Technical Writer Jobs

A technical writer who used to work for me called the other day to ask for advice. She was recently laid off and is looking technical writer jobs all over the country. She asked if I would give her a recommendation and I was happy to. She also asked for interview advice since she was going in for a first interview in years the next day.

What I told her shocked her a little and made her a little defensive, but she eventually came around and called later to say she did well in the interview and thank me. I’ll get to what I told her in just a minute, but there is something you should know about technical writers. We have sort of a reputation for being… well, odd. Not geeky, that’s OK, but… strange. This used to come up in conversations all the time when I would go to STC events and talk to other managers. We would compare notes about who had worked with the strangest writers.

So what was my advice to her? It was simply – Don’t be odd in the interview. Being odd or strange in the interview was the very first thing I looked for when screening candidates. I knew I was going to have to work closely with this person for years and I’d much rather have someone with just OK skills that was easy to get along with than the technical writer rockstar who always seemed to have knives and pictures of knives around.

My friend who asked for advice was well known for going on and on about her cats. And she had a very, very strange sense of humor that would pop up at the worst times. I told her both of those things and she was a little mad and defensive but I calmed her down. I told her that once she gets hired, she can be herself, but keep the other stuff under wraps in the interview. Smile, be personable, show you know what you are talking about without bragging, don’t be odd, and you are 90% there.

The Thing No One Ever Tells You

I can’t stress this enough, and no one ever talks about it, but the number one thing that will get you checked off the list in an interview is being creepy, odd, and inappropriate. Look at it this way, you wouldn’t be there if your resume didn’t fit the job. So if you got the interview then you have the right skills. In most cases, what the hiring manager wants to do is verify that you know your stuff, then get a feel for how you would fit in the group.

The “brittle technical writer” in Dilbert was there for a reason. We have that reputation. So in the interview, show you know the job, be bright and personable, but don’t get too familiar. Don’t crack jokes, don’t talk much about your hobbies and interests. Technical writer jobs are hard to come by these days, so don’t mess up the interview by showing too much personality. There is plenty of time for all of that AFTER you get the job!