Building a Winning Portfolio
A Guide for Tech Writers with no Work Experience
by Olga Kostiouchina
2011
Table of Contents
1. Why have a portfolio?
2. Content creation strategies
3. Revising and editing for quality
4. Assembling the portfolio
Introduction
This short guide is created as an aid for anyone wanting to break into the technical writing field but finds oneself in a catch-22 position of “To get experience I need a job, and to get a job I need experience”.
One of the ways to get yourself out of this predicament is to create something that will show your potential as a technical writer – and not just in the form of a couple of lines in the resume or CV.
This something is a portfolio!
1. Why have a portfolio
A great portfolio may convince an otherwise hesitant employer to hire you instead of someone boasting tons of experience but having nothing to show for it.
Even if the job ad doesn’t ask for a portfolio – bring it to the interview; you’ll demonstrate your being proactive and make a favorable first impression. Send a link to an online version along with you cover letter and resume when first applying for the job; you’ll immediately gain advantage over other applicants because the employer will have an opportunity to look at what you’re capable of even before the interview.
A portfolio is your chance to brag! Make the most of it and reap the rewards!
This means you should always have your portfolio ready and current. Even if you’ve never held a technical writing position, you can still come up with an impressive portfolio. Let’s get to it!
2. Content creation strategies
What to write about?
This is probably the hardest question you’ll have to answer before you can get to work.
I suggest that you take a long serious look inside and figure out what field of specialization really interests you. After all, why would you sweat over the software manual if this is not what you want to do as a technical writer?
I -- Create new content!
Select an industry you’d like to target and a topic you’d enjoy exploring. By doing this you’ll be more diligent and enthusiastic when researching the subject and writing about it. And you’ll still be able to show off your skills, whether it’s a cookbook, a business proposal, or an installation guide.
Here are a few suggestions for potential documentation you may create, just pick what strikes your fancy and document it:
II -- Find an open source software title even if it’s already documented (it’s as easy as going to cnet.com and downloading any free program).
- Installation guide
- Quick reference guide
- Online help
- User guide
- Technical glossary
III -- Pick a business you’re familiar with (or do the research and get familiar with it). You may try to approach a real business and offer pro bono or discounted work. This way you may score some testimonials or recommendations as well.
- Operations manual
- Training guide (how-to procedures and such)
- Process description
- Specification of a product
- Marketing brochure
- Business proposal
- Flowchart
- Style guide and templates
IV -- Pick a device – any kind really, as simple as a stapler, or as complex as a turbine.
- Technical description
- User manual
- Troubleshooting guide
- A set of diagrams with callouts
This approach should cover much of the industry-specific documentation and you’ll have a nice collection to demonstrate your knowledge. Try using a combination of authoring tools and make sure to include some diagrams, screenshots and charts.
Other methods often recommended for creating new content is writing for the web, specifically for how-to websites and Wikipedia.
V -- Use academic work!
Now go through your school work. You’ve written a lot for your homework assignments, so go ahead and select some of the best (or promising) pieces and get to work. Rewrite the not so good parts, expand if the piece is very short, and add visual elements if there are none.
VI -- Use your current or previous jobs to find content!
Try to find any documents you may have written at your places of employment, such as business letters, marketing materials, and procedures. If you’ve done some training of other employees – try to document the process as a training guide. Try to re-create your company’s policies yourself. Same goes for process descriptions. If you have access to existing company documents, try editing them for grammar and style and use the before and after versions in the portfolio. Make sure you obtain a permission to use whatever materials result, and erase any evidence of proprietary content.
Now you should have a good idea where to get the content for your portfolio. Let’s move on to the next step.
3. Revising and editing for quality
Once you’ve written or re-worked the documentation you want to include in your portfolio, you have to proofread it.
Go through each document and follow this checklist:
- Spelling. Spell check is good but it will miss many of the common typos, such as “form” instead of “from”. This means you have to read and find and fix these. No typos allowed!
- Grammar. Use a good grammar reference when in doubt.
- Plain language. Avoid slang and jargon, write in short concise sentences.
- Consistent terminology. This is one of the more important attributes of quality documentation.
- Style. Are you writing for the specific audience? Make sure it’s apparent.
- Format. Use different styles for formatting to present your work well.
4. Assembling the portfolio
Now that your documents are polished, it’s time to assemble them in a meaningful way.
There are several approaches to organizing your portfolio. Some examples are:
- Chronological order (from oldest to newest)
- Genre (categories of documents – graphics, web content, training guides)
- Specialty or subject (medical writing, business writing, user support)
- Development (from brief and first draft to a final document)
- Team and individual projects
Most portfolios combine all of the above and then some, choose the way that you think will work best for the particular job you’re seeking to get.
Make sure you include the following items along with your writing samples:
- A cover letter
- A current resume, updated for the specific job you’re applying
- A table or numbered list with brief descriptions of each sample. It’s very important to include a brief description of each portfolio piece, outlining what exactly you’ve done when creating the document (write, edit, create graphics, layout) and which tools you’ve used (authoring or editing software, programming languages, any other specific tools).
- A CD/DVD, containing an electronic version of your portfolio
Once you’re clear on the structure – create a TOC and include it at the beginning.
Now start assembling the portfolio. Always use high quality paper for your printouts, especially resume. Find a nice looking 3-ring binder, put your documents in clear sheet protectors (2 pages per protector), and insert them into the binder. You may want to use some page separators to make it easy to go from one document to another. This is your master portfolio. You can add and remove the documents easily depending on the position you’re applying for. Just don’t forget to update your TOC each time accordingly.
You might want to create a light version of it as a leave-behind. Use a nice presentation folder that can hold loose leaf paper and select the best and most appropriate samples. Do not use sheet protectors, but make sure to include your resume. After the interview, offer to leave this portfolio with the employer.
In addition to the paper based version of your portfolio, I recommend creating a CD/DVD version, which you may also use a as an inexpensive leave-behind, and an online version as well and making sure your potential employer is aware of this. You will look great if you can give them the link to your website with an online version. As a bonus, an electronic version will allow you to include any media content you might want to use, such as training videos.
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