Substandard wages for senior technical writers

This week’s question comes from Mary in New York:

I am a loyal reader of your blog and have gained more from it than all the seminars and continuing ed courses I’ve taken–which cost me a good chunk of my salary.

Recently, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend which I hope you might consider blogging about. I’m an experienced technical writer currently looking for work, and I’ve been contacted by several recruiters. However, the hourly rate the recruiters want to pay me is far below my expectations for senior technical writing positions.

These recruiters want to pay $28/hr for senior technical writing positions. Many of these positions require advanced knowledge of content management systems, experience with many complex technologies such as XML, XSLT, XSL-FO, and more. I invested close to $10,000 over the past 2 years learning DITA and other XML vocabularies. In my life I have invested close to quarter of a million dollars (counting college, graduate school, conferences, and adult education) to get the necessary knowledge and training for these positions.

The salaries I’m being offered are on par with what I pay non-English speaking cleaning persons (I pay 2 sisters, each $25/hr for several hours of work each week). Clearly the recruiter is taking more than half for him or herself. (BTW: When I say recruiter, I also mean companies that represent the “contractor.” These companies hire the “Contractor,” offer no benefits and pay a sub-standard wage, while they collect twice that from the company.)

A recruiter called me today and offered me the sub-standard wage of $22.00/hr for a job that listed the above requirements AND was located in New York City! Six months ago, the wage that recruiters seemed to agree on was $35/hr. Now it is mid-twenties. Why is this happening?

Is it happening because there are writers out there who agree to those wages? Aren’t they doing the rest of us a disservice by doing so? The more recruiters are able to get writers willing to work for such wages, the greedier they get and the lower the salaries go … sometimes by 2 dollars here and 2 dollars there, but in five months it adds up. $35/hr becomes $25/hr … and now this is the first recruiter who has called me with the insulting offer of $22/hr.

I love my work as a technical writer, but I am beginning to see that I would be better off working as a cleaning person. I wouldn’t need to update my skills every 4 months, and I would get paid around the same.

My overall question is this: Do writers who work for sub-standard wages hurt the tech comm industry? If so, what can we do about it? Thanks for any insights you can provide.

I opened this question up to the professional technical writing community for responses. Some responded in a Google doc and others responded in the comments below this post.

In general, the trend among the answers is that writing is becoming a commodity that can be offshored or outsourced for low wages. Technical writers need to expand their skillsets to go beyond writing to add more value to their company. They need to be problem solvers, analytical thinkers, contributing more than just words, but also contributing to social media, user interfaces, content strategy, business analysis, elearning, information architecture, project planning, and more.

Kristi Leach points out that writing alone isn’t valued because so many feel that “no one reads the manual anyway.” As technical communicators go beyond writing and provide more value to the company, their jobs will become more secure and their salaries higher.

Other responses mentioned more contributing factors to the trend of sub-standard wages — the down economy, the principle of supply and demand, the acceptance of  ”good enough” standards.

The trend is cyclical. Sub-standard wages attract inexperienced or desperate technical writers. The deliverables they produce may reflect their inexperience or may be the product of bad working conditions that don’t allow for high quality information products. The result is a general perception that manuals, online help, and other technical writing deliverables aren’t worth much. As a result, employers continue to offer low wages for the work, even to experienced technical writers. Low wages will in turn drive experienced technical writers into other fields, such as interaction design or usability. Those who are left (the outsourced, offshored, inexperienced group of technical writers) continue to reinforce the employers’ misperceptions, and soon it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy moving the field as a whole downward.

This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it explains the growing discontent with the title “technical writer” and the reason more professionals move to other titles such as technical communicator, information developer, information designer, content strategist, and others.

Here are the responses. Thanks to everyone who participated.

_______________________________

There was a similar thing going on in 2002 when I was last going through contracting firms and recruiters. I got quoted salaries of $12.50/hr in this area, which I thought was tremendously insulting (and unlivable). The reality is that there are a number of things that are probably contributing to the situation today: the economy, a glut of displaced technical writers (as writing positions are moved to China and India), and businesses trying to keep their costs down and still provide U.S. workers an opportunity. Those employers tend to offer less to the contracting firms and the firms offer less to the candidates so they can keep their margin. By farming the search out to contracting firms, the businesses get the side benefit of not having to deal with the HR issues (and a smaller HR staff) thereby keeping costs down even more.

Unless the company with the requirement actually wants to take the cost of filling the temporary position, I doubt you’ll see much change. The hiring company may be offering what they think is a reasonable salary, but the contracting company has to take their margin from that offer, thus resulting in what you’re seeing. (Remember, this is all my opinion and I don’t represent any contracting firm by my statements.)

Julio J. Vazquez
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I’m afraid that technical writing, as distinct from other forms of technical communication, is fast becoming a commodity. Companies can find writers who are willing to work for low wages and produce work that’s “good enough.” Increasingly, as Julio mentioned, these writers are offshore.

To continue earning a living wage, today’s technical writers need to diversify their skills. We have to market themselves as specialized editors, information architects, content strategists, and the like.

Over the long term, I hope that the people in our profession can educate employers about the bottom-line value of good technical writing. Too many companies settle for “good enough” because no one has shown them that excellent technical writing produces measurable benefits in customer satisfaction, liability avoidance, and so forth.  We have a long way to go in this area, but it’s a big point of emphasis for STC.

Larry Kunz
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Yes, in recent years we have seen this trend developing. With the advent of collaboration platforms such as oDesk and the like, we are seeing the rate paid to technical writers becoming lower and lower not only on the per-hour basis, but also as a trend towards forcing riders to perform on flimsy per-contract bases also. I am hoping in time to see that we cannot put up with this any further, and that some kind of realistic balance may be later achieved.

[By the way, I wrote this in about 10 seconds with some voice recognition software.]

John Melendez
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Sadly, I think this is a result of the bad economy. My husband, an aircraft mechanic responsible for keeping huge jets carrying hundreds of passengers in the air, has been forced into so many concessions, he grumbles that garbage men earn more for tossing Hefty bags into the back of a truck.

(Brief aside to sanitation workers who find my comment insulting: When you compare the knowledge and experience required to haul trash versus maintain the complex systems of a commercial jetliner, is it not reasonable to expect a higher salary for the latter? Failure at only one of these jobs can result in death.)

For many unemployed professionals, a job at any salary is better than no job, so I think the supply/demand principle is a big part of this trend. But I also believe another mitigating factor is the continued insistence that anybody can write. I face it every day. Because of that belief, employers are expecting basic writing ability in all job candidates and are getting it. That perpetuates the myth that anyone can do our jobs. I work with a writer who, after a year of unemployment, accepted a ridiculously low salary that he is now stuck with, and yet after a year of unemployment, I am sure I’d have done the same.

