How to write a business award entry that stands out from the crowd

With nominations now open for the IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards, the time is right to download the entry form and start writing! But if you find it hard to start to tell your story (or to stop!), we have five tips to support you.

Stick to the criteria

At the risk of sounding like a Leaving Cert teacher, it is imperative to read the questions! Re-read what the judges are looking for in your category and what specific questions they are asking. If specific criteria requests are made on the form, ensure you share them. If they ask for evidence of certain successes or qualities, write about them. It can be tempting to reel off your whole CV but check this against the questions asked – sometimes it is relevant and sometimes it is not. This is the most common mistake people make when writing an award entry, so make sure to keep it in mind!

Word counts

If specific word counts are requested, stick to them. For online forms that only allow X-number of characters, write your answer in a separate document first, check the word count and copy it across. For forms that indicate a limit, but do not cut you off as you type, respect it. Writing too much usually means you are not being concise and it can make it difficult for judges who may have hundreds of forms to review. At worst, it can disqualify you.

Submit evidence

Though the judges may want to believe every positive claim you make, they have a responsibility to check for evidence so make it easy for them! Some entry platforms let you include a supporting document, and others facilitate adding images, videos, etc. If this is not possible, simply add links to relevant graphs, photographs, testimonials, etc.

Proofread to perfection

Professional writer Victoria Stokes recommends careful proofreading yourself and by a friend. “Clumsy spelling mistakes and punctuation errors can ruin even the most engaging award entry. If your proofreading skills are a little rusty, use a plugin like Grammarly which will help you spot spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes, or use a Read Aloud function. You’re more likely to notice clunky sentences when they are read aloud.”

“When you’re ready to submit, read your entry one last time, sentence by sentence, word by word. Better yet, get a trusted friend or a professional proofreader to cast an eye over it,” she says.

Endorsements

On the way to being shortlisted for an award, judges will check the social handles you share and search for you on LinkedIn. Ensure these profiles are up-to-date, contain no questionable posts and take another step – request endorsements for happy colleagues or clients to support your entry.

The IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards are the perfect place to flex your nomination muscles, with nominations now open.

Dee Ahearn, CEO of Barretstown and 2023 IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Social Entrepreneur Award winner urges businesswomen to remember that they have something very unique that they might be overlooking. “Your story is unique.” 

So, start typing and, in Dee’s words, “Just do it!”

It’s time to nominate

Now that you know the best way to do it, it’s time to visit the Nominations Page to download your Nomination Form and start your application!

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