If you need to hire a technical writer for an upcoming project, you likely have many qualified candidates to consider. There are now a variety of sources through which you can find great writers, so finding people for the job shouldn’t be a problem. However, the challenge comes when you start working on narrowing down that initial list. To choose the right person for the job, you’ll need to start the process with a clear picture of the knowledge and experience that the winning contractor should possess.
focus on writing
It may sound obvious, but the first thing you should look for is someone who can write quality content. Believe it or not, many companies overlook this point when hiring a technical writer. A common mistake is to give more importance to the experience in the specific field than to the ability to write. For example, if you’re hiring a writer for an engineering-related project, it’s tempting to choose the candidate with the strongest experience in that field. However, if that person is not a great writer, you will be wasting your time and money. You already have people with engineering backgrounds in your company; you need to hire someone who can bring writing skills to the table. The content can always be edited as necessary to correct technical errors related to the field in question; it is much more difficult to review the style or quality of the writing as a whole.
SearchExperience
For technical writers, experience gives them the ability to ask the right questions. Asking questions is a big part of being a good writer, because those questions help point your content in the right direction. If you can hire a writer with many years of experience working for a variety of clients, you’ll already have the knowledge to ask intelligent questions. Also, experience is the only way to hone the craft of writing, so someone just starting out in this field may not be able to offer you the same quality as a long-time professional writer.
samples of course
One of the first things you should do is review the writing samples of all of your candidates. Ask each potential employee to submit two to three writing samples. Hopefully these will be pieces that are at least someone relevant to the project you need to have completed. If a writer can’t offer you at least a couple of good samples, it should be a red flag that you might not be the right person for the job.
Fair rate offer
You don’t always “get what you pay for” in life, but you usually do when it comes to writing. If a specific writer offers to do the job for much less than everyone else he’s considering, there’s probably a reason he’s willing to work for pennies on the dollar. Good writers know they’re worth it, so they stick with their fees. Do a quick market assessment and set a budget that will allow you to hire a quality, experienced technical writer.
consult references
Finally, it’s always good hiring practice to contact at least one or two references to learn a little more about the person in question. Did they do a good job for your previous clients or employers? What kind of work did you excel at and does your writing ability have any weaknesses? Asking a couple of direct questions should give you all the information you need to make a great decision.