What skills should a Technical Writer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Writing, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Technical Writer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Captivate, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Dreamweaver, and Adobe FrameMaker. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Technical Writer work?

O*NET records 31 titles for this occupation, including Documentation Specialist, Information Developer, Technical Communicator, and Documentation Designer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Technical Writer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 35% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Technical Writer role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Technical Writer resume example

A resume for a Technical Writer needs to show the work itself: write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. Day to day that means work like this: organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology; maintain records and files of work and revisions. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Documentation Specialist
Information Developer
Technical Communicator
Documentation Designer
Engineering Writer
Medical Writer
Narrative Writer
Requirements Analyst
Assembly Instructions Writer
Clinical Writer
Contracts Writer
Document Specialist
Documentation Writer
Engineering Documentation Specialist
Grant Writer
Handbook Writer
Health Science Writer
Health Technical Writer

O*NET records 31 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology.
Maintain records and files of work and revisions.
Edit, standardize, or make changes to material prepared by other writers or establishment personnel.
Select photographs, drawings, sketches, diagrams, and charts to illustrate material.
Interview production and engineering personnel and read journals and other material to become familiar with product technologies and production methods.
Develop or maintain online help documentation.
Assist in laying out material for publication.
Study drawings, specifications, mockups, and product samples to integrate and delineate technology, operating procedure, and production sequence and detail.
Arrange for typing, duplication, and distribution of material.
Observe production, developmental, and experimental activities to determine operating procedure and detail.
Review manufacturer's and trade catalogs, drawings and other data relative to operation, maintenance, and service of equipment.
Analyze developments in specific field to determine need for revisions in previously published materials and development of new material.

15 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Maintain records and files of work and revisions, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Edit, standardize, or make changes to material prepared by other writers or establishment personnel, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Select photographs, drawings, sketches, diagrams, and charts to illustrate material, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Captivate
Adobe Creative Cloud software
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe FrameMaker
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe RoboHelp
Apple Final Cut Pro
Atlassian Confluence
Atlassian JIRA
Author-it
Autodesk AutoCAD

71 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Compact digital cameras
Computer data input scanners
Desktop computers
Laptop computers
Personal computers
Universal serial bus USB flash drives

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Jira
XML

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Writing
02Reading Comprehension
03Active Listening
04Speaking
05Critical Thinking
06Active Learning
07Judgment and Decision Making
08Time Management
09Coordination
10Monitoring

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

English Language
Computers and Electronics
Administrative
Communications and Media
Administration and Management
Public Safety and Security
Education and Training
Production and Processing

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

35%Associate's Degree
33%Bachelor's Degree
16%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Technical Writer do?: Write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. Day to day that includes work like organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology and Maintain records and files of work and revisions.
What skills should a Technical Writer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Writing, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Technical Writer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Captivate, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Dreamweaver, and Adobe FrameMaker. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Technical Writer work?: O*NET records 31 titles for this occupation, including Documentation Specialist, Information Developer, Technical Communicator, and Documentation Designer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Technical Writer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 35% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Technical Writer role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.