We need to campaign more effectively for the bigger picture, as Mary describes it… DITA, XML, the task analyses we perform, the ability to make the complex not only simple to understand but easy to apply. We design a variety of help systems, and influence interface design decisions. Many call us ‘generalists’, but I believe we are specialists in many related areas and THAT’S what commands higher pay.

Patty Blount
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All of this speaks to a simple truth for myself: it’s why I no longer consider myself a technical writer. Here in North Carolina tech writing has taken a real backseat to disciplines like UX and IXD. The demand and the pay for these other disciplines is better, and what you do is more obviously impacting the bottom line. Yes, it requires retraining and retooling (although tech writing formed part of a natural foundation, and the skills remain useful) but it pays to follow the money trail.

I would also add that “Campaigning” for the importance of tech writing is a position of pure weakness (given it is an established profession, not nascent). If that’s what tech writers in general are faced with — and apparently it is given that I first heard people talking about it almost a decade ago — I recommend doing something else. I did, am and thankful for it.

Gary Franceschini
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Here in the Silicon Valley, the same problem is happening. What really bothers me is the “cut” that most contract agencies extract for putting together employer and contractor. I call them Pimps, because they provide a service, but they command a much larger percentage of the “take” than their efforts warrant. After being laid off from Cisco in 2003, I worked as a contractor for a year or so, hoping to be hired back. There were only three contract agencies that had been approved to do business with Cisco, so if you wanted to play, you had to pay. They regularly billed Cisco for $100 an hour and kept half! One agency I worked with also made you work for a month, then billed them, and then, only after they got paid (usually 6-8 weeks after start date), they would pay you.

They also regularly ignored the California state laws about what constitutes a contract worker and what constitutes a temp worker. The agency that had been audited (and caught) paid the fines and followed the rules to “hire” us as temp workers, but they paid us even less (“more overhead,” they said) and we were not allowed to work overtime, so if we needed to work extra hours, it was “off the books.” Cisco eventually lost a class-action lawsuit regarding tech writers, so now I believe they are considered hourly workers, which is a drop in status.

Where I now work is a smaller company. When I started contracting for them as an individual, they asked me to join MBO Partners (http://www.mbopartners.com/), a GREAT website for consultants and contractors, and in exchange for providing billing services and timecard, insurance, a web presence, and other things, they billed an extra $3 an hour to my invoices. Employer loved not having to overpay, I loved getting my full $60 an hour, and they got a fair amount. I urge all of you to check out MBO Services and try to work through them. It is free to sign up. Eventually I was hired by the last company, and I am one of the lucky ones to have full pay and benefits. Good luck to you all.

Sandy P.
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I am in my second tech writing gig and have only seen my pay increase, although I also moved to an area with a higher standard of living and increased cost to commute. I also lost any guaranteed benefits and have reduced time off. But I am happy with the pay increase (almost as happy as being able to voluntarily leave one job and quickly get another in a different state with a larger company), and I like the flexibility of choosing my own benefits.
_______________________________

This is a classic supply and demand problem. Lots of unemployed writers = lower wage offers. Also, I wouldn’t be so quick to blame the recruiters. I would assume that the employers are also exerting downward pressure on the rates they’re willing to pay. That is, the employer who used to pay $50/hour now wants to pay $40/hour.

The solution to this problem is to have a compelling set of skills that employers are willing to pay a premium for.

Blaming the unemployed writers is a bit harsh. $22/hour is a lot more than you might get from unemployment insurance (assuming it hasn’t run out) and it’s probably enough for shelter and food. If you’re close to losing your house, you don’t have the luxury of turning up your nose at low-ball offers.

Finally, “sub-standard” is in the eye of the beholder. I think we’re in the midst of a painful reset of salary expectation for technical writers. There are a variety of factors at work here, including high unemployment, competition from lower-cost locales, and low expectations for the work product. (That is, you may produce much better content than the $22/hour writer, but if the employer thinks that the less expensive person produces work that’s “good enough,” then your increased quality is irrelevant.)

Sarah O’Keefe, scriptorium.com
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I agree with Sarah’s comments. A lot of it is to do with the value the employers perceive they are getting. If they don’t see the value, then they won’t pay. In the past, companies were paying for domain knowledge or specialist technical skills (in Windows Help, for example) in addition to writing skills. A lot of technical writing these days is in Word and in HTML, which are not as mysterious as say HDK or FrameMaker. So the profession has to demonstrate value, accept it offers less value than it thought it did, and/or become mysterious again.

People are motivated greatly by a fear of loss. So if someone offers you a job at a low rate, there’s a fear of losing that opportunity and that another one won’t come along. However, that fear of loss works both ways. If you can demonstrate you can offer something to an organisation (at your price), then they may be motivated by a fear of losing that value. That may mean not waiting for offers from a recruitment agency, but GOYA (getting off your …) to network and prospect. Harder done than said, I know. Of course, they will be motivated by having a problem or pain they want to solve, and that there’s hope that it can be solved.

There is some hope for the future. Finally, with Web-based content, we can measure how many readers we have, if they found it useful, if there is a correlation between how much User Assistance there is and how many Support calls, and so on.

Ellis Pratt, cherryleaf.com
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The cheese was moved some time ago.

I’d be happy to talk with anyone who is interested in figuring out their future (nope, I am not a coach, professional therapist, or other such thing). I have reinvented myself a number of times. Most recently, I started a small company based upon my interest in family history and genealogy.

I believe the future of technical communication is in the blogosphere and other social media outlets. Employers don’t see us as having the skills for that and know that they can hire people coming out of college for $12.00 an hour to blog like crazy, whether the content is good, bad, or indifferent. If anyone would like to work on this as a business model for tech pubs, let me know, because there is a great white paper in the topic.

We, technical communicators, can’t possibly control what employers will and won’t do, but we can control what we do. I believe that we have lots of great skills and talents to offer, but it will have to be in other fields doing other types of communication work. Making the choice to move on is the hard part.

Jon Baker
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I wanted to make just one comment. I do not believe, honestly, that training in XML and DITA costs around $10,000. I first heard about DITA in 2004. By the end of 2006, I was leading a documentation conversion project for my company, and by the end of 2008, that project has been completed. Between 2004 and 2006, I went to a few conferences, and learned by reading basic technical books and information available online. The basic XML class that I took sometime around the year 2000 had cost me about $200. Each of the conferences, even if I were to pay myself (they were paid by the company) had a price tag of about $1000 including all expenses and travel. The books were for $20 or so each. All other information is free and available online. Nowadays, there is even no need to go to these conferences to learn the same technology as it is widely spread and available for free or nearly for free, through seminars and books.

