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I really find that someone who wants job experience, either want someone
who has worked at their company doing that job for the last X years, or
doesn't really understand what the skill set for technical writing is.
I always looked for someone who had experience using any layout program,
graphics program, computer system. I looked for someone who was able to
learn the new ways, adapt to new situations, and use their past
knowledge and experience to succeed in their endeavors.
Without fail, I did not look for someone who could do everything on our
software tools. I looked for someone who could learn, and understood
writing. The concepts between a page layout program like PageMaker or
Quark, are not that distant from FrameMaker.
Structured content is structured content. How you get there depends upon
the tools you use. I know that is a generalization, but your skills in
learning and adapting, and writing, are more important than the skills
using a particular tool.
That is what training is for. If the employer has waited so long to hire
in a person that they cannot afford to train the new employee, then
perhaps you do not want that position.
Most people are not going to be asked to create templates, that is where
the difficulty with FrameMaker lies. Using created templates is fairly
simple.
I looked for a competent writer.
The tools they should be able to learn.
Scott
BMcClain -at- centura -dot- com wrote:
>
> A related thread about resume honesty got me wondering. Recently, I put
> myself out of the running for a job opening when I revealed that I had
> "played" with FrameMaker but hadn't used it in a production environment, so
> I wasn't sure if that qualified as "experience." Maybe I inadvertently
> transmitted doubt in my abilities, but I wanted to be clear about what I had
> and hadn't done.
>
> At one shop where I'd worked, I'd evaluated FrameMaker and recommended it as
> a replacement for PageMaker. Now, I've purchased O'Keeffe's /For Dummies/
> book and am going through it with FM. And I'm subscribing to the Framers'
> list as of this morning.
>
> Next, I'd like to actually do something useful that would make a potential
> employer nod and say "Yep, that's experience, all right." For you who have
> input hiring decisions involving FM experience: What specific suggestions
> can you make to help me overcome the bootstrap problem of getting the
> appropriate experience?
>
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