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> Although the situation is changing, there are still many companies who are
> hiring technical writers for the first time. Previously, they've had no
> documentation, or bad documentation written by a (fill in any job here) who
> could "write". Sometimes, they don't even know what it is they want.
In my days as a consultant, I was the first technical writer ever to set foot on
thepremises of a very well-known international company. In the interview they
said,
"People have been telling us for years that we should have a technical writer,
but
we're not sure we need one." I rather cautiously asked them who wrote their
manuals. They very casually told me their users did.
I was with them for about a year and considered it a wonderful opportunity to
show
them what a technical writer could do and prove our worth. Besides, if I was
successful, I had the possibility of opening up opportunities for more technical
writers to work at that company (which was what they did end up doing). In this
way we all can help "create" jobs for technical writers.
Denise Lystad
Lynden Incorporated
Seattle, Washington
