Course Name

Portfolio to Interview: Landing a Job as a Technical Writer

Contact Hours: 30

Course Description

This course will help you succeed in an interview to get a job as a technical writer. You will create a writing portfolio and resume to help get the interview, and you will see how to use these materials to present yourself with confidence. The stages you will need to go through might look something like this: Create a broad variety of writing samples Organize your writing samples into a portfolio Write a resume that highlights your competencies Identify a position that fits your background Get an interview In the interview, emphasize your competencies In this course we will look at the preparatory stages creating a portfolio and resume and the final stage of interviewing. With this preparation you will be in the best possible position to use any opportunity that comes your way to get a job as a technical writer. This course was written by a 25 year veteran of the technical writing field, with experience in hiring as well as seeking top-level positions. You will gain from his insight into how interviewers think, how they are trained, and how big corporations approach job candidates and job performance in general. Lessons in this course draw from a variety of sources, including online articles. The primary sources are three books: Kessler and Strasburg's "Competency-Based Resumes: How To Bring Your Resume To The Top Of The Pile", Kessler's "Competency-Based Interviews: Master the Tough New Interview Style And Give Them the Answers That Will Win You the Job", and Claywell's "The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing Portfolios". These texts are optional; all essential content is contained in the lessons. The full citations for the optional texts are as follows: Competency-Based Resumes: How To Bring Your Resume To The Top Of The Pile (Paperback) by Robin Kessler (Author), Linda A. Strasburg (Author) Paperback: 185 pages Publisher: Career Press; 1 edition (November 2004) Language: English ISBN-10: 156414772X ISBN-13: 978-1564147721 Competency-Based Interviews: Master the Tough New Interview Style And Give Them the Answers That Will Win You the Job (Paperback) by Robin Kessler (Author) Paperback: 255 pages Publisher: Career Press; 1 edition (April 30, 2006) Language: English ISBN-10: 1564148696 ISBN-13: 978-1564148698 The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing Portfolios (Paperback) by Gina S. Claywell (Author) Paperback: 117 pages Publisher: Longman (October 9, 2000) Language: English ISBN-10: 0205321038 ISBN-13: 978-0205321032 This course is self-assessed. You will come out of the course with a portfolio and resume that reflects your needs, and which you have evaluated and polished with the help of checklists and instruction in the lessons.

Outcome

By the end of this course, you will be able to: Interpret a job listing to identify required skills Distinguish among types of writing samples Describe the process of portfolio and résumé revision Identify possible sources of writing samples Start writing projects quickly Write with a readable style Edit and polish your writing Choose writing samples that are helpful for a particular job interview Package a portfolio Form a strategy for putting your portfolio online Review your portfolio using a formal checklist Define a competency-based system Describe your own competencies Phrase your background as accomplishment statements Choose a resume style that communicates your strengths Focus the resume on an employers needs Base the resume on your competencies Understand the interviewers perspective Anticipate questions for an interview Use examples of your competencies in an interview

Assessment

Your progress will be assessed in several ways: Through your own evaluation of your written work, using detailed guidelines given in each module. Through self quizzes. A final check by a course administrator of your interview package, to verify completeness.

Required Book(s)

<

Outline

Lesson 1 Stages of preparation Assess your audience Determine your portfolio needs Lesson 2 Review your writing Create new pieces Polish your samples Lesson 3 Select portfolio material Assemble a package Putting your portfolio online Lesson 4 What is a competency-based system? Describe your own competencies Accomplishment statements Lesson 5 Employer-focused resumes Resume styles Creating a competency-based resume Polishing your resume Lesson 6 Think like an interviewer Interview questions to expect How to use examples in an interview