Julia M.
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This is not surprising in the world of commodity writing. However, it’s hardly a trend. I’m interviewing people this morning for several clients who have several tech comm jobs available that pay extremely well, above the annual reported salaries from the STC salary survey. That said, “writing” is not the focus of the jobs, “communication” is, which involves strategy, information architecture, project planning, usability, accessibility, and more. Writing is not a skill that is going to continue to pay high wages. If that is your differentiator, you’re in big trouble.

Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler
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Another source of this problem is that anybody can set themselves up as a contract recruiter or agency. When I first started job hunting in Atlanta in 1990, when the job market divebombed after the invasion in Kuwait, there were a limited number of contract agencies in the area. In the next 3 years until hiring rebounded in about 1993, I got to know at least one recruiter at most of the agencies that even occasionally  hired technical writers and editors. Since then, most of the local agencies have become part of national organizations, but they and some of the newer local agencies operate in a professional manner. However, in the last few years, the number of new recruiters (mostly single-person operations) that have popped up, who call and badger me to work for them for around $22/hour have become a major aggravation.

As someone else mentioned, most major employers used to work with a few selected, vetted recruiting firms or contract agencies to obtain contract employees. Government agencies, however have to post their openings publicly, and any agency can submit candidates. I have been most often annoyed by these fly-by-night fast-talking individuals when there were open posted positions at the CDC or the GA DOT or DOL. Many speak English with a horrible accent and talk too fast for me to understand them on the phone.

Recruiters at nation-wide professional contract agencies have told me that the typical agency markup over the contract hourly rate is 20-35%, and they wish to maintain good relationships with both their clients and contract employees. Those who are trying to grab 50-75% and offer the writers insulting rates are in it for the money, and because they think they can get away with it.

Techquestioner
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I don’t think it’s a position of weakness to know how to articulate the value of your position. We could compare that to the development team or the accounting team, for example, and argue that they don’t seem to need to justify their existence. But don’t they? I see people in many fields who have invested in themselves and bring superior skills to the company having to compete with those who have less skill (and lower wages) or with offshoring.

I do agree that it’s a bit different for tech comm folk, though, mainly for the reasons that Scott Abel mentioned–the hot deliverables like communication strategies and more integrated user assistance are more valued than the help systems and manuals that “no one reads, anyway.” If we can’t connect the dots for management to show that we are the ones that can handle that shift for them, we can get left behind.

I do think that if you are in a market where writers are frantically taking what they can get, it will drag your wages down, and you’ll have to work harder to find the sweet jobs. Can you find new recruiters? Can you find clients directly?

Further, can you help other writers develop better negotiating skills and better prospecting skills? If you’re active in your local STC chapter (or another group), maybe you can organize a panel discussion or present on what works for you. You’ll be investing in the quality of your job market, and accomplishing some networking at the same time.

Kristi Leach
_______________________________

Although current economics have something to do with what you’re seeing, I believe that there will always be a wide range of salaries for the simple fact that if a company searches long enough, they will always find someone who will accept their low paying positions. I once was offered a position with a company for $20,000 LESS than what I wanted. Their HR person even told me that my salary expectation was out of line for the position and that they “hoped I would consider” the amount they were offering because they felt I was, otherwise, a perfect fit for them. (Note: This was during regular economic times.) I declined to accept that horrendous offer knowing full well that the entire company must undervalue technical communicators, otherwise, how could HR say such a thing. Not more than a few weeks later, I found a position that paid exactly what I wanted without even a quibble. Of course, the low-paying position was also filled. As an active STC member, I meet technical communicator all the time; every now and then, I meet the unfortunate people that are employed by that low-paying company. They talk of the stressful work environment, long hours, and lack of respect. Sometimes, even the best of us are subjected to those working conditions, but the difference is that we are better compensated for it. By settling for lower wages, they become part of the problem. They reinforce the company’s lacklustre wages. Instead, we should always stay knowledgeable about current salaries, and if we have access to local salary information, we should go into the interview ready to use it.

(A Calgarian that knows her worth!)
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Fortunately, given how available social media tools are now, you don’t have to depend entirely on recruiters. You have more control over your job search options due to social media like TweetMyJob or the search engine in Twitter. If the job is listed on TweetMyJobs or Twitter, my experience has been that it was usually posted in the last hour or day and provides a link to more information. Given your comments, you might want to use those search engines more and recruiters less.

I agree with those who say that you have to have something extra to get a higher rate.
For example, I am currently helping a large proposal team to respond to a very complex proposal. The rate is far higher than anything I made for technical writing. I found the job on Twitter, went through a recruiter, and held out for a higher rate than they said they could offer…and then did offer the higher rate after I refused the lower rate.

And Tom…great technique surveying other tech writers for their experience as well.

Bruce Curley, poetslife.blogspot.com, poetslife@gmail.com

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Is my resume so awful that no one will hire me? I mean, I’d been laid-off so long it’s pitiful really.

His resume is here.

I opened up this question up to my friends on Twitter and to those who follow my blog. About 40 professional technical writers responded with all kinds of resume advice. The overall trend in the responses is for the writer to add more detail to his resume, to expand on his education, tools, online presence, contribution to the bottom line, samples, and other specifics. They suggested that he fill in gaps with experience, even volunteer projects, that he be more consistent and flawless in his language and grammar, and that he dress up the visual design of his resume. Most of all, they said to never, ever mention poetry.

Thanks for all the feedback. Best of luck Herbert in getting a job. Let us know when you get it!

———————————
I see no impact on the bottom line of the company – he doesn’t talk about how he reduced the support costs by X or improved customer satisfaction by Y or anything that speaks to the business of the company. It’s important to show that you understand the business climate you work in and how what we do impacts that. The world doesn’t need that many shut-up-and-write writers. Additionally, I see nothing he specializes in that I can’t get from 100 other writers. I’m sure he’s got it, I just don’t see it here. [sharon burton]
———————–

It suffers from bulletpoint-itis. From the first sentence onwards, it would be better if it were written as proper English sentences, in active voice: with subject, verb, adjectives even.

[Ellis Pratt]
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“Experienced in writing telecom documentation, survey questions, research reports, and poetry.”

Poetry when mentioned as a hobby = a person who loves writing, would do well in a career in writing.

