How to create a technical writing portfolio
Part of any writing position involves demonstrating to those hiring you that you can perform your job. For a writing position, this means giving them relevant writing samples proving that point. This document is meant to serve as a beginner-friendly guide to getting started.
What is technical writing?
Technical writing is about explaining how a process or concept works to an audience.
An example of this is a phone manual where information is communicated to an audience, the buyer, about how something works, their new phone. A phone manual is just one of many different types of documents a technical writer may work on. A medicine bottle’s “push down and twist” message can also be considered technical writing as it tells the user how to do something. The central goal is to communicate effectively.
With this in mind, a portfolio is often necessary to strengthen a job application. These writing samples help prove to an employer that a candidate can write effectively.
What are you proving with your portfolio?
The goal of your portfolio is to pitch yourself to a prospective employer. When constructing a portfolio, it’s important to focus on two components: relevancy and competency.
Relevancy: When selecting what to show, it’s important to identify what technical writing niche you wish to pursue. Aerospace documentation is different than software documentation and this is reflected both in their type of work and documentation needs. This focus will impact what is included and excluded in your writing portfolio.
Competency: This demonstrates that you have skills and experience in the industry you are applying to. Even if this experience is solely demonstrated within a writing portfolio, it helps demonstrate an interest in the field, a willingness to learn, and the ability to synthesize information into an understandable deliverable.
Both skills complement each other and tell an employer that you can communicate effectively and that this ability is related to both their business and industry.
What to include in a technical writing portfolio
With those two points in mind, it’s important to look at what a portfolio should contain.
What to include:
- How-to guide: This serves as a function document explaining to a user how to accomplish “x”. Recipes, installation guides, and Lego directions are just a few examples. These all have an end result and instruct the user from beginning to end. An ideal how-to guide would relate to your chosen niche. If applying to a software technical writing position, a relevant example would include “How to install and run Google Chrome on Windows 11”.
- Instruction Manual: A longer document than a how-to guide, this involves providing a user with all relevant information about a product. For some, this involves multiple “how to” sections about different aspects of the topic. For a better understanding, review Playstation’s PS4 manual. Each sidebar breaks the information down into different topics relevant to the user. A portfolio does not need to be this long, however it is beneficial to view. An example for a biological technical writer would be an instruction manual focused on a specific microscope model.
Optional: If you already have writing samples and wish to include them, feel free. The focus is on representing yourself as a writer, this document is meant to guide and suggest ways to help get started or improve an existing portfolio.
What makes a good portfolio
No matter what, a quality technical writing portfolio is a collection of documents that best represent you as a writer and communicator. For this reason, focus on the following points:
- No formatting or spelling errors
Firstly, the documents in a professional portfolio should be error-free. Everyone makes occasional typos and grammatical mistakes, but for technical writing, your final product must be polished and clean. All style choices should remain consistent. If you start a document with specific words capitalized or italicized, you should continue throughout the document. This proves to an employer that you can effectively follow a style guide and proofread any documents you create. - All documents are related to your prospective job
When applying to a position, it’s considered best practice to tailor your resume to each job application. The same should be said for your writing samples. Your writing samples should be relevant to what specific technical writing the company in question conducts. Technical writing for a construction company is different from a software company. Their documentation and technical needs will be different and it’s important to highlight your relevant skills for each. Demonstrating code documentation experience may be ideal for a software company, but not for a construction company that doesn’t need the experience. - The writing is clean and effective
Intending to educate and guide an inexperienced audience through a process, technical writing has to be clear and effective in its communication method. The language and design of the document have to be easily understood while keeping in mind any confusion or mistakes the user might experience while engaging with the topic. This is easier said than done as sometimes assumptions can make it difficult to know how much information to put in and what is considered common knowledge. I recommend watching the following YouTube video by Emily Mischen titled “Instructional Writing: Peanut Butter and Jelly”. It seems silly, but it’s important to illustrate how important effective technical writing is. - Your samples are brief
Similar to keeping a resume short, the industry standard is to include 3–5 short writing samples. This allows hiring staff to look at each sample, without feeling overwhelmed. Technical writing is concise and efficient, and these skills should be highlighted throughout your application. Selecting only a few documents allows you to refine and ensure they represent you best as a writer. It’s much easier to edit 3 documents with 1,000 words each than it is with 15 documents at 3,000 words each.
Where to store it
Once, you’ve written or identified what writing pieces you want to show off, it’s important to examine the display method. This is all up to preference, but can be leveraged differently depending on both where you apply and what you find easiest.
Computer folder
The easiest method is to simply send a folder containing your writing samples. This allows for a simplified portfolio that only focuses on what the documents look like. You would not have to design anything aside from the portfolio pieces themselves.
One downside to this method involves the fact that once you send the portfolio out, it cannot be edited. Any errors or changes after the application will not be available to the hiring manager. Another is that if the application does not have the option to include writing samples as a file, you will be unable to add them separately. An alternative to this is uploading the documents somewhere and providing a link.
Google Drive Suite
The online Google Drive system allows for a multitude of portfolio methods. You can send a Google Drive folder, Google Docs, or Google Sites filled with multiple portfolio pieces. Each has the added benefit of live updates allowing you to edit or further proofread a portfolio piece after applying. As well, it allows you to add related information to add context to portfolio pieces.
One con of this method would be sending the link to a prospective employer. Some online applications do not have a designated area for a website, so a portfolio link would need to be added to either a resume or a cover letter. As well, any document or site containing links would also need to be formatted for ease of access and readability.
Hosted website
A more advanced portfolio than Google Sites, hosting a website can allow for complete customization of your portfolio. It can serve as a complete application involving your resume as well if desired.
One con of this method involves time. If you do not know how to host a website or customize one, this option is the most time-consuming. If you are not proficient in designing or hosting a website, a website may be less effective than an organized folder containing samples.
Takeaway
Regardless of what you include, your portfolio is meant to best represent you as a technical writer and communicator. Writing samples prove this by giving an employer a better look at how you write and what purpose it has.
Take your time and ensure that any document sent is aiding and not impeding your job prospects. Not all job applications will ask for samples, but it’s better to not need than come up short if asked.
