As you develop your resume, keep in mind that its purpose is not to get you hired. Its purpose is to get you face-to-face with the person who's doing the hiring. The most important thing your resume can do is make the prospective employer want to meet you.
Keep in mind the following 12 steps when creating your technical writing resume:
1. Determine Your Objective
- Prior to writing the resume: clearly state what sort of a job you want know what kinds of skills and experiences are needed structure the content of your resume around that objective Example of a good objective: Contribute my technical writing skills to create user focused instruction manuals detailing software processes.
2. Be Clear and Concise
- The sole purpose of a resume is to have a potential employer contact you for an interview.
- It's a marketing tool to get you in front of your potential boss where you can do the sales pitch and close the deal.
- Put yourself in the shoes of the resume reader when considering the job qualifications needed for the position.
3. Use Bullet Points
- In the body, use bullet points with short sentences rather than lengthy paragraphs.
- Key phrases that stand alone and bulleted will help the reader see the important information at a glance.
- You can go into the details during the interview. Example:
Weak: Developed a communications process guide which consisted of 255 pages, eight case studies, 25 best practices, 36 charts and diagrams, 14 interviews, 20 communication mistakes to avoid and this manual was used by the hospital doctors and nurses to communicate with their patients.
Strong: Developed a communications process guide which was used by the hospital doctors and nurses to communicate with their patients. This 255 page guide included:
- 8 case studies
- 25 best practices
- 36 charts and diagrams
- 14 interviews
- 20 communication mistakes to avoid
4. Use the Right Words
- Computers are often used to pick the resumes to be looked at by looking for keywords that have been picked by the hiring manager.
- These are key words that relate to the position.
- If your resume is scanned, the computer will pick up on these words.
- Use action verbs to describe what you've done.
- Words like prepared, managed, developed, monitored, and presented make your statements stronger.
5. Include Specific Figures
- Percentages, dollar totals, and numbers stand out in the body of a resume.
- Example: Weak: Created a technical manual for the VH5 Valve. Strong: Created an 87 page technical manual for the VH5 Valve.
6. Highlight Your Strengths
- What is most relevant to the potential employer?
- Determine which bullets most strongly support your job search objective.
- Put the strong and most relevant points first where they are more apt to be read.
- Focus on your achievements and contributions to the business development and success of your past employer.
7. Match the Needs of the Hiring Company
- Review job postings for positions that interest you.
- Listings almost always have a brief blurb about the company and the position available.
- Read the job description closely, use the key words listed in the ads, and match them to the bullet points in your resume.
8. Be Positive
- Don't include negative and irrelevant information.
- Leave out anything that might cause an unfavorable reaction.
- Leave off your graduation date if it could subject you to age discrimination.
- Leave off duties in your current job that don't support your job search objective.
- Leave off irrelevant personal information like your race, weight, height, religion, hobbies, music and food preferences, and political leanings unless they are vital to securing the position.
9. Make It Look Good
- Print the resume on good quality, white paper using black ink.
- Leave wide margins. The font size should be no smaller than 10 points.
- Don't pack the page with print.
- If necessary, use a second page.
- If you have a hard time filling the page with text, increase your line spacing to compensate and increase the white space.
10. Limit the Length
- The length of your resume should be no more than 2 pages.
- Two plus pages is usually more appropriate if you're after an upper management position.
- Generally, employers prefer a one page job resume, but they will read two if the resume is organized and focused and conveys a unique and interesting message of capability.
- Anything after the second page should be an addendum that supports the content of the first two pages.
11. Get Outside Opinions
- Always have two or more people review your resume. Get feedback that relates to: how others view your marketing materials are they impressed by the resume: content and format content that isn't clear content that isn't necessary missing content
12. Pay a Professional to Proofread
- No one can read her own writing and find all the spelling, grammar, or typing errors.
- It isn't worth any amount of money to lose the chance at a job due to a misspelled word.
- If you can't afford to get your resume proofread, have at least two (preferably three) other people whom you trust read it. It only takes one typo to turn a reader off.
