RE: 10 things all tech writers should do - but different

["Sharon Burton-Hardin" <sharon -at- anthrobytes -dot- com>]

Mike, I am looking for people with writing skills. I was looking
specifically for technical writers with specific domain knowledge. This
project would not have time for people to learn what web services are or how
to systems manage a Linux server. The people would need to be able to hit
the ground running with this knowledge in hand before they start.

My point is that I own a tech writing consulting company, may need to put
together a team with skills my team does not all have and, when looking at
brief write ups of the tech writers, didn't get anything about the domain of
knowledge people have. I saw a lot about tools people know, which is very
different. Very different.

In other words, Andrew is right on this one. He is always talking about
tools are not that relevant, knowledge is. I am facing a possible project
and his words are in my face. I need knowledge, not tech pubs tools skills.

sharon

Sharon Burton-Hardin
CEO, Anthrobytes Consulting
909-369-8590
www.anthrobytes.com

-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-techwr-l-71429 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
[mailto:bounce-techwr-l-71429 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com]On Behalf Of Mike O.
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 4:22 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: 10 things all tech writers should do - but different



Sharon Burton-Hardin wrote:
> So I went to a local STC chapter website to look at the online
> resumes... I need people with B2B knowledge, unix/linux admin skills,
> stuff like that.

So you went to the STC website and were disappointed you didn't find
Unix admins? I'd say you were looking for love in all the wrong places
:-)

There are lots of websites for admins - how about your local Linux user
group? Or just a plain old posting on a local job board?

I'm an East Coaster but based on the national press, I thought you
can't throw a rock in Southern California without hitting an unemployed
sysadmin. Not that I'm advocating violence against sysadmins.

And what kind of technical skill is "B2B knowledge"? That smells like
marcomm to me. B2B usually implies vertical domain knowledge. Why not
look at resumes of people from the specific domain? There are whole
rafts of available people with B2B portal experience.

> almost NO ONE is telling me the technologies they know.
Yes they are: RoboHELP, Pagequarker, and ISO90210. Their resumes are
probably optimized to catch the eye of employers looking for pubs
skills, not admin skills.

Also, we are always telling jobseekers that networking is the best way
to get results, so maybe that's good advice for employers too. I'll bet
if you shake your personal network instead of browsing the STC website,
you will find the people you need.

Regards,
Mike O.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Purchase RoboHelp X3 in April and receive a $100 mail-in 
rebate, plus FREE RoboScreenCapture and WebHelp Merge Module.  
Order here: http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l

   Help celebrate TECHWR-L's 10th Anniversary starting this month!
Check out the contests at http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/special/contests/
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday TECHWR-L....

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.