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Subject:Re: Should we hire this guy? From:Christi <christi -at- sageinst -dot- COM> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 05 Jun 2000 13:36:23 -0700
on 6/5/00 12:25 PM, Tracy Boyington wrote:
> OK, many of us would throw up our hands in horror at first, but is it *that*
> important that someone hired for their technical knowledge knows the
> difference
> between "insure" and "ensure"? Unless you're working in the insurance
> industry,
> it seems that would be one of those things you'd just have to expect from
> someone who is an SME and not a writer. If you're willing to teach the
> technology to the writer, why not teach spelling/using bullets/active voice to
> the engineer? Or hire an editor to work with the engineer-writer, just as
> you'd
> expect a SME to work with the writer-writer.
First note, these were just things I noticed at a glance, before taking a
more detailed look at the samples.
Second, in my instance (a) the company has only one position, no editor, and
(b) there won't be anyone around to teach the "spelling/using bullets/active
voice" to the new person. However, there will be people around that can
teach the technology.
Obviously, different companies have different baselines that they need to
work with.
>> As someone else pointed out, with current spelling checkers so widely
>> available, how on earth can someone let a document leave their hands without
>> at least running a basic check.
> On the other hand, since you won't find someone who meets *all* of your needs,
> the ability to spell may be something you can let slide when hiring the
> engineer-as-writer simply because spell checking is so widely available. After
> all, there is no "engineering checker" in Word. Not yet, anyway. But you're
> right; it *is* a quality control issue that would need to be addressed.
I think it's more than just a quality control issue. If someone who is
sending in a resume and samples for a _writing_ position hasn't bothered to
run a simple spell check program, that makes me feel that aren't even
putting in the basic amount of effort into their presentation to me (a
prospective employer), so will they put in the basic amount of effort needed
for our docs?
Christi Carew
Technical Writer
christi -at- sageinst -dot- com
p. 831-761-6565
f. 831-761-2452
Sage Instruments
240 Airport Blvd.
Freedom, CA 95019
www.sageinst.com
You can never entirely stop being what you once were. That's why it's
important to be the right person today, and not put it off till tomorrow.
- Larry Wall
