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Subject:Re: Tech writer who can't write a resume From:Marie Clear <Mclear3000 -at- AOL -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 7 Dec 1995 00:21:01 -0500
Heli Roosild writes:
>This has been an eye-opening thread for me. It had never occurred to me
>that a technical writer would farm it out. I'll have to add that question
>to my interview list. (And BTW, I doubt I'd hire any writer who did NOT
>write his/her own.)
I'm new to this group, so I hope I'm not being redundant in this, but writing
a resume for yourself is a loaded project. I've written countless resumes
for
friends (and *only* friends, because I hate doing it), and part of the job
always
involves my assuring them that I'll make it as painless as possible. People
loathe facing their own resumes. I do write my own, and I'll vouch that
it is a *hateful* job.
And, I always think I'm making a mistake by writing it myself.
Writing a resume for youself is like representing yourself in court if you're
a lawyer or taking your own apendix out if you're a doctor. Emotion has
no place in any of these chores, and, while you can't be imprisoned or
die because of a bad resume (though I've read a few. . .), you certainly can
hurt yourself.
While I believe that most tech writers (wish I could say "all") can produce
a good resume, I think most will do it grudgingly. It's hard to be
objective.
It's hard to shake off the stress that most people face at the prospect
of changing jobs or finding new work if they've been unemployed.
The job search process ranks up there with divorce and moving as
main stressors, so give tech writers the same break you'd give any
strung out job candidate. Besides, you have to *know* that whoever
writes the resume, the tech writer client is bound to come back with
countless rewrites. It's virtually his or hers by the time the process is
over.
> (And BTW, I doubt I'd hire any writer who did NOT
> write his/her own.)
Frankly, I would much rather hire employees with a realistic sense
of what they can and can't do. I don't want someone turning in
half-assed work if he or she could have asked for help and turned in a
winner. "Farming it out" probably shows good judgement and a fair
sense of personal strengths.
Marie
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Marie Clear Mclear3000 -at- aol -dot- com