Poetry when mentioned in a list of work skills = nutter

If you are applying for a job as a technical writer, then emphasise those skills. The other skills are merely “nice to haves”. You want to be seen as an expert who is also flexible, rather than a jack of all trades.

[Ellis Pratt]
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Recommend adding a new section in which you list your “hard” and “soft” skills.

Hard skills are the computer-based tools you know how to use productively.

Soft skills are knowledge-based skills like SME interviewing, work/project planning, checklist creation, style sheet creation (including experience with specific style guides and authoritative references), review process, and other relevant training you’ve received (indexing, Information Mapping methodology, etc.).

Within each item of your resume’s Work Experience section, mention in a concise way how you used your hard and soft skills to accomplish work having measurable benefits to your publications team and larger organization.

[Paul K. Sholar (@BkwdGreenComet on Twitter)]
——————–

“Well versed in copyediting, transcription/editing of interviews, and proofreading, most recently as assistant editor for a business periodical.
Strong technical command of the English language Competent researcher”

Tell us more! Sell the sizzle, not the sausage.

Give us examples.

You don’t say if you are good at writing, getting a project completed on time, how you get on with people in a team, whether you are reliable, imaginative, a leader, a follower, a pain in the backside etc.

[Ellis Pratt]
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Your work experience

Even if you haven’t had the job title “technical writer” or “copywriter” etc, you need to demonstrate you were doing that task, even if it was only occasionally.

In your most recent role,

Junior Statistician – N.C.C.U., Durham, N.C.
Created website for Student Alcohol Use Surveys
Edited, rewrote, and proofread all survey questions.
Worked with various departments to publish results online.

It tells me you wrote surveys. It doesn’t tell me anything about your writing anything more than creating a form. Did you write a report on the results of the survey?

If you don’t have the right experience, then get it: volunteer to write a document for a local charity or get involved in an Open Source project, if you have to. You won’t get paid, but you will acquire the right experience and skills to add to your Resume.

[Ellis Pratt]
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I echo a few of the sentiments so far. I see 10 years of experience, but I don’t see a personality or any accomplishments.  What has Mr. Thornton done other than filling a seat?  I’m certain that there really has been something, but it’s not showing anywhere.  (When I got to the end of the resume, I said “That’s it?”)

There is nothing about this resume that tells me anything about the person except that they worked for 10 years in the industry.  I’d like to see a resume that sells me on the person’s qualifications and accomplishments, something that answers the question “Why do I want to hire you today?”  I would focus on this.

Yours truly,

John Hedtke
john@hedtke.com
http://tradebookauthor.com

I agree with the following poster, btw: I just revamped my resume and I had a lot of help from an outside source.

——————-

As we have a recruitment agency service for technical authors in the UK, we get to see a lot of Resumes. These days, people tend to read Resumes on screen rather than on paper, so I think the old advice of 2 pages and no more, is less relevant. I think you can go to 3, even 4 pages if pushed.

It’s really hard to write your own Resume, and you may need help in getting it written. That doesn’t necessarily mean paying for a Resume writer to write it for you, but you might see if you can look at examples of good Resumes and take ideas from those … and ask someone you trust to help you to write your Resume.

Recruiters are looking for evidence of, in this order:
1. Good writing skills
2. Good time management skills (you can deliver on time)
3. You can fit in with the culture of the business
4. Good domain knowledge
5. Knowledge of particular software tools

This is their checklist, so make sure you cover all of these on your Resume. State you have each one.
[Ellis Pratt]
——————————
This is probably not a Resume of someone who has no skills or experience, it’s more one of someone who is hiding their light under a bushel.
[Ellis Pratt]
——————
//Created website for Student Alcohol Use Surveys//
Where is that website address..? An online reference is always appreciated. Your works will speak for you. I agree with Ellis’ detailed comments.
- [Rengaraman]

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The larger agencies tend to search for candidates using computers – key word search of their database. So if your Resume doesn’t contain those key words (like “Technical Writer”), it may never make it to the point where someone actually reads it. Don’t go mad on key words, though – they can make it hard for a human being to read a Resume.
[Ellis Pratt]
—————

- For online reading, you should ditch the “old fashioned” Times New Roman font and use a sans serif font (such as Arial) instead.
- You should make your email address a hyperlink, so with one click the reader can email you.
- If you have a LinkedIn profile, you should list it. Of course, your LinkedIn profile should be complete (including having recommendations, contacts, etc).
- I’d put the Education section after the Professional Experience, since it is secondary in importance at this stage of your career (not to mention being not so relevant to your focus).
- Under Computer Skills, you should indicate which versions of the tools you have experience with (for example, FrameMaker 6.0 or 9.0).
- Under Professional Experience, you should have hyperlinks to the organizations’ websites.
Also in this section, be consistent with your punctuation. Some lines end with periods, while some do not. Technical writers notice these sort of things!
[Gil Vinokoor > @vinokoor on Twitter]
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Fonts and layout are often a matter of personal taste. They also differ between countries. There’s more than one way to present a Resume. Personally, I prefer Times New Roman (or Georgia) to Arial. We’re not talking about a huge document, and most other Resumes are in a serif font.
[Ellis Pratt]
————

Please excuse my bad English, I’m Swiss:
I’m in a Management Position in Technical Documentation since 10 years, so I saw many CVs and hired a few people. So, here are my thoughts to this CV:

• First thought: Not enough “Meat on the Bone”. Means, there must be more to say after 10 years of work
• In the summary, you are not specialized enough. What I mean is, that you need to rewrite this part for every job you apply for and adapt it to the exact demands of the job. For example, if I look for a Technical Writer, I don’t want to have a Poet! It’s not same kind of writing.
• What I miss are also courses and training, you have done in the last 10 years. If the only education you have is a B.A. and since then nothing more, I would not even invite you to an interview! Technical writers have to learn new stuff all the time.
• Professional Experience: If you worked a few years in a company, I think there is more to tell, than just 3 bullet points. Write it in two, three sentences.
• Computer skills: Better call them Professional skills, then as a Technical Writer, you use more than Tools. Personally I don’t care, what version of a software you know. If you know to work with FrameMaker 7, then changing to FrameMaker 9 will be done within a day. What is more important, is how good you know the tool. Let’s take FrameMaker as an example: You can just be familiar with the unstructured version as a “normal” author or you can be the expert who can write EDDs. This is why this is important to me.
  Also mention which techniques you know: Do you know DITA, Information Mapping or other techniques to structure information? That’s important stuff to know. And the other guy who gets invited to the interview writes all that stuff down.
• Soft skills are missing: Bring them.
• Hobbies: I don’t know how it is in the US, but I like to know a bit more about the person. And telling me about your hobbies will help me to “feel” if you will fit into the team. It also tells me, if this person is likely to have a good life-work-balance.

