In May 2022, I began my career as a Tender Writer. A month prior, I had just graduated from John Moore’s University in Liverpool, where I got a 2:1 in my Sports Journalism degree. I left university with little idea of what I wanted to do as a career. Of course, Journalism would have been the obvious route, however I just didn’t feel like this was the right path for me to go down, so I felt a bit lost. Writing has always been one of my strong points, right through primary school up to university, so I began searching for writing Jobs across the internet. This is how I came across a job advert for a tender writer. If I’m being completely honest, I’d never even heard of a tender before, but after researching the tender process and seeing that Klick were willing to employ graduates, I applied.
Andrea and the management team were kind enough to provide me with an opportunity following my interview, which I happily accepted and started the job with Klick as a Trainee Tender Writer. Thanks to the on-the-job training I received from all the welcoming staff, I picked up the whole tender process quickly, learning valuable lessons and new skills along the way. Working as a tender writer for Klick has allowed me to grow both personally and professionally, covering various different types of work streams and services including Cleaning, Mechanical, Electrical, Grounds Maintenance and more. I have been with Klick for nearly a year now, and these are some of my key takeaways from my first 12 months at the Job:
Always read the specification: This is certainly something I had to get used to, as reading the detailed procurement specification can be quite daunting, especially to a rookie in the tender writing business. However, I quickly came to the realisation just how important it is to do this as a Bid Writer. Reading the specification in depth allows you to tailor your answers to exactly what the procurement company are looking for, improving your writing significantly and securing those top marks on the tender’s quality section.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions: Especially in my case, being brand new to tender writing, I was bound to have questions to ask in abundance, and I certainly did. It’s only natural when learning on the Job, and my colleagues at Klick were more than willing to answer and help with all my queries. Asking questions is all part of the learning process.
Get to know your client: Forming a working relationship with the client you are writing for is vital. It’s important to understand what the client does, learning all about their working processes and how exactly they intend to carry out the works for the tender. Having this knowledge definitely reflects in the writing, and alongside reading the specification, it’s essential for writing a winning tender.
Check your work: Checking the contents of a tender from start to finish is one of the most important parts of the job. From spell-checking to fact-checking, reading back through your work to make sure you have stayed in line with all the requirements without making any mistakes can be the difference between winning and losing a bid. Whether your double checking, triple-checking or even quadruple checking, make sure you have no doubts about the work you are submitting.
Those are just a few examples of some of the many things I’ve learnt working as a Tender Writer. My experience so far has been an extremely enjoyable one. I’m excited to learn even more and carry on improving as a tender writer, working for a great company in Klick.