Writing Samples...

[Bill Swallow <bill_swallow -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

[Bridget O'Connor asks:]
     I'm a technical recruiter working with a client 
     company who requires that I submit a writing 
     sample from a candidate at the same time I submit

     the candidate's resume. Every now and then 
     however I run into a candidate 
     who insists they can't provide a sample because 
     the companies they worked for had made them sign 
     contracts not to reveal proprietary information. 
     Obviously, this situation makes it very difficult

     for a potential employer to evaluate a 
     candidate's writing achievements.
     My question is this:  Is there any way for these 
     candidates to provide a writing sample without 
     violating their contracts?  Do 
     any of you have any background with this issue 
     that you could share with me?  What I'm hoping 
     for is either something that I can tell 
     candidates to alleviate their fears of violating 
     a contract OR something I can tell my client 
     regarding why they can't expect all candidates to

     comply with their request for a sample.
[end original post]

In general, proprietary means proprietary.
Occasionally a company will agree (upon the writer's
request) to let a fraction of the material to be
released, but the agreement technically has to be met.


As for me, my writing samples go with me to the
interview and come home with me when the interview's
over. Surely an hour is plenty of time to determine a
person's writing skills. Otherwise the reviewer is
getting into the meat of the content, which is not
necessary. Writing validation and subject matter
validation are two different things.



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