What is a Technical Writing Portfolio?

This is another of those questions students and young professionals often ask me. Simply put, a technical writing portfolio is a collection of past work in technical writing.

The next natural question is, "Do I need one?"

YES! YOU DO!!!

As I've stated many times before, and as I firmly believe, technical writing, indeed all of technical communication (graphic design, technical editing, the whole of it), is an applied discipline. In other words, technical writers don't just sit around and theorize about ideas, they make things. As such, technical writing is more like engineering or architecture and less like disciplines in the arts and sciences, such as biology or literature.

For simple proof just look at two of the strongest academic programs in technical writing in the country: the University of Washington where the technical writing program is housed in engineering, and Texas Tech, a huge tech school that houses the largest technical writing program in the US.

So, because it is an applied discipline, employers expect technical writers to show proof of their application. Engineers can point to specific objects they've helped to create: circuits, bridges, cars, etc. For technical writers, they are expected to show examples of things they've written or helped to write: award-winning grant proposals, end-user documentation, websites, etc. Examples of things you've created are the best and most conclusive way to demonstrate to a potential employer that you have specific experience in technical writing. A technical writing portfolio is simply a collection of these examples.

"So how do I make a portfolio?"

I see portfolios typically take a couple of forms. The first is the standard, hard-copy collection of samples, and the second is an e-portfolio.

The standard, hard-copy portfolio can just consist of a 3-ring binder holding your collection of work. Put each document into clear plastic sleeves with blank, tabbed sheets to separate each one. If the document is really long, you'd be best served to only select a few of the pages most emblematic of your work (try those that represent work you alone completed without help from collaborators).

Try to include a variety of different types of pieces made for various employers, reasons and with a different types of tools. Personally, I have about 7-8 different pieces that represent internal documentation, external user documentation, external non-technical documentation (white papers), and web-based work.

Along with each piece I inserted I wrote down what would be significant to an employer about each piece. Some took extensive (meaning more than usual) research, each took knowledge of important technology to create (like programming languages or software tools), and each took a combination of skills (like writing and graphic design). So along with the samples of work was a narrative about how that work was created and the factors that would make me appealing as a technical writer. Not every employer will read these narratives, more than anything they are for me to arrange my own thoughts on the significance of the samples I've included.

E-portfolios are essentially a web-based version of the 3-ring binder. What's nice about creating e-portfolios is that it gives you the option to dazzle a bit with things like Flash or other multimedia. It also allows you to include longer items. So instead of just choosing a few pages from a document, you can include the whole thing as a PDF file. You can host an e-portfolio on a CD or, perhaps better, on a website.

Either of these is an appropriate choice, but I think they can be used for different reasons. The binder you would take to an interview with you, while the web-hosted e-portfolio can be pointed to from your resume and an employer may scan it before you're ever contacted.

Of course, this is assuming that an employer doesn't just simply ask for you to email a few pieces with your resume, or shortly after submitting your resume. If this is the case, the portfolio is still a good idea, because it keeps you from having to dig through your files to find samples and instead keeps them organized and at your fingertips.

For technical, professional and business communication help in the Las Cruces, NM area, visit Lanier Infomedia. 

Last update: 27-03-2009 13:38