Technical writer resume example
One page until senior. Reverse chronological, no columns, no photo. Support ticket deflection is the number that turns documentation from a cost into a business case, and almost nobody in this field puts it on a resume.
The bullets and skills are this page's own. The name, employer and dates are invented.
Most technical writer resumes fail before a human ever reads them, they get filtered out by Applicant Tracking Systems before reaching a recruiter's desk. This guide covers exactly what ATS systems scan for in technical writer roles, how to write bullet points that get callbacks, and which keywords you must include. Every example on this page is fictionalized, recruiter-informed, and written to show the level of specificity strong technical writer candidates need.
Must-have skills for a technical writer resume
These are the keywords ATS systems scan for in technical writer job postings. Include every skill you genuinely have, missing even one commonly required keyword can drop your match score below the recruiter's threshold.
Pro tip: mirror the job description exactly
If the job description says "React.js" and you write "React", some ATS systems won't count it as a match. Copy the exact phrasing, acronyms, capitalization, and all, from the posting into your skills section and bullet points.
Strong technical writer resume bullet examples
Every bullet below follows the same formula: strong action verb + what you did + quantified impact. Study the structure, then replace the numbers with your real achievements. Generic bullets like "responsible for X" are invisible to both ATS and recruiters, specificity is what gets you shortlisted.
Action
Start with Built, Reduced, Migrated, Designed, Optimized, Led.
Tools
Name the exact tool or method: API documentation, Developer guides, Docs as code, Markdown.
Impact
End with a number: time saved, cost, volume, quality, or people served.
Technical Writer - Support deflection
01
Rewrote the twelve most-viewed help articles around the questions in support tickets rather than the product's structure, cutting tickets on those topics by 43% in a quarter.
Technical Writer - API documentation
02
Documented a 70-endpoint REST API with runnable examples in three languages, cutting median partner integration time from eleven days to four.
Technical Writer - Docs as code
03
Moved documentation from a CMS into the repository with review in pull requests and CI link checking, ending the chronic drift between docs and shipped behavior.
Technical Writer - Information architecture
04
Ran a content audit of 400 pages, retired 140 that were obsolete or duplicated, and restructured the rest into task-based navigation that lifted search success rate from 51% to 78%.
Common mistake: weak action verbs
Avoid passive openers like "Responsible for", "Helped with", or "Worked on". These tell the recruiter nothing about your actual contribution. Replace them with ownership verbs: Built, Designed, Led, Reduced, Launched, Architected, Negotiated, Delivered. Then always end with a number.
The bullets above, in a finished resume
Rendered by the same exporter the builder uses, in an ATS-safe single-column template. No tables and no side columns, because that is what the format advice further down this page tells you to avoid.
The bullets and skills are this page's own. The name, employer and dates are invented.
Technical Writer resume writing guide
Three areas where most technical writer resumes either win or lose against the competition. Read each section carefully, even one improvement here can meaningfully increase your response rate.
Documentation has metrics; use them
Technical writers routinely describe what they documented and stop there. Support ticket deflection, time to first successful API call, search success rate, page abandonment and time to integrate are all measurable, and they turn documentation from a cost center into a business case. Ticket deflection is the most persuasive of them, because support cost is a number the company already tracks and cares about. If you can tie a docs change to it, that is your strongest bullet.
Docs as code is the current dividing line
US technology employers increasingly expect writers to work in Git, review documentation in pull requests, and treat docs as part of the build. A writer comfortable in that workflow can sit inside an engineering team; one who cannot needs a handoff process built around them. If you have it, say so with specifics: the repository workflow, the static site generator, the CI checks. If you do not, it is the highest-value thing you can learn for this market.
Sections, in order
Contact with a link to published documentation, summary, experience, skills, education. Public docs are the best possible portfolio; if everything you have written is behind a login, write one good public sample. Leave out: a photo, your date of birth, marital status and your full street address. City and state only.
Technical Writer salary in the United States
National figures for Technical Writers, the occupation BLS counts this job under. These are percentiles across everyone employed in it, not steps on a career ladder: half of all workers earn more than the median and half earn less.
10th percentile
$57,440
Nine in ten earn more than this
Median
$90,390
Half earn more, half earn less
90th percentile
$145,270
One in ten earns more than this
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), national cross-industry estimates, May 2025, SOC 27-3042. Annual wages, excluding bonuses, equity and other non-wage compensation. Current release at bls.gov/oes.
How to use these numbers
They are national and cross-industry, so your city and sector move them a long way. Use the median as the anchor, name a specific number rather than a range, and justify it with the single most quantified achievement on your resume.
Technical Writer resume format and structure
ATS systems parse your resume top-to-bottom. The order of your sections and how you label them directly affect your score. Use this structure:
Section 01
Contact Information
Name, professional email, phone, LinkedIn URL, and city/country. No photo, no date of birth, no full address. Keep it to 2 lines maximum.
Section 02
Professional Summary
2-3 sentences. Years of experience as a technical writer, your primary specialty, and your single biggest quantified achievement. No fluff.
Section 03
Work Experience
Reverse-chronological order. Company name, your title, dates (month/year), location. 3–5 bullet points per role, each with a number. Most recent role gets the most bullets.
Section 04
Skills
List API documentation, Developer guides, Docs as code, Markdown, Git, and other relevant tools. Group by category if you have 10+ skills. This section is scanned first by most ATS.
Section 05
Education
Degree, institution, graduation year. No GPA unless above 3.5 and within 3 years of graduation. Certifications go here or in a separate Certifications section.
Section 06
Optional Sections
Projects (essential for early-career), Certifications, Publications, Open Source, or Languages. Only include if genuinely adding signal.
Questions
Technical Writer resume, frequently asked questions
Answers to the most common questions job seekers have when writing a technical writer resume, covering format, keywords, length, and ATS optimization.
Resume examples for other roles
Need a guide for a different job title? Each page includes role-specific ATS keywords, real bullet examples, and a writing guide.
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Sources and references
Where the skills, tooling and pay figures on this page come from.
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