Applying for a technical writer's job

There was an urgent requirement for a senior technical writer's position in my company a few months back. The first criteria when selecting a suitable candidate for this post was to check out the look-and-feel of the resume. It gives the interviewer a fair idea of how well-versed is the writer with styles, formatting etc.

When we started receiving the resumes, we were in for a rude shock. The resumes were ridiculous to say the least. It was terrifying to see that most 'experienced' technical writers did not even use auto-numbering. :O

It was then that I came up with post on how to create a resume / CV when applying for the post of a technical writer.

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1. Remember that the purpose of your resume is to guarantee you an interview and not the job. Keep the resume short, up to 2-pages maximum.
   
   
2. Check the page settings and page layouts. It is recommended that you do not have an even / odd page layout. Specify the margins as required.
   
   
3. Insert a header and footer.
   
   
4. Your resume needs to impress the interviewer quickly to land you an interview call. Hence, it is important that you create a resume that is tailor-made for the job you are applying. Your career objective must relate to the job you are applying for.
   
   
5. Structure your resume effectively. Make a list of headings to be included. Then, organize the content according to priority. You need not include myriad details of all the extra-curricular activities in which you participated at school.
   
   
6. Format the resume properly. Create a template in Word and use the styles appropriately. Apply these styles to the headings that you have already structured.
   
   
7. Check the line spacing for all the styles throughout the document. The text in the resume must look uniform throughout. Remove extra white spaces from the document.
   
   A handy tip: When you format any document or work with styles, select the Show / Hide toggle button option. You will be able to view spaces, tab spaces and line breaks in your document.
   
   
8. Highlight your core skills upfront such as expertise in using technical writing tools like FrameMaker, RoboHelp and MS-Office.
   
   
9. Use bullet points when explaining your previous work experience. You may leave out details of jobs that are not relevant to the current job you are applying.
   
   
10. List your academic qualifications in tabular format. Ensure that you include details such as the university you graduated from, year of passing and the pass percentage.
    
    
11. Add basic personal information such as DOB, passport details and marital status.
    
    
12. Finally, proof-read your resume to ensure that there are no typos.

Once you are done with your resume, draft a cover letter for the job. In the cover letter, you need to mention the reason for applying the job and your interest in the organization.

If possible, attach a writing sample with your resume and cover letter.

You can refer these sites for more information:

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/631/01/
  
  
• http://www.dailywritingtips.com/resume-writing-tips/

And about how we found a technical writer is a completely different story. It would probably take another post or two to describe the harrowing experience. :|