
How to Explain Gaps in Employment (Resume & Cover Letter)
An employment gap is a period of time (months of years) when a job seeker didn't have a job. While out of work, employees use their time to have children, travel or go to school full time.
You speak geek, and you translate it to mortals with finesse and clarity. Now you need to translate your skills to employers. Do it with this sample technical writer resume.
Smartphones, tablets, software, and even kitchen appliances—how they work is as clear to you as the sky on a hot summer day. And you can easily translate the technical mumbo-jumbo into easy-to-follow lines. And, with the current pace of technological development, your skills are in high demand.
But there’s one catch—you need a great technical writer resume to grab recruiters’ attention. Since you’re great at writing precise instructions, you’re also good at following them.
This guide will show you:
Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.
Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume examples here.
Not technically looking for a technical writing resume? See our guides:
Jennifer Ocampo, Technical Writer
jennifer.q.ocampo@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/jenniferqocampo
601-303-7166
Professional Summary
Strong technical writer with 3+ years of experience writing end-user documentation for high-end consumer electronics. Seeking to grow brand loyalty and customer satisfaction at LG. At Ampere Communications, wrote 60% of the technical manuals for 15 flagship products. Received company “Standout Employee” award for contribution including an estimated 25% customer satisfaction boost.
Work Experience
Technical Writer
Ampere Communications
Feb 2017–June 2019
Freelance Technical Writer
Jan 2016–Jan 2017
Clients
Education
Bowdoin College
2011–2015
BS in Writing
Portfolio
Skills
Activities
Here’s how to write a technical writer resume that gets jobs:
Technical writers use written words to explain complex topics in a simple way. Technical writers often write repair manuals, end-user documentation for consumer products and electronics, and medical studies. Technical writer resumes must show strong communication skills as well as deep technical savvy.
Warning:
They’ll judge your technical writing skills from the writing in your resume!
So—
Use the best layout for a resume for technical writing jobs.
That’s the chronological resume layout. This standard resume format lists your freshest tech writer achievements near the top.
Why does that matter?
Because that’s where most hiring teams look before moving on.
Pro Tip: Send a resume format for job PDF as long as the posting doesn’t tell you not to. PDFs look cleaner than MS Word resumes on various machines.
Technical writers do one thing well:
Summarize.
So, do it in your technical writer resume.
Start with a professional resume profile. That’s an elevator speech. We also call it a resume summary.
Write yours with:
Wondering how to write a resume with no experience?
Ditch the summary and write a good objective for your resume.
That’s the same, but with transferable skills from other jobs.
Examples: you worked in engineering or wrote marketing content.
Pro Tip: How long should resumes be for technical writers? The rule of thumb is a single page. The hiring manager isn’t likely to read even that much.
“This is the one.”
Want the hiring team to say that about you?
They won’t unless you fit the job exactly.
Knowing how to describe work experience on a resume means tailoring a resume to a job description:
Pro Tip: Write with resume action verbs like wrote, worked, received, trained, and commended. Don’t just say, “responsible for” or “handled” because that doesn’t prove you helped.
You can build your resume education section one of two ways in a technical writer resume.
Way #1:
State your school name, dates, and name of degree.
Way #2:
Use way #1 plus academic achievements that show technical writer qualifications.
Example: They need someone versed in engineering and you took 30 engineering credits.
Which method do you think the hiring team will respect more?
Pro Tip: You don’t need to be an engineer to be a technical writer. You just need to be able to talk their language, then translate it so everyday mortals can get the gist.
Here are some skills to put on a resume for technical writer jobs.
Use this list of skills in your technical writer resume.
First, add technical skills to list on resumes for tech writers:
But don’t forget the soft skills:
Pro Tip: Never ever use all the hard skills for a resume from the list above. Let the job ad guide you toward the skills that work the best for this job.
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.
When you’re done, our easy resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.
You’re not a machine.
Can you believe you have to prove it?
Employers want to know you’re versatile.
Show them with added technical writer resume sections.
For instance:
Pro Tip: Not sure how to put languages on a resume for technical writers? If your SMEs are ESL, say it big and loud, in your skills list and in your bullet points.
Should I include a cover letter with my tech writer resume?
Yes.
It’s true that more than half of employers don’t read them.
But then, more than half of customers won’t read your manuals.
Write them for the other half.
Follow these cover letter writing tips:
Don’t skip the follow up email for a job application. You can simply say, “I’m following up on my application for the technical writer position.” But it helps to add a memorable detail from your resume.
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
That’s it!
That’s how to write a technical writer resume.
What’s your favorite part about being a technical writer? Does your resume for technical writer jobs really show you at your best? If not, what’s missing? Give us a shout in the comments. We’d love to talk!
This article has been reviewed by our editorial team to make sure it follows Zety's editorial guidelines. We’re committed to sharing our expertise and giving you trustworthy career advice tailored to your needs. High-quality content is what brings over 40 million readers to our site every year. But we don't stop there. Our team conducts original research to understand the job market better, and we pride ourselves on being quoted by top universities and prime media outlets from around the world.
An employment gap is a period of time (months of years) when a job seeker didn't have a job. While out of work, employees use their time to have children, travel or go to school full time.
Want to send a cover letter along with your resume? You've got two options: email your cover letter as an attachment, or write an email cover letter. We'll show you how to do both.
Check out the best blank resume templates with free download. Just pick a blank resume form & fill it in with your information. A fillable blank resume template can save you time.