Comments on: How to Get a Job in Technical Writing — A 7-Step Guide for Students

By: Tom Johnson’s blog |

Tom Johnson’s blog | — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 07:01:31 +0000

[...] learning an incredible amount reading, listening and watching his videos. In fact, I printed out one of his posts where he lists seven steps to getting hired as a tech writer. He also has a podcast version of this [...]

By: Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:00:17 +0000

Relocation is tough. About 3.5 years ago I relocated from Florida to Utah. Here’s how I did it. My in-laws live in Utah, so I came out here for 2 weeks on vacation. During my vacation, I interviewed with a handful of companies. Then I returned to Florida. Later one of the Utah companies offered me a job. I don’t think they would have considered me had I not been able to interview in person on-site. On the other hand, there’s no way I would have simply packed up, sold my house, and moved my family across the country without good prospects of another job in the location I was moving to.

By: Marc Bordon - Job Placement Consultant

Marc Bordon - Job Placement Consultant — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:27:20 +0000

I hope you’ll write more on this subject. The biggest problem I have with people looking for a suitable job placement is that many of them are not willing to relocate or at least not in a given time frame. I’d be interested to know your thoughts on this.

By: What is a Technical Writing Contractor? | PoeWar

What is a Technical Writing Contractor? | PoeWar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:21:45 +0000

[...] How to Get a Job in Technical Writing — A 7-Step Guide for Students [...]

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:54:07 +0000

How do you show that you are interested in learning about everything? Did I say “everything”? I think you can demonstrate passion and interest for a topic if you write consistently about it. This demonstrates a curiosity and enthusiasm for learning itself.

By: Sharla

Sharla — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:58:12 +0000

Thank you for all of the helpful information. I’m a student who will be graduating next year, and I worry about not being able to get a job. I want to build my portfolio now to have something to show my future employers. I’ve started a blog, but I don’t update it as much as I should. That is something I need to work on.

I appreciate the discussion of talking about politics on blogs. I am also wary of getting too political or engaging in many political topics because I wonder if that will scare away future employers who do not share my views. It would be nice to think that they would appreciate my willingness to have a discussion and share my opinion on my blog, and some may. However, as divisive as politics can be, I think it could be a deterrent.

Thanks again,

By: daniel

daniel — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:27:28 +0000

If you’re a college student looking to become a technical writer after you graduate, you face a formidable challenge: you can’t get a job without experience, and you can’t get experience without a job.

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:43:17 +0000

I tweaked the post a little bit, based on the feedback. I changed #1 from “Get a Degree in Technical Writing” to “Learn the Basics of Technical Writing.” I made this change because most undergrad institutions don’t offer degrees in technical writing, so there was some confusion as to whether I meant get a graduate degree in technical writing. Although a degree is always useful, I am not recommending graduate degrees as a means of getting a job.

Second, someone else pointed out that sometimes domain knowledge is more important than learning technical writing skills. This is certainly true. If you know a lot about engineering, you’re more likely to land a job that involves engineering writing than someone who doesn’t have this knowledge background. Of course this narrows the scope of your tech writing job picks considerably, but it also makes you a much stronger candidate.

So I softened the position to simply recommend that students learn the basics of tech comm. There are a variety of ways to do this, but it’s essential that people do have some grounding in how to do technical writing, because without it, the portfolio they need to create won’t have a strong impact.

I also added a link about where the best jobs in tech are thanks to an article that Mike Hughes pointed out to me.

Thanks for all your feedback on this post.

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:16:23 +0000

Haitham, you point out an interesting problem. A technical writing notebook that you make entries in at work is usually acceptable. A technical writing notebook that you make entries in and which you also publish online as a blog is usually forbidden, usually because when people think of “blogging on company time,” they assume you’re writing about your kids or posting videos of your cat. It’s a stereotype that I’m afraid won’t go quickly away. I know I try not to blog during company hours, but I may jot down a few thoughts for a post if the insight comes.

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:13:56 +0000

Robert, you bring up some excellent points. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I agree with most of what you say. The challenge of keeping a blog updated can be strenuous and burdensome. An infrequently updated blog does look bad. Also, I agree that too many posts makes people raise questions about your life, as if you’re sitting around all day blogging. And you’re right that the good posts you write are so easily buried that they become invisible to employers who may only read your latest posts superficially. All excellent additions to the conversation. Despite all the drawbacks, a good blog, done right, can be a tremendous asset in a job search, as you know. It’s a topic that has a lot of different elements to it. Thanks for commenting.