RE: A wee story for you...

Subject: RE: A wee story for you...
From: "Swallow, William" <WSwallow -at- courion -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2001 17:12:32 -0400

:: I cannot remember when the last time someone said "HOW well do you
:: know Frame (or Word, or any of them, you pick)", or "What was THIS
:: piece made with.
::
:: I HAVED been asked "How strong of a tech writer are you?" and I once
:: I answered "I can bench bench 265 pounds...is that strong enough?),
:: but I canot recall being asked how experienced I was on the
:: application...they just seem to be happy top find someone who SAYS
:: the know it.

If only that were the case throughout the industry. Many times, if a company
posts that they need a Frame expert (for example), they NEED a Frame expert.
And they will ask whatever questions they can to determine if you are that
expert they are looking for.

I haven't sat in the interviewer's chair too often, but when I was asked to
play such a roll, it was to determine the technical aptitude of the
interviewee. In other words, flush out the truth. Being somewhat intimate
with a variety of technologies allows me to ask more involved questions and
be able to separate the truth from the bullshoy. Now I don't mean that I ask
things like "describe the differences between the alert and popup hypertext
commands in FrameMaker". But I might ask questions like "I see you've used
FrameMaker and WebWorks Publisher. Can you describe any of the more
difficult hurdles you've had to conquer concerning those products and
briefly describe your solution?" Having used these tools, I can immediately
understand where the interviewee might be coming from and would be able to
spot any possible attempts at lying or skirting around the question.

I dunno. I try to stick to the truth. I don't see the harm in telling people
I don't know something. Dazzle them with something else... your track
record, your ability to learn new things quickly, your amazing ping pong
ball trick...

They've read your resume, which is why you got the interview. If you're
honest on your resume, and you know they're looking for a person with XYZ
experience and you didn't mention it, then there's another reason why you're
sitting in that interview chair.

And if you're not getting interviews because you don't have XYZ on your
resume, don't just put it on there to increase your interview potential.
That's just plain wrong, even if you DO *think* you can learn it before the
interview/start of job. Be honest and highlight your strong points, and if
it makes you more comfortable, emphasize your other qualities and dim the
light on your tools experience. But if you think knowing Frame or RoboHelp
or whatever will increase your likelihood of being hired, then learn it!
Eval copies of software are (mostly) free, and there are plenty of books out
there to get you started. At least then you will have *some* experience to
talk of.

*****************
BILL SWALLOW
Technical Writer
C O U R I O N C O R P O R A T I O N
1881 Worcester Road
Framingham, Mass. 01701
T E L * 508-879-8400 x316
F A X * 508-879-8500
www.courion.com
*****************

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