Technical Writer Resume Examples, Keywords, and Skills

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Explore our complete resume examples selection for tips and resources tailored to every career path.

What to highlight in a technical writer resume

Becoming a technical writer requires attention to detail and strong writing skills. As you begin applying for technical writer jobs, you will notice specific skills common in technical writing job
descriptions. These include the following:

• Technical communication
• Experience with copywriting
• Quick learner with attention to detail, finding subject matter experts
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject field
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office, Excel and Visio
• Proven ability for proofreading large sections of text
• Time and project management when handling many projects at the same time
• High-quality written EnglishUse these resume examples and tips to craft a technical writer resume that gets you the job you want.

Structure of a technical writer resume

Before you commence writing your resume, you must find the correct resume format that best represents your top strengths, whether it’s your skills or your work history:

Functional resume

Focus on the specific technical writing skills needed for a technical writing resume. If you choose this resume, your work experience section will be more brief, which means it works best for job seekers who lack work history or are seeking an entry-level position.

Chronological resume

This resume structure focuses on your work history, starting with your most recent and relevant position. This is a popular resume format, as it lets your years of experience to do the talking.

Combination resume

This resume gives equal focus to your technical writing skills and work experience, creating a resume that includes all aspects of your experiences as a technical writer and skills you have
learned along the way.

For a technical writer, you will most likely want to talk extensively about your experiences with writing and
the education that got you to the point that you’re at. As a result, you will find that our technical writer resume
samples mainly consist of chronological and combination formats, but you can choose whichever format you prefer.

Regardless of structure, all resumes need to cover basic information. This includes:

• Contact information
• Summary
• Skills
• Work experience
• Education

Resume header

Any perfect resume starts with a header section to quickly introduce yourself to the
hiring manager reading your resume. Include these details:

• Your full name
• Location (city and state)
• Phone number
• Email address

It is also good to include any professional portfolio links within your contact details. In an industry such as
technical writing, you will most likely have a portfolio or links to previous publications you have worked for
within your professional social media links, like your LinkedIn profile.

Resume summary

A resume summary is a brief section situated at the top of your resume that provides an overview of your experience and knowledge in your field within a few sentences. A good summary calls out your top
strengths, and draws in hiring managers. You can check out our guide to creating an effective resume summary for more writing tips on making your summary as engaging as possible.

Resume skills

A bulleted list of skills is essential for a technical writer position. Many hiring managers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to scan resumes, and bulleted lists are easier to pick up by these
systems. Use skills that apply to you from the job description, and you’ll stand a higher chance of getting a
passing grade from an ATS scan. Some important skills for technical writing include:

• Soft skills including communication (refers to written and verbal) and attention to detail
• Experience with engineering and graphic design using photoshop, adobe and InDesign to create visual content.
• Ability to multitask
• Understanding of IT or computer science
• Experience in creating technical documentation

Work history

It is vital to include your work history in any professional
resume, especially in technical writing. Many technical writer job descriptions have requirements for at
least a certain number of years of experience, so make sure to highlight specific responsibilities and achievements
from past work experience that apply to technical writing. Remember that even if your most recent position is in a
different industry, transferable skills are essential, and you should include them within your resume.

Education

Many technical writer jobs prefer a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as English, journalism or communications. Be sure to include any relevant certifications you may have as well (e.g., a
certification in technical writing). Keep this section brief and to the point, listing your education credential, the institution you earned it from, and any related coursework or studies. You can use a cover letter to speak more about your education experience if you need to.

Do's and don'ts for a technical writer resume

Do:

• Use our resume templates to ensure your layout is professional and well structured.
• When listing your work experience, use a reverse-chronological approach, with your most recent position at
  the top of your resume.
• Use bullet points when covering skills to ensure ATS systems can pick up all your relevant attributes.

Don’t:

• Write long sentences and paragraphs that are hard for ATS systems to read. Instead, make sentences brief and
  use bullet points when you can.
• Include irrelevant information (for example, work experience from over ten years ago).
• Include personal facts about yourself that don’t apply to the job, such as hobbies.

Still have questions? Have a look at our complete guide on how to do a resume!