The following are exercises for technical writer positions.
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Objective: You will be asked to explain a topic of your choice to the interviewer. The topic can be anything you’d like, but make sure to pick a topic that you know a lot about - anything from how a database works, to how dogs are trained, to the work of a specific author.
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Candidate Prep: Before diving in, you should gauge your interviewer's knowledge level for your explanation. The interviewer will ask for clarifications, context, deeper explanations as necessary. You’ll have about 10 minutes to explain your topic.
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Objective: For these exercises, the interviewer (a member of the engineering team) will explain a technical concept to you. You will learn about the topic and then explain it back to the interviewer to ensure that you understand. You will then document the topic. You will then discuss the documentation with the interviewer.
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Candidate Prep: This is an exercise rooted in listening, writing, and synthesizing. Be prepared to process the information your interviewer provides and document it in a manner that will make sense to a broader audience. Feel free to ask any questions that allow you to effectively structure your content.
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Objective: We will share with you a draft of a raw piece of content. Your task is to edit it and present your revisions.
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Candidate Prep: You will be editing for clarity and readability, as well as identifying areas that could benefit from further detail, technical or otherwise. The edit does not have to be fact-perfect. This is a technical piece, and in the real world, you would have access to its author for clarifying questions. It does need to get across your vision for the piece and demonstrate your abilities as a writer and editor.