I don't think anyone thinks that an English degree alone means a person is qualified. It's just a way to try to weed through applicants when you're buried under a pile of resumes of applicants with no writing experience. As I said, it was a response to a particular situation at a particular company, and if you knew all the HR constraints in that company and what it forced into various decisions and how much of the decision could be forced based on HR policies rather than hiring manager's input, you'd have likely made the same decision in that situation. Even tenure in the field isn't always a good indicator. We hired one writer with a 25 year history, but then found out over the course of the next 6 mo that there was very little discipline or tool knowledge, and a prevalent attitude that edits are a luxury and little things like consistently referring to AC power in caps was considered "making it pretty" and that writer "didn't have time for pretty" even though there was time built into the schedule and not plenty of writer bandwidth. Certainly, there have been good writers with non-English degrees and prior work experience in a technical field. I have hired a couple myself, and I work with one now. It's hard to find a good blend of writing skill and technical expertise, but it's out there. Rene
Deb <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hi All, I agree with Diane. I have encountered candidates with english degrees and certifications in english who have failed badly when it comes to the writing piece and working on the relevant documentation tools. Regards, Debashish On 5/16/07, Diane Gaskill wrote: > > 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 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 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/dghosh%40gmail.com > > 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/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/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
