Remember when neat, legible writing was a prized skill? In a time before the digital age, when employees were valued for flowing script? Now employees can go weeks without scribbling anything more than a telephone number on a Post-it note. But that doesn’t mean your scrawl doesn’t matter anymore — writing analysis is a popular way to screen job applicants.

A swell in the popularity of handwriting analysis, or graphology, in recruitment could see the trend catch on the world over.

But while recruitment-graphology is growing, employers are reluctant to admit they use the technique. Why? Handwriting analysis is often viewed with scepticism and companies are afraid that this sentiment will discredit their company’s reputation.

Some cynics may suggest that the reason companies are reticent about revealing their use of graphology is because they use it without an applicant’s knowledge. Where problems may arise, of course, is in employers conducting their own impromptu analysis of an applicant’s handwriting, based on little besides their own prejudices.

For those of us with less than perfect script, this may certainly raise concerns when applying for jobs that call for a letter in own handwriting. In fact, professional graphologists agree that bad handwriting is by no means a sign of sloppy work or a lazy attitude to employment. In any case, it seems that writing is getting better rather than worse.

The legibility isn’t an issue but handwriting is impossible to fake, as opposed to CVs, which tend to be increasingly embroidered.

All this sounds quite tempting to recruiters, particularly if they’ve been burned in the past with an exaggerated CV, or simply a candidate who doesn’t fit in with the team. But there is also a financial reason why graphology may be used.

Compared with psychometric tests, and interviews, handwriting analysis is a great deal cheaper, and can be a cost-effective screening process. As companies become more aware of the costs of recruiting, it looks likely they will be open to a number of new screening processes. And graphology certainly looks set to remain one of the ways in which job applicants are taken on, or written off.