The topic of finding work as a technical writer came up on a mailing list I subscribe to recently, and I want to share some advice here. I have been a job seeker in this market many times, and I was also involved in recruitment for a while some years ago, so I have literally been on both sides of the desk in the recruitment process.

As a result, I have seen dozens of CVs (resumés) from technical writers and my first piece of advice is to make sure that your CV is as near to flawless as you can make it. Not only does it need to be relevant to the job you are applying for, it needs to look good as well. I know some recruiters and agencies use keyword searches to screen candidate CVs and don’t actually read most of them, but if you are lucky enough to get your CV in front of a hiring manager you want your piece of paper to stand out. Don’t be scared to use white space to create a clean, uncluttered layout. It can make a difference. If nothing else, it shows you’re a professional. Read more