I hope this helps you.

Pascal Kesselmark
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This is a minor point, but possibly a deal breaker for someone looking for an experienced writer. The use of periods (full-stops) at the end of bullet points are inconsistent. So is the spacing between the listed computer skills. I have no hiring experience myself, but I do know that a lot of managers in India might see this as a lack of attention to detail.

[Anagha Chandratrey]
—————–
I have to agree with some of the other commenters about the lack of impact his work had on the company or the department. Also the idea of hyperlinks in the resume is a good idea, although I find that many hiring managers print resumes off before reading them. And he’ll need to beef up the section on his technical skills.

One piece of advice: think about paying a little money to have a resume coach redo the resume. There’s no shame in admitting that your resume writing skills aren’t great (even if you’re a writer), and the money spent on a coach is well worth it.

Mike Hughes michaelhughesua@gmail.com
————————————————————
I’m going through the process of reading and interviewing right now (sorry, not for a technical writer). I’ve seen a wide variety of resume in the last month.

It seems to me that the resume is distilled to such a high level it feels ethereal. You get no sense of personal history — accomplishments, responsibilities and the like. To me it doesn’t feel like a person. It feels more like I’m looking at a grocery list.

[Fred Hennige]
—————–
Some ideas I just jotted as I reviewed your resume::

• Think about expanding your search. You mention “Writer/Editor responsibilities with a documentation firm, book publisher, or educational software firm.” in your career focus, which is very concrete, but is also very narrow. Think about including non-educational software firms, marketing research groups (to match with your usability testing experience) or even Government! Being more open to other industries will open more doors. Look in unexpected places.
• I would move the authoring tools further up in your resume. Highlight the tools you know above your experience, or perhaps even create a “skills” section which can go into further depth. For example, create a list of your documentation and editing skills. Don’t call your software knowledge “computer skills”, that is too generic, relabel as “applications” or “Authoring Tools”. I also noticed you created a website at your last job. What did you use to create it? Dreamweaver? FrontPage? Make sure you cover even the software you have limited use of. Put the software you know in hierarchical order. Most used/knowledge to least.
• What education have you had since your degree? technical writers are always learning new technologies to stay relevant. List courses, seminars, even online courses you have done. They can be on the job or on your own, it doesn’t matter. It also shows you know how to continuously learn. This is so important for a tech writer as he learns a new software package to document.
• Think about learning some new applications so you can add into your current skillset. Do you have a grasp of Illustrator to create diagrams, or Publisher to create glossy copy? Think about learning smaller tools like SnagIt or other useful mini-apps for technical writers (WinZip? SendIt? Adobe Acrobat?). If the interviewer doesn’t know what it is, it can be a conversation starter, and you can explain how it works, pique their interest. It has worked for me a couple of times!
• This is just a summary, I assume you have a CV that is more in depth to your roles, responsibilities and achievements? However, you may want to think about expanding your experience section on your short resume to explain more of your achievements where you worked. Make them see how valuable you were while you sat in the chair!
• Get rid of the “poetry” in your experience summary.   Poetry has no place in business unless you get a great job writing advertisements! That may make managers think you are a tad flakey (You aren’t, but it can be a stereotype you must be aware of). Put your poetry and other hobbies at the end in an Interests section where you give hints about who you are outside of work. Employers do want to see their employees actively pursue stress-relieving extra curricular interests, and again, these are conversation starters.
• Pizzaz up that resume! You know how to use FrameMaker, so perhaps put in a vertical sidebar with your name, do some really smart formatting to make it stand out from the crowd! Always provide PDF copy of your resume when applying to technical writer jobs, and advise you can also submit in .doc. This shows you know your way around tools. Perhaps think about other formats. Resume on a CD? Resume in a pamphlet form if you are applying for a job creating marketing materials? Remember to have .TXT for submitting to online resume gatherers too.
• Think about what font you use. Online reading should be sans-serif. Printed should be serif. Think Verdana, Arial, or MS Sans Serif for online, and Times New Roman for print.

Best of luck!

Caroline A. Robbins
Technical Writer – Environment Canada – Canadian Ice Services

———————————–
Herbert, you don’t appear to have any kind of online presence (unless “Herbert Thornton” is a pseudonym). Sign up for LinkedIn. Set up a web site for your portfolio. Get on Twitter.

Hiring managers today are going to be searching the web to learn more about you.

(Actually, Caroline’s last bullet point is a common myth among technical writers. Karen Schriver did extensive studies on readability of fonts and found no conclusive evidence of sans serif being more readable online. Note that the New York Times uses serif fonts on its online pages.)

Holly Harkness
Technical Communications Manager

_______________________

Herbert, I agree with previous opinions that your resume should reflect both the tasks that you accomplished and a characterization of the impact to the business of those accomplishments.

Also, as the previous poster mentioned, your networking efforts are particularly important in this climate of high unemployment.  With 5 people searching for every available job out there, you will need connections that can provide introductions or offer job leads to you.  LinkedIn is a great tool for on-line networking.  Hopefully, you already have a LinkedIn account.  Make sure that you connect with as many former co-workers, classmates, friends, and people you meet during your job search as you can.  More connections gives you a broader reach as you used LinkedIn for searches to find contacts inside companies you’re interested in.  Also, more and more recruiters are looking for viable candidates online, particularly through LinkedIn searches.  So, make sure that your summary is strong and contains keywords that match jobs you are looking for.

Get out and network in person, too.  Are you a member of your local STC chapter?  Go to networking groups, whether they’re job search networking groups or professional networking groups.  You never know who you’ll meet, and people who know ‘something’ about you often become your allies.

[Gayle Werner, Technical Writer]
————————————-
You say that you want to be a “Writer/Editor” but I’m looking for how you can help my business: Can you improve the way that I connect with my customers through documentation? Can you help me improve the customer experience — and the bottom line — using existing technologies as well as the new collaborative technologies that are on the horizon?

Right now it looks like you’re an editor and proofreader. I’m sorry, but those are skills that I can purchase very cheaply.

Someone else suggested that you delete “poetry.” I agree. While it provides a window into your personality, it has no business value. You don’t want anything on your resume that’s irrelevant.

Finally, have you participated in any professional societies? Attended conferences or received training in the field? I need to see that you’re serious about learning this profession.

