Rene, All, Be careful about rejecting applicants without a degree, and don't count on an applicant having a degree being qualified for the job.
As a Tech Pubs Manager for 10 years, I disqualified several people with MAs and even PhDs because they had little or no technical experience. And I hired more than one writer with no degree but had a great deal of tehnical experience and writing talent as well. I would strongly encourage you to look at each applicant individually and consider equivalent experience when screening and hiring writers. I suggest that you consider other degrees besides English as well. A degree in English does not by itself qualify anyone to be a TECHNICAL writer. I'd personally rather hire someone with a degree in engineering or computer science and who is a good writer. But people with those degrees are usually sw developers or designers, not writers. Diane Gaskill San Jose, CA -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Lise Bible Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 1:25 PM To: framers@lists.frameusers.com Subject: Re: Entry Level Technical Writer - Contract - Moorpark, CA Well, I guess I can kind of see both sides. I've been a tech writer at my company for a year and a half, and it is frustrating when others assume that if you can type and spell (or *not* spell..."hey, that's what spell-check is for, right?") then you're fully qualified to be a tech writer. But it is hard to break out of the "admin" mold. I don't have a degree in English, but I have a BA in Psychology. I majored in Psych because I thought the classes were really quite interesting, not having a specific career goal in mind. After college, I started temping, and ended up in an admin/customer service role at a manufacturing company. Among other things, I wrote work instructions and the like for my department, learned PageMaker and became an expert at Word. Two acquisitions, two office moves and 2 years later, the tech writer position here opened up, and I applied. I think my former boss went to bat for me, as they moved the position out of the marketing department and into the Engineering Services department (where I was already), and here I am. I've since taken classes in Frame and a Tech Writing course through University of IL at Chicago, and I find I have an affinity for the job. Moral of my story, I guess, is that it's not a bad thing to think outside the box, hiring-wise, but yes, it is hard to effectively weed out the unqualified while finding the right person for the job. -Lise On 5/15/07, Rene Stephenson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I have had secretaries apply for tech writer openings in my group. Internal candidates always get phone screening, so I'd have to call them. I always asked what they felt were their qualifications, and they all responded that they had "good English" and were experts with MS Word. They wrote lots of corresondence and updated their draft letters with the "edits" from their bosses, so they "knew" how to handle document review. We had to start posting BA or higher in English or directly relevant field as a minimal requirement with no "equivalency" allowed. > > Rene > > > Keith Smyth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > As in "So easy a Caveman could do it"? > > I am sure all of us have had the experience of someone totally clueless > thinking all we do is type. Had a gal at one of our square dances from > our church in 1983 tell me that while she is a store clerk, she is going to > become a tech writer, "because if you can do it, anyone can do it". > > And she went to an interview. Never heard from her again. > > > >You think that's insulting? When we had a req open for another tech > >writer in January, we had people from our shipping department and the > >warehouse coming to us and asking us if they could apply for the job. As > >if Tech Writing was so easy, someone with shipping or warehouse > >experience could do it. > > > > > >Thank you, > > > > -Gillian > > -- > Keith L. Smyth > President > Smyth Consulting > ------------------------------------------------------------- > Religion was in charge during the dark ages. > ------------------------------------------------------------- > Technical Documentation Consultant > > _______________________________________________ > > > You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/rinnie1%40yahoo.com > > Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit > http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. > > > > Rene L. Stephenson > eNovative Solutions, Inc. > Business Phone: 678-513-0051 > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/rentagoodbook%40gmail.co m > > Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit > http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. > _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/dgcaller%40earthlink.net Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
