Drumroll please...Star Search results are in. Besides a few worthy standouts, the quality of respondents was underwhelming, to say the least. So without further ado, here are a few friendly pointers for getting your technical writing CV noticed instead of being sent directly to the recycling bin. To those of you who recognize yourselves in one or more of the examples below, no need to thank us for the free tips:

Save your CV as a PDF or as a well-formatted Word Document. And by all means, pay attention to the file name! We really don’t need or want to know which version this is or when you revised it. If your name is Joe Smith, then save your CV as Joe Smith CV or even Joe Smith Technical Writing CV. But whatever you do, do NOT name it “Resume IT-Tech Update 10-07 Rev IL2b-1” It may make sense to you, but to a hiring manager it simply looks ridiculous.

There are some excellent technical writing courses being offered in Israel and via distance learning. And with a steady stream of graduates entering the technical writing market on a steady basis, you’d think that finding outstanding candidates to fill jobs would be a cinch. But for some reason, a good man (or woman) is hard to find these days.

It takes more than being a great writer to make it as successful technical writer. I’ve written about this before and can’t stress it enough:  The “tech” in technical writer has value. Real value. I am not interested in debating the issue further, suffice it to say that after nearly 20 years in the business, experience has shown us that technical people make the best Tech-Tav writers. So if you are a native English speaker with strong writing skills and experience or training in engineering, computer programming, IT, mathematics, etc. and either live in Israel or are thinking about Aliyah, I invite you to send me your CV (even if you have never taken a technical writing course). Technical writing is a great option for native English speakers since it allows you to work and write in English while utilizing your technical skills and education. Not a bad combination. Let’s try and figure out whether technical writing could be the next step along your career path – we really enjoy training new people and providing opportunities for personal growth and professional development, so what have you got to lose?