Hope this helps,
Larry Kunz

—————————————
Make the job you want *obvious*. Sure, you have the trendy little “Career Focus” statement — but, and I say this as someone who has hired a lot of people over the past ten years — I don’t even read that fluff (it was the last thing I read, because I couldn’t work out what you wanted from the sections *that count*).

Stop being vague! “…Authored (sic) router software” means what?

Tell me what you can do. “Strong technical command of the English language”. So you can recognize a verb (but can’t write a sentence?) — what does that phrase mean?

And last but not least: “poetry” = trashcan

You’ve got some skills, buddy. So tell me what they are and how they can help me.

Gary Franceschini

—————————————–
Hi Herbert!

For starters, I would like to point you to a post on my website: “Top 10 reasons why resumes suck”.

Basically, your current resume is a list of previous employers, and doesn’t make one single argument about why anyone should give it a second look. In addition, while your resume tells the reader *what* you’ve done in the past, it neither tells them *how* you did it (in other words, you could be making it all up, or taking credit for someone else’s accomplishments) nor does it tell the reader anything about the value you might bring to their business. That’s what should be on the first page, and the employment history and education info can safely go to the second page (since no-one will read it anyway, unless you grab their attention on the first page).

There is a difference between “eligibility” for a job, and “suitability”. The latter is about your interpersonal skills, your ability to work well with a team, and/or unsupervised, how your personality fits with the existing team and with the corporate culture. In other words: the resume has to be more about you, and less about “what you do”. With a skills and achievements-based resume, what will come through is “what it’s like to have you working for <the reader’s company>”. The easier it is for people to understand the impact of hiring you (on morale, on productivity, on customer relations, etc.) the more likely it is you’ll get invited in for an interview.

And — with the other posters — I agree: lose the “poetry” in the listing of the types of writing you can handle.

Best of luck! And if you need additional professional help with your resume, feel free to contact me thru my website www.hamer-associates.ca

Emma C. Hamer, Career and Performance Coach (BC, Canada)

——————————————————————-

Hello, a few suggestions:

– Replace the sections “career focus” and “experience summary” with a stronger statement about what you can offer and what your particular strengths are.

–  Emphasize domain knowledge and strengths of skills. For example:

– What does your telecomm experience entail? Would you say you are an expert?

– How do you feel your research skills can add value for an employer? What makes your research skills stand out, and how can they add value for an employer? Can you think of examples of how your research saved time, clarified something, or improved quality?

– Do a thorough proofread of all content.

– Make punctuation consistent in all bulleted items.

– Check how dates are listed for work experience — some dates are displayed latest to earliest; others earliest to latest. Make these listings consistent.

– Check use of capitalization.

– Under computer skills, note any specific tools that you might have specialized expertise in (for example, creating time-saving macros or alerting colleagues to a valuable but little-used feature in a tool.)

– Remove the reference to poetry…as wonderful as poetry can be, on a resume it will be distractor from the critical information that can help you get hired.

I’m sure it wasn’t easy to post your resume, but I admire your effort to be open to feedback from your colleagues. It’s a tough market out there, so the more you can highlight the strengths that can bring value to potential employers — and the more you can show how your contributions have made a difference — the better. Best wishes to you.

– Lori Meyer

———————————————————————–
Herbert, I was struck by the fact that you’ve got FrameMaker and PageMaker experience, but VISIO is the only graphics program you list. Tech Comm departments who use Adobe products are looking for experience in Illustrator and Photoshop. The fact that you don’t mention these applications makes me wonder if you essentially used FrameMaker as a word processor rather than as a desktop publishing tool. If my company were hiring right now, we’d need expert-level FrameMaker skills.  Your resume doesn’t tell me you’ve got that.

I hope that you’ll consider coming out to some STC Carolina Chapter events to network with other technical communicators in the area.  Here’s a link to our website: http://www.stc-carolina.org/tiki-view_articles.php

Our annual membership drive picnic is in on Thursday, September 16, and we’d love to see you there!
http://www.stc-carolina.org/2010-09-16+Picnic

- Andrea Wenger, VP, STC Carolina Chapter

———————————–
After all the extensive advice, here’s a smaller thing: give your employment dates in a format like “June 2005–June 2008.” I look at “6/05-6/08” and have to think to decipher what it’s saying. Don’t make me think. (Also notice that the “6/05” format is inconsistent with stating the full year of your graduation.)

—Ben Minson
———————-

Remove the ‘poetry’ line! And don’t use ‘/’ as a substitute for ‘or’—that drives me nuts!
–Chris Ninkovich
————————

Good advice generally, especially the bit about hiding your light under a bushel. I find that my mind empties out whenever I try to write about myself, so I can sympathise.

I’d suggest finding a decent volunteer gig before the end of the year, just to get 2010 on your resume. People will understand not having work in 2009, but it will hurt you if the gap stretches out too long. There always online projects looking for help, and I’d also suggest local non-profits – in any case, something you can put all your research, interviewing, and writing skills into.

–Christopher Burd
———————————–
I would remember that while all these suggestions are good for your master resume, you should always, always tailor your resume for each job you apply for. If applying for an editing role, emphasise your editing experience; for a software tech writing role, emphasise your experience in writing in that space.

And try to get in a volunteer job, as suggested above. A HR rep suggested to me once that gaps on resumes could be anything from a gap year (travelling OS) or being in jail. I now have that in the back of my mind everytime I see an unexplained gap in a resume.

[Kirsty Taylor]
———————————–
As a hiring manager, I wouldn’t give this resume a second look. It is so brief that absolutely nothing grabs my interest.

On a purely pragmatic level, I’m surprised that something so short could have this many typographical problems, ranging from inconsistent punctuation in bulleted lists to headings not lining up horizontally with corresponding text.

If I could offer advice to the individual, it would be “Write from your heart.” This applies to resume writing as well as it does to poetry. I’d want to see passion for, commitment to, and pride in what you do. And then, when you’ve conveyed all that, have an editor proofread it. Everyone needs an editor. The best writers know that better than anyone.

[Anne Sandstrom]
———————————–
I think one of the biggest things you could do to improve your resume, aside from ensuring grammatical/mechanical accuracy, would be to revamp its visual design. As a technical writer, you need to demonstrate your document design skills in your resume. Think outside the typical cookie-cutter resume format that you find on every career website and design your resume to catch someone’s attention.

