William Schmitt
Concision is an important part of communication in the workplace. In a recent interview, Ms. Cindy Le, a recruiter for Nvidia, confirmed the importance of concise communication in business environments. So without further delay, here’s her interview:
- What is your professional history
“I started working at Nvidia in 2014 as a contractor then became a recruiter which I still am.”
- What writing advice do you have for professional communicators?
“In terms of writing advice what I typically try to do is be as straightforward and concise as possible and that’s what our CEO wants us all to do in the Nvidia culture.”
- What is your one pet peeve when it comes to professional writing?
People being needlessly verbose is always a problem for me.
- What kind of business reports do you read and/or compose regularly?
“Most of the time I am actually doing interviews where I go through and ask possible interns speed questions looking for answers that align with the types of people we want in our culture at Nvidia.”
- What are your writing suggestions to make those types of reports successful?
“In terms of writing reports, I recommend getting an outline with bullet points to structure your essay or report before you write it.”
- What speaking advice do you have for professional communicators?
“For professional communicators, I recommend articulating yourself in a way you can communicate clearly what you want while simultaneously being as terse as possible.”
- Name one thing you wish you had known about business communication prior to your professional career?
I wish I knew that most people in the business world simply want to cut out unnecessary fat in discussion and want to hear the point while working at fixing the problem.
- After assessing the Burning Glass list of Baseline Skills (2016), which skills not in the top 5 would you move into the top 5…and why?
“I feel like for young people wanting to have an entrepreneurial mindset in the business world the top five skills needed are creativity to see past where we currently are and find a solution for a problem that hasn’t been seen yet, leadership to have the ability to help others see the view of the company, critical thinking to help solve problems better as they occur, a positive disposition to persevere through hard times, and lastly time management to get things done when they need to be done to be successful.”
- What team skills do you feel young professionals need the most?
“The most important skill is leadership in the way it can convey the company’s view. A company needs a leader that can form a shared dream for all the employees to help united them to a goal in a positive way.”
Key Takeaways
The main theme to take away from this interview is that being short and to the point is key. This appears clear when thought about. It is appropriate that a company, especially a tech company, would like to cut wasted time wherever they can. The old saying “time is money” comes to mind. Ms. Le does specify that while communications should be short, they should be explicit. If the message is short and vague its liable to have the same effect as if it were needlessly verbose. This being a sense of confusion in the recipient as they try to decipher what’s being said to them. When writing within the company, especially to higher-ups, this is the last thing someone should feel after reading a message.
Another item Ms. Le mentioned a few times is the importance of leadership skills for employees. While this certainly isn’t a revolutionary new idea, it is important to note how Ms. Le feels its important. Leadership doesn’t necessarily mean taking charge of a group of people to accomplish a given task. While this is certainly important, leadership is more the ability to lead by example by making choices that positively affect the environment. If everyone is out for themselves trying to only make their own situation better, the rest of the company will suffer because of it. While a diverse skill set is still required, without the leadership among them, the company can’t expect to achieve its goals effectively and efficiently. Plenty of research has been conducted on this topic before and it all comes to the same general conclusion: good leadership is good for the business.
Ms. Le started was a contractor for Nvidia before becoming a recruiter for the company in 2014. She is now responsible for helping the company recruit new talent from across the country. Nvidia is a computer hardware company that sells high-end computer components and software for both personal and business use around the world. Their most popular products are high-end graphics cards, which are used for a variety of applications. Nvidia also does research and development in A.I. systems. Nvidia is a top business brand and has experienced incredible growth over several years.
William Schmitt is majoring in Computer Information Systems within The Romain College of Business at The University of Southern Indiana. He is employed at the Community Action Program of Evansville, a local non-profit organization.
