TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
--- jhoadley -at- gol -dot- com wrote:
> I have been working as a Technical Editor at a Japanese company for the
> last 4 years. I am trying to return to the US, but I haven't had much luck.
> The few employers who have been willing to accept the fact that I'm
> relocating from overseas have demanded "writing samples." Since I'm an
> editor, and not a writer, I have very few of those. I do have some "before
> and after" copies of documents to which I have made major changes. Is it
> acceptable to send those instead? For those of you have have made hiring
> decisions before, what would you think if you received documents like
> that?
It's not clear to me whether you're looking at technical editing or technical
writing? If you're applying for TE positions and they're asking for "writing
samples" perhaps they want to see some before and after examples of your work.
Whatever the circumstances, if you send examples of work you've edited, you
need to make sure you clearly indicate that fact so that no one thinks you've
actually written the samples you are providing.
As to what I would think about receiving such documents, that would depend on
the circumstances. As I said above, if you were applying for an editorial
position, I would ask for examples of your editing work, although I might just
as well discuss style guides and editorial philosophy. If you were applying for
a technical writing position, I would NOT want to see work you had edited; I
would want to know how well you can write.
=====
Tom Murrell
Lead Technical Writer
Alliance Data Systems
Columbus, Ohio mailto:tmurrell -at- columbus -dot- rr -dot- com
Personal Web Page - http://home.columbus.rr.com/murrell/
Page Last Updated 07/15/01
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/
*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com
Learn about tools and technologies for user assistance developers at
The Help Technology Conference, August 21-24 in Boston, MA
Details and online registration at http://www.SolutionsEvents.com
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