A few specific suggestions:

- Treat your name like the title of the document: it should be the largest thing on the page.
- Treat the sections like level-one headings, the job titles as level-two headings, etc.
- Try just using typography and white space to distinguish the different sections instead of using horizontal lines. That many lines draw the eye across the page unnecessarily and cause readers to sort of hold their breath. White space, on the other hand, gives both the document and the reader a chance to breathe.
- Try breaking away from the traditional three-column format. Not only does it change the look and feel, but it can also improve readability. Example:

Professional Experience
Junior Statistician, N.C.C.U. (June 2005 – June 2008)
Durham, North Carolina
- Experience detail 1
- Experience detail 2

– Erin SanGregory
———————————–

Kudos for being bold enough to put this out there. I think the biggest issue with your resume is, it does not speak to your breadth of experience. Be sure to really flesh out your bullet points to show how your work has benefited the company; use numbers and percentages when at all possible.

Consider a paragraph summary. Maybe something like:

Technical Writer with X years experience translating complex technical information into XYZ for XYZ audience. Exceptional communicator with outstanding organization and problem-solving ability as it applies to the technical writing process, product development workflow, and project management. Specialist in XYZ.

Also swap your Computer Skills and Education sections. And, as others have suggested, set up a LinkedIn and be sure to add your URL to the header section.

– Hänni Wickline
————————————

I echo most other folks thoughts and comments.  I look at this resume and I see a resume that looks like it was a fill in the blanks template from Office.  If I am looking for a tech writer, I want to see something that shows that you know how to use Word, i.e, a resume that is custom to you and not a boring template.  Remember that a resume is a sales document.  If it is boring and blends in with the rest of the resumes that come across my desk, I am not going to give it more than a passing look.  That said, remember that you cannot get too creative with a resume.

The writing poetry thing is interesting.  Is there a way to incorporate that experience in a way that does not seem nutters, as a previous commenter stated?  Maybe include a section that shows a list of your publications and extracurricular activities.  Also, be specific about the documents you have written, particularly in the most current experience.  Give examples.

I, personally, hate the generic career focus summary on a resume.  I would suggest that this is more effective in a cover letter that is specific to the job and company you are applying with.

I might also suggest moving the education from the top of the resume to under the experience section, as your education does not directly relate to the types of positions for which you are applying.

For gosh sake, include your references in the resume!  I know there are different schools of thought on this, but to me, when I see available on request, I think to myself that the owner of the resume is lazy, or needs to have time to cherry pick references, thus making me question if I should waste my time in interviewing.

I really think that it would be more helpful for the community to see the boilerplate cover letter you are utilizing, as this is going to be far more important to your job search than the resume itself, as your most current experience is not really in a technical writing role.  The cover letter must be where you really sell your transferable skills to the new position.

Hope this helps.  If you have specific questions, mail me: blockphi@gmail.com

Thanks.

Phil
——————————————————————————————————-
I’m pretty surprised at how short this resume is for someone with ten years of experience. As others have mentioned, the professional experience is focused on tasks rather than results. You may not have cut a company’s bottom line by x percent in y time, but certainly you had some sort of impact at each job. Figure out at least one statement of impact and add that to the tasks to illustrate what you did and how that made a difference.

When interviewing writers and editors for past projects, I always looked closely at the resume for the details. In this case, I was already thrown by the lack of detail with periods at the end of bullet points. Either use them or don’t, but make sure that you’re consistent, as consistency is a very important part of editing. It just demonstrates that you either aren’t careful in your own work, or don’t value editing enough to have someone else edit your work, which is a big no-no for such an important document that serves as your first impression.

Also, since you’ve been out of school for 12 years, your educational experience can go to the bottom of the resume, near the computer skills section. Your work experience is (or should be) the focus for you now unless you had recent training or education in the field that you want to highlight.

Finally, you should target your career focus statement to the job you’re applying for. Perhaps you already are and just wrote it this way for the example, but make sure that you’re more specific when you submit it for an actual position. There is a big difference between book publishing and software documentation online, so make sure you tailor your statement accordingly.

Good luck!

–Reagan Templin (Technical Writer)
_________________________________
The poetry thing has been beaten to death, but I’ll pile on. If you are applying for a job where it is relevant (literary journal?), definitely include it. For a tech writing job, delete it because the implied message is, “I need a tech writing job to support my true love—writing poetry.” Even if this is true (*especially* if this is true), it’s not a message your want to convey.

There’s a lot (a LOT) of good advice in this document already. I’ll add this: Your current resume feels slightly plastic. With the exception of the poetry reference (!), there’s no sense of the person behind the resume. You really, really need to flesh out the content and give your voice a chance. Keep the content professional, but use your skills as a poet to make the bullet points more interesting than the average resume.

With your background in sociology and RTP location, I would take a look at Research Triangle Institute. If you have an interest in statistics that goes beyond basic surveys, SAS is an obvious contender.

Usability is a big asset; flesh out your discussion of what you did there.

-Sarah O’Keefe, tech comm consultant, scriptorium.com

___________________________________________________________

I’m pretty much echoing everyone else…

I would recommend losing the objective. It’s the first thing a hiring manager reads and it limits your possibilities within the company (I heard this from an HR staffer who reviews thousands of resumes).

Also add more to your experience summary. Right now, you sound very inexperienced. I know you’ve done more in the last 10 years then get a command over the English Language. HR departments and hiring managers alike, are looking through 100’s of resumes for one job! They “skim” resumes looking for keywords, job titles, and accomplishments to match the job description.  Fill your resume by telling them what you’ve done in 10 years.

After all this…. A resume is only a knock at the door. To get your foot in the door these days, you need great references.

Monique Bradshaw – Documentation Specialist
White Plains, NY
_______

Two thoughts:

1. Your resume needs to be one page, but it needs to look like you had to work to get it down to one page–not like you had to work to get it up to one page. A short resume communicates too little experience.  Beef it up (see #2).

2. Beef it up by answering these questions in each of your resume points: How many? How much? How often?

For example, “Edited survey questions” isn’t as strong as “Edited hundreds of survey questions over a three-month period for errors in grammar, punctuation, and tone.” The first statement is vague. The second (while not perfect) is better because it communicates specific information and tells of proficiency in proofreading.  Even if the details and numbers you can give are small ones, small numbers are better than no numbers.  (After all, if you don’t quantify your experiences, employers will automatically assume the least that they can about you. They necessarily approach your resume from a position of cynicism.)

[Josh Allen - English Professor, Rexburg, Idaho]
___________________________________________________________

I’m not trying to be the master of the obvious but for a ‘writer’ this resume doesn’t show off the writing skills. Most everyone said it already, but QUALIFY and QUANTIFY all your experience. Sometimes short and sweet is the way to go! This resume is not one of those times.

