Get Noticed, Get Hired with a Better Resume

1 to 22 September 2021 (Wednesdays) at 4:30 to 5:30 PM ET (GMT-4)

REGISTRATION CLOSES ON 30 August 2021

Description:

Of all prospective employees, technical writers should have the most consistent, clear, and usable resumes, right? As a hiring manager, I’ve seen technical writers who say they “know” Word, but their resumes are poorly designed and don’t leverage Word’s features to present a useful, usable document as evidence of this. When their resume shows a lack of care, a manager of technical writers may assume the same level of care will be brought to the job.

Consequently, many technical writing applicants are overlooked or placed lower in the pile. A well-designed resume with quantifiable accomplishments help technical writers not only showcase their document design skills, but also their ability to reach a specific audience, in a specific context, for the right purpose (to land an interview). Technical writers should showcase their skills in all writing samples, including their resumes, CVs, cover letters, and websites/portfolios, and this class will show how to do exactly that.

Objectives:

In this class, students will understand how hiring managers review and read resumes in today’s hiring environment. Students will apply the elements of good design and technical communication to their resume in Microsoft Word (or tool of choice, as approved by the instructor) to deliver a revamped resume they can use immediately upon completion of the course.

Session 1: Your Resume as a Work Sample

Session 2: Resume Design for Humans and Machines

Session 3: Writing Accomplishments

Session 4: Tweaking Your Resume for Job Applications