplemental sessions and information on Grammar B and writing for SEO as well as advanced résumé writing tips that are paired with each session.

The final project will be a culmination of everything you have learned. Through AWT, not only will you learn best practices for writing but you’ll also tackle the writing project you’ve (likely) been putting off for quite some time. Upon completion of the program, you will be more confident and able to produce high-quality content more quickly.

Session 1

Plan your Writing Project/Brainstorming

Have you ever wasted precious time trying to determine what you wanted to write about—whether for a résumé , blog, website, newsletter, or even an email? In this session you will learn the five Cs of writing as well as effective strategies for brainstorming, so you can quickly determine the topic you want to write about and the point you want to make. Heidi will lead you through a brainstorming activity to get you started on your project.

In this session, you will also learn some of Heidi’s top picks for recommended readings and why each text might suit your needs.

Session 2

Draft Your Writing

For any writing that Heidi does, the time between opening a new document and typing text is less than five seconds—every time. After this session, YOU will know the single most important tip Heidi has learned—and many others—about the drafting process so you can never waste time getting started or completing your first draft.

Session 3

Revise for Key Ideas and Structure

Famed writer William Zinsser wrote, “the essence of writing is rewriting.” Anne Lamott writes about the importance of “shitty first drafts.” In this session, you will learn best practices for revising key ideas and structures. You will learn how to quickly evaluate your writing so you can determine what stays and what goes—what is gold and what is … garbage. By mastering these tactics, you will ensure you optimize your time as you work to clarify your writing.

Session 4

Strengthen Your Writing at the Sentence Level

Now that you have finalized the structure and message of your writing, you will learn how to strengthen your writing by editing at the sentence level. You will learn actionable tips that will allow you to improve the quality and clarity of your writing immediately.

Session 5

Revise to Omit Common Grammar Errors, Avoid Sexism, and Ensure Inclusion

A surefire way to lose credibility with potential—or active—clients is to have grammar errors in your writing. In this session, you will get a refresher on the 20 most common grammar errors, learn how to avoid sexism in your writing, and ensure inclusive language. (After this, you will confidently know how to use a semicolon!)

Session 6

Best Practices for Proofreading

The devil’s in the details; nowhere is this truer than in written communication. In this session, you will learn common proofreading errors and strategies for proofreading both text and formatting. Readers will appreciate your writing for the message and not get distracted by (or judgmental of) typographical errors.

Bonus Session

Grammar B and Writing for SEO

Practical considerations for writing well include knowing when to break the rules of grammar and how to write for search engine optimization (SEO). This bonus session provides information on these topics, so you can write confidently while working toward your goals.

Meet Your Instructor – Dr. Heidi Scott Giusto

Dr. Heidi Scott Giusto first started working at Duke University’s Writing Studio in 2009 fearing she was a crappy writer. How was she going to help other writers when she was filled with self-doubt about her own abilities? She quickly learned people are neither born “good writers” nor “bad writers.” Rather, everyone is teachable and can improve their writing skills.

Since then, she has dedicated her professional life to writing and editing—working as a writing consultant, resume writer, book editor, and university instructor. She is a frequent speaker and workshop facilitator on proactive career management and professional writing to universities, companies, and professional development programs in the US and the EU.

Giusto holds a Ph.D. in History from Duke University, where she also worked at their nationally recognized writing center for more than six years. After, she served as the professional writing consultant to Duke’s Master of Engineering Management program for two years where she taught writing workshops and provided individualized feedback to master’s degree students. She also taught for two years as an adjunct professor of Luxury Professional Development at North Carolina State University.

Since founding her communications consulting firm, Career Path Writing Solutions in 2013, Giusto has worked with thousands of individuals one-on-one and in group settings.

In addition to completing her doctoral studies in North Carolina, she earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Youngstown State University in Ohio. She is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer and Certified Interview Coach. Heidi believes grammar is a tool to communicate effectively and promises to never be the grammar police!

Why PARWCC? Voices from our Community

The CPRW Certification is the benchmark for being a recognized resume writer.

Investing in the continuous training and education provided by PARWCC makes me a trusted advisor…My hobby turned into a 5-figure business in one year because I invested in my education and received the career coaching credential from PARWCC.

Debraca R.

Agape Career Counseling Group

PARWCC’s extensive library of resources, networking opportunities, and career services insights have significantly enhanced my ability to deliver exceptional services to my clients…and equipped me to help job seekers achieve their career goals with confidence and expertise.

Dustin B.

417 Resume Renovators

I was fortunate to be a part of the 1st cohort of the Certified Student Career Coach (CSCC), and Dr. Saunders’ expertise, homework exercises, and her breadth of resources enhanced my understanding of the material by providing practical hands-on exercises.

Towanda W.

Coach for New Life

I’ve gotten so much value out of being part of this community! I love the monthly networking calls and webinars included in the membership, and attending the in-person Thrive! conference was truly a highlight of the year for me.

Tali S.

Bold Career Talk

Join our community of résumé writers & become a certified writing professional today!

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