RE: tech writer group dynamics

["Al Geist" <al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com>]

Jill Mohan wrote:

>>have just been told that my employer may be looking to add another tech
writer to the staff (doubling it, as I am the only one).  A manager told me
to be prepared to interview candidates, and that they are hoping to clone
me.  The company is a small defense contractor in northern Virginia.

I have never worked with another tech writer before, so i am a little
apprehensive about a few things:  what will the career path be, how will it
be decided as to who gets to work on what, how long should it take to
write/review documents, etc.<<


They want a clone of you.... to determine how long does it should take to
write/edit documents, figure out how long it takes you to do the same work
and then add extra time to allow for the new writer coming up to speed. If
you have hard deadlines, then that's how long it should take to do the job.
Most experienced writers can come up to speed rather quickly.

As for worrying about career path...who's career path? Your's or the new
writer. Unless you plan on moving on, the career path for the new writer is
pretty clear. On the subject of deciding who works on what...you're the
senior writer. Determine the strengths of the TW staff and assign
accordingly. The key is to get the best output from existing resources in
the most productive manner.


Al Geist
Technical Writing, Help, Marketing Collateral, Web Design and Award Winning
Videos
Voice/Msg: 802-872-9190
Cell: 802-578-3964
E-mail: mailto:al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com
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