Also, this resume doesn’t show any online references or indication of ‘samples’ of your work. In the information age, people like to see the information!

[Greg Woolf - Programmer, Mesa, AZ]

___________________________________________________________

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• Talking with the client about the content he or she wants (30 min.)
• Researching the subject matter to better understand what you’re writing about (1 hrs)
• Interviewing the client to determine the messages and target points they want you to cover (1 hr)
• Finding images to accompany the text (usually sample images that you’re recommending be purchased) (30 min.)
• Writing the material (2 hrs)
• Revising the copy based on the client’s edits (30 min)

It can take five hours just to write one page of content, and I didn’t even mention SEO. If you’re billing at $75 an hour, that one page can cost the client more than $400. Not many people are willing to pay $400 for one page of copy. I know if I paid $400, the writing better blow me away.

A lot of people have okay writing skills and can hack out the content they need anyway. Even if the copy isn’t brilliant, it’s often acceptable. This is where writing becomes a secondary skill, rather than a primary skill.  Because clients can do it (sort of), they’re less inclined to pay others to do it.

In contrast, WordPress freelance jobs are a different story. Many people lack the technical skills to configure and design a custom WordPress site, so they can’t fall back on their own “crummy CSS skills” or something. Most people don’t know CSS or even understand FTP. They may try their hand at it, but when they open a WordPress theme file and see PHP, it all looks foreign, and they quickly realize they have no idea what they’re doing.

If I know how to do what a client wants, executing it can be fairly easy (though not always). Training, installing a blog, changing its look and feel — these are needs a great many people have but can’t do themselves.

In contrast to the demand for freelance writing, the demand for freelance WordPress design is fairly large. Right now I have more WordPress projects than I can do. I mostly relegate the work to the weekends, and save the weeknights for communication only. As more non-technical people start WordPress blogs and have needs for greater customization, the opportunities for WordPress projects will only increase.

In a recent survey, oDesk Blog found that demand for WordPress skills outstrips the growth of other skills.

WordPress as the hottest growing skill

The figure to note in the chart is the 427% increase in WordPress as a requirement in jobs. Surprisingly, writing is also listed, but that could actually be a bad trend for writers, because it shows writing is a more commonly expected skill, rather than a specialized skill (at least that’s how I interpret it).

The bottom line is that it’s easier to make money through your technical skills rather than through copywriting. Additionally, spending your free time with technical design leaves your creativity full. (Of course, doing side jobs at all is something that may not be worthwhile, given the time it takes away from your family and hobbies. Scott Nesbitt wrote a good post on the dilemma of freelance work.)

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Writing is second, SEO is fourth, CSS is about tenth.

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Give ideas to people who are just starting out in technical writing. What is the base of knowledge that every technical writer should have?

And so in preparation for the podcast, I offer these five skills or characteristics as absolute musts for the technical writer:

1. Facility with technology

You have to be somewhat technical, although there are many different kinds of technicalese. You may have a bent towards one of the sciences, and can understand the inner workings of cells or atoms. Or you may be web savvy and know how to interpret code. Or maybe you’re just curious about how things work. You can learn technologies you don’t understand, if you have the motivation. I personally enjoy learning about complicated systems. This understanding brings a sense of achievement and knowledge that is rewarding at the end of the day.

2. Ability to write clearly

The essential skill of any technical communicator is to disambiguate (to use a word my father introduced to me the other day). Your core job will consist of taking complicated things and trying to explain them in easy-to-understand ways. You can’t just pass off an explanation you only half understand. Writing about something (as opposed to talking about it) requires you to understand it thoroughly. Avoid passive sentences and long constructions. Go from old ideas to new. Define acronyms and avoid assumptions about what the user knows. Make the reader feel smart.

3. Talent in showing ideas graphically

I underestimated the importance of using Visio until just a few months ago. Any time you can show an idea graphically, you score a hundred points with the reader. Almost everyone is a visual person. People understand better when you can communicate your ideas visually (and I’m not just talking about screenshots here, although they do count for something). It is surprisingly easy to create half-decent diagrams in Visio. They go a long way toward making your writing clear.

4. Patience in problem-solving/troubleshooting

Unless you have patience, you’ll never make it. I think 80 percent of IT work consists of problem solving. What do you do when you can’t figure out how to do something? Do you slam your fist into your keyboard? Do you scream and curse when you can’t immediately figure something out? It’s amazing how you can see a seemingly impossible problem through with patience and persistence.

5. Ability to interact with SMEs

I talked about this in my last podcast on Tech Writer Voices. Interacting with SMEs is one the most overlooked skills in technical writing. You have to be part investigative reporter, part journalist. You can’t be shy about going after certain people to extract information. And you can’t be too proud to ask the “dumb technical questions” that make engineers do double-takes. A lot of this interaction can come about if you’re lucky enough to simply sit near SMEs.

I know I’m missing a few more essential qualities. I’d like to add a few more here. Any ideas?

Surely one of the worst mistakes tech writers can make is to just stay in their cubes and try to figure it all out themselves. Of course you can find out a lot through research, exploration, trial and error, and tech docs. Don’t discount that. But you must also get out of your cube and put on your investigative reporter hat. Call meetings, stick your head in doors, ask questions. You’ve got to extract information from the source.

I’m currently collecting information on the best way to get information from SMEs. If you have a technique that works well, please share it with me.

Here are some techniques I’ve found to work all right:

• Don’t send e-mails asking for technical explanations. Either call or go over to the SME’s cube and ask a few questions.
• Set up official meetings with SMEs where you ask all the questions you have. People may be busy, but they can rarely escape an official meeting if you set it up.
• If you can sit near SMEs, one technique that works well is to wait until you see them entering a dead state (where they’re waiting for something to install, or they can’t figure something out, or they’re finished with something). Timing is everything. Ask a question at that time, and then another. It might get them going on a longer bit than they planned.
• Ask to look over their shoulder and watch what they’re doing. I suspect many SMEs relish their techie knowledge, and this is one way to ingratiate their senses with indirect adulation.
• To get a SME to review a document, set a due date, and call a meeting where the SME is required to deliver his or her review. If you just send the document and ask for a critique/review, it may never come.
• You can always buy a SME lunch, but it’s sometimes hard to keep the focus on work during lunch. If you carpool, you can ask a SME questions in the car, where they don’t have access to a computer.

Overall, whatever technique works, it’s going to require learning to be bold and insistent. If you think of yourself as an investigative reporter rather than a writer, it may be easier to get the information.

Do you have any tips or advice on SME interaction?