Are the readers of your resumes, cover letters, and other job-seeking materials reading, skimming, or ignoring your content? One way to improve engagement is shortening your content.
Research has been very consistent over the years that when it comes to writing, shorter paragraphs get more engagement than longer ones. Readers have an immediate visual response to blocks of text and in a split second decide if they are going to read, skim, ignore.
According to the Circulation Managers Association, print publication authors should aim for an average of 42 words per paragraph, which is two to three sentences. Online writing, consisting of anything digital such as websites and email, is even less. The Poynter Institute suggests that online readers prefer an average of one to two sentences for paragraphs.
