Re: Portfolio For a New Tech Writer?

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>]

Glen Warner wrote:

> Interestingly, the last interview I was on, they
> didn't ask to see my portfolio

If they don't ask to see it, I always ask if they want to. For one thing,
if I have to lug it around, I want to make use of it. :-) More importantly,
going over the portfolio is an excuse to sell yourself by demonstrating
your experience and competence.

> The URL for the About.com forums I mentioned previously suggests just
> taking what's necessary to get the job ... that is, if the job calls
> for manuals written in Word, bring samples of those. RoboHelp?
> Bring screenshots.

I have reservations about this advice. You don't always know what's
relevant to a particular job. And, even if you have a few hints, such as
the fact that you'll be expected to work in FrameMaker, that doesn't mean
that other samples won't be useful. Many times, HR won't have told you
everything that's relevant. If you prepare for an interview with the idea
that you're going to show your Word samples, then three-quarters of the
time you'll find when you get there  that RoboHelp and Visio sample would
have been useful tool

In addition, tools don't seem to matter much; an interviewer ask if you've
used a tool, but rarely goes into more detail on the subject.

Besides, unless the interviewers have actually used the tools, they won't
have much sense of how the tool might affect the documents anyway. I
wouldn't suggest that you should ever lie (it's not only immoral, but gets
complicated), but, if you were to claim that a Word document was actually
done in FrameMaker, very few interviewers would be able to disprove the
claim, and none of them could do so consistently for every document that
they saw. They'd have to know the quirks of each tool, and the limitations
that the quirks impose. Even then, the quirks of the software could simply
be design preferences.

Moreover, one of the selling points in my usual spiel is versatility.  I
figure that, the more versatility I can show, the more useful I'll appear
to the company. Of course, that doesn't always work, since some companies
prefer a specialist.. However, I don't want a job with a narrow routine, so
showing versatility filters out the companies I wouldn't want to work at.

Finally, of course, tools have no bearing on your writing skills, which
should be the main area of discussion. Some interviewers focus on tool
experience because the topic seems concrete, but I doubt you'll convince
someone to hire you simply because you're a Word Wizard. or a Frame Fakir.
The core benefits you are trying to sell are your writing and organization
skills, and they can be demonstrated in any tool.

--
Bruce Byfield bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604.421.7177


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