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Re: Request for Resume samples and Writing samples
Subject:Re: Request for Resume samples and Writing samples From:Eric Ray <ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com> To:warrinerdeweese <warrinerdeweese -at- email -dot- msn -dot- com> Date:Mon, 03 Apr 2000 07:00:53 -0600
Player1:
> > > Can anyone send me via MS Word attachment resume samples and writing
> > > samples that do not contain any confidential information?
> >
Player2:
> > What good would someone else's samples be? They would not represent your
> > writing abilities. They would only help you if you were going to try and
> pass
> > them off as your work, which would be unethical.
> >
> > Here's my advice .... need samples??? Write something!
Player3:
> I think this kind of flippant reply to someone seeking answers is uncalled
> for. What's wrong with helping a person breaking into the field feel more
> confident in the material they DO have to present? Instead of thinly
> disguised assumptions of unethical intentions, why not remain silent if you
> can't offer positive feedback? Why would new subscribers or new TWs want to
> seek advice from a professional list such as this if members respond so
> unprofessionally?
I'd agree that the tone was, perhaps, not as overindulgent as
it could have been, but the point was well taken. Writing
samples, as in "samples of how I'd write this type of document"
are as near as the books on a desk, the online help of any
program, the documentation for any purchased program, or
the bookstore shelves of your favorite retailer. If you
spend any time in used bookstores or at garage sales, you
can also find a plethora of used tech writing textbooks,
computer manuals, and "How to write proposals in 15 minutes".
I stumbled over the post in question when I first saw it, and
still cannot figure out what possible legitimate purpose there
would be for requesting MSWord versions of writing samples that
could not be as easily accomplished through one of the
other means above. (If the request had been for specific and
harder-to-find document types, or specified a document format
like PDF that isn't quite as easy to pass off as your own,
it might have been perceived differently.)
While I certainly agree that helping people break into the
field is an admirable goal, I don't think that the members
of the community as a whole have any obligation to sit quietly
if they think a request for information is out of bounds.
Eric
ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com
TECHWR-L Listowner
