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RE: Interested in input from managers and individual contributors on hiring newbies
Subject:RE: Interested in input from managers and individual contributors on hiring newbies From:Lin Laurie <linlaurie1 -at- hotmail -dot- com> To:"Van Laan, Krista" <Krista -dot- VanLaan -at- itron -dot- com>, "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 19 Mar 2021 17:49:41 +0000
Hi Krista,
When I originally started out, I was writing articles for a newsletter in Seattle and Microsoft liked my writing style and developer background and they approached me for a contract position.
But for my second job, I developed documentation for a badly documented product and showed that as a sample of my work and the company liked it. Over the years I found that to be a great thing to do when I wanted work and there wasn't any. I would come across a product I was interested in working with that had bad documentation and develop a couple of chapters or about 8 to 10 topics with more topic titles for a help system and then reach out to marketing. They would love my work and get me hired on contract. It worked for me 5 out of 6 times and the one time it didn't work, the company just didn't have any budget.
The other thing that was helpful for me was to do good work while in school. My teachers would refer me if someone asked them for student referrals. It worked for me and I'm now in the process of turning around and doing that for my own former students. I teach in a certificate program for technical writers.
I tell my students to create an online resume and portfolio site and create portfolio projects that apply to the work they want to do. Don't create a portfolio project on sky diving if you want to write about infrastructure.
I hope that helps.
Lin Laurie
206.900.1861
www.linlaurie.com
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+linlaurie1=hotmail -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com <techwr-l-bounces+linlaurie1=hotmail -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> On Behalf Of Van Laan, Krista
Sent: Friday, March 19, 2021 9:30 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Interested in input from managers and individual contributors on hiring newbies
I am working on the second edition of "The Insider's Guide to Technical Writing" and would like to update the section on breaking into the field. Job-hunting has changed a lot over the years, and it seems to be harder than ever for a new graduate or career-changer to meet real hiring managers or get around the impersonal job application software.
For hiring managers: How do you recruit new hires who have no experience? What do you look for when hiring someone like this?
For individual contributors who have started within the last ten years: How did you find your first job?
Krista Van Laan
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