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.
Craft a well-written cover letter and then proof it. Twice. Come on, you are applying for a technical WRITING job. Your cover letter (or email) is your chance to show off your superior writing skills. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so your cover letter had better be impressive. If you want me to consider you a worthy candidate, give me something better than, “I would like to offer myself for the job of Technical Writer.” What kind of impression do I get of your writing if it is filled with errors and awkward wording? One candidate began his email with, “I am writing with reference to your online post on your website for want of entry level Technical Writers. I consider that my credentials and interests match with your requirement and want to apply for the same.” And another with, “I saw your add on Techshoret and am attaching my CV.” There is just no excuse for typos or poor writing when applying for a writing job (or any job, for that matter).
Don’t send a blank email with an attachment. Take the opportunity here to show off your writing skills, highlight your relevant experience, and convince the reader to open your CV and take a closer look. We read them! Really, we do! If your email is blank or simply states, “CV attached,” I will not open the attachment – how do I know it is not a virus? If you want me to open your CV and consider you as a candidate, then by all means send me an intelligent, well-written email along with it. Here is an excerpt from one applicant’s email that, in two short sentences, let me know that he has a strong technical background and is an experienced technical writer. Of course I am going to open his CV: "I am a freelance technical writer with more than 5 years experience as a technical writer and many years of experience as an electrical hardware design engineer. I am currently working as a freelance technical writer for four different companies writing user manuals, installation guides, Acceptance Test Procedures, and white papers. I have experience in Word and FrameMaker." Had he simply stated, “CV attached,” he would have landed in the recycling bin instead of being referred to a client for a 3-month contract.
Keep your personal information personal. Please don’t tell me if you are divorced, how many kids you have, current or future procreation plans or your favorite color. It may have been in vogue to include this type of information in the past, but not anymore. And on a similar note, please try to keep to what’s relevant, i.e. I didn't need to know that you were a camp counselor back in the 90’s or that you were the president of the PTA eight years ago. It just didn't help your cause.
Only apply for a position if you meet the stated requirements. Otherwise you are wasting my time and yours. No exceptions. If the job posting for a “Technical Technical Writer” explicitly states “Very strong technical background (i.e. experience and/or degree in programming, engineering, etc.)” then please, I beg you, do not send me your CV if you majored in Cultural Studies and Literature and have absolutely no technical background or experience whatsoever. And certainly, if your stated objective is, “To secure a writing job for a website or to produce leaflets and position papers,” and you highlight your “Good telephone manner” but have no technical experience or education, I can’t help but wonder why you even bothered to send me your CV in the first place!
I could go on and on but I think I’ve made my point already. The purpose of your email/cover letter is to convince me to open your CV. The purpose of your CV is to convince me to call you for an interview. And the purpose of the interview, at least from your perspective, is for you to convince me to offer you a job. In today’s super-competitive job market, your CV and cover letter need to stand out from the crowd and should make me want to learn more about you.
Remember: Your dream job is out there somewhere, but it won’t sit around and wait for you. You better go out and get it before someone else does!
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Miriam Lottner, CEO of Tech-Tav, is a “single sorceress” and technical documentation innovator whose professional passion is helping her
Wow spontaneous response,
Karen,
I agreed with every single comment Miriam made, except the job requirements one. If you don't meet the stated job requirements, but think you have approximately what is needed, apply anyway, and indicate in your cover letter and your CV why you are a desirable candidate.
There are very few entry level positions out there. Does this mean that entry level TWS should sit at home, and wait for that rare job to be posted for them? No! they should be actively searching for work and applying for every job they think they have a remote shot of getting, while making it very clear in the CV, cover letter and interview (if they are lucky), why they, and not the experienced veteran TWs, are the ideal candidates.
Someone once told me that I am the candidate with the least amount of experience. I responded that this makes me the candidate with the most motivation to prove myself. When applying for a job, you need to use every means at your disposal to sell yourself, and to turn every disadvantage into an advantage.
Don't wait for the job you need to come to you, go out and find it, and show that you deserve it. That is my advice.
Do HR people who receive dozens of CVs really take the time to visit the social media profiles of candidates they are interested in?
Yehoshua -
As the person at Tech-Tav who wrote the ad, posted it to Techshoret, and reviewed the CVs, I can tell you that we specifically did not want to quantify the amount of technical experience that the candidate needed to have, for exactly the reasons you mentioned. But if an ad says "technical background" and nothing at all indicates you have one, then you need to give me something in your cover letter that shows you are qualified. And yes, had you taken to time to write up your VBA experience, that would certainly count even if it was not listed on your CV. As Yoni points out, we just don't have a lot of time to analyze each CV, let alone start calling applicants to try and assess their level of technical competence if they have a degree in Spanish and work experience as a camp counselor with no indication of anything technical on the CV other than a TW course. It just doesn't make for good use of our time. Applicants have to show, either on the CV or in the cover letter, that they've got what we're looking for. Here's a great example: we were looking for a Pharmaceuticals TW a few months back and one of the requirements was "Biology or chemistry background". One applicant sent his standard CV but put the following in the email: "In addition to what is listed in my CV, I was one course shy of a BSc in biology. I read the New England Journal of Medicine regularly for fun. Although I have not worked in biology as a biologist much, I am very familiar with almost everything that goes on inside of a pharmaceutical plant." His CV was referred to the hiring manager.
You are correct in noting "...that any job offered, is a chance to make a living, and if people think they have a shot, they will take it." Agreed. But people need to realize that unless they show - through their cover letter and CV - that they meet the requirements, then they have absolutely no shot.
Regards,
Karen
Once again Miriam hits the nail on the head. As a doc manager, over the years I've seen many CVs, from the good to the bad to the ugly. A CV needs to be worked on constantly and finetuned, especially taking into account how the industry is changing. Candidates should remember that hirers, whether HR or doc managers, are seeing 10s of CVs and don't have a lot of time anyway to analyze each CV. To be successful, you need to make sure your CV is simple and stands out. And, of course don't forget social media profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
When targeting entry level writers, don't be surprised if your applicants make entry level mistakes. That said, I don't think you should not apply to jobs where you do not meet all the requirements. There are many companies out there who do not know what they are looking for exactly when they write the ad. Some companies deliberately overstate the requirements. The applicant may have transferrable experience from another field. And above all, you lose nothing by trying.
Two examples seen this past year:
In this specific case, the "technical" background was left pretty vague. It was not clear how much of a background you were lookng for here. Does a person who majored in computers in high school qualify, even if he/she studied only Pascal, and then went on to learn philosophy in university? What about someone who worked as a programmer/engineer for a few months and then quit? How about working in the sales department of a high tech company, or maybe customer support?
I'll use a personal biographical example (also shameless marketing): Earlier this year, I was contracted to design an Excel chart with many built in Macros. I had no previous experience in using VBA professionaly, and the client was looking to save money. I borrowed some books taught myself VBA to the extent that I needed for creating the chart, and created a chart that did everything it was supposed to do. This is the extent of my programming background. In theory, I could have applied, based on that.
I don't know how I would have redesigned my resume to make that one single job stand out above and beyond everything I have done in my life, but if I were interested in this position I would have tried to sell that despite being an English Lit. Major.
In this case I don't think being specific would have been helpful, but you need to be aware that any job offered, is a chance to make a living, and if people think they have a shot, they will take it. You were not that specific, and it was a great opportunity, don't be surprised that the wrong people made the attempt.
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