Indexer

You would make it quick and easy for people to find information in a book or website. You’d create a list of terms and words that point to the right information.

You would create lists of searchable terms for publications such as books, periodicals, technical manuals, reports and websites.

You would:

• Read and study the document to get an overall idea of what it covers

• Identify important words and phrases and note where they or variations of them occur in the text

• Put these words and phrases in alphabetical order

• Identify the main topics and break them down into smaller, more precise concepts

• Cross-reference related topics

• Organise the index so that information is easy to find

• Index the photographs, diagrams and other illustrations used in the text

You would analyse the text and find the sections about same idea or fact even when it is referred to using a different word or term. You’d come up with a list of the words that a reader who is not familiar with the topic might also use to find that information.

You’d use specialist computer software to sort, format and print the index.

You will need to be focused and methodical with good general knowledge. It will help to have some specialist knowledge to index particular subjects or technical works.

Most indexers are self-employed so you would also need to find clients, negotiate for work and run your own business.

• Society of Indexers - Membership organisation that promotes indexing, the quality of indexes and the profession of indexing