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.
Subject:Re: So, how much IS it worth? From:Peter <pnewman1 -at- home -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 31 Jul 2001 14:58:27 -0400
John Posada wrote:
> I think that the sooner that we and the people doing the hiring move
> away from "What do you know" model, and move to the "What can you do"
> model, the sooner we'll be taken seriously.
>
> Everything you itemized in your post has to do with what you know.
> You know creative writing. You know Word.
>
> However, what can you do? Until you can do special things, you will
> not get special rates.
>
> What are special things? Walk the walk, not talk the talk. When you
> say you will get something done, do you do everything in your power
> (even if it is a MAJOR ordeal) to get it done. When asked can you do
> something, do you say yes? Not "probably". Not "maybe". Simply "Yes".
>
> When someone puts a very challenging assignment in front of you, do
> you think "COOL!", or "Why me? Am I gonna have to work extra time?"
>
A lot of what you say makes imminent sense. All too often there is too
much obsessing about whether periods and commas are going in the right
place, which tool is better and not enough about content and whether the
intended reader will receive a useful document. To any manager,
especially a "Dogbert" type, those obsessions are a total waste of
time. Many hiring managers feel, with some justification, that your
ability to produce is a function of your knowledge. Therefore it could
be argued that while your ability to produce is the ultimate test of
your value, without direct knowledge of your work the best measurement
of the potential ultimate value to a company is to measure your
knowledge.
--
Peter
Mailto:peternew -at- optonline -dot- net
Adapting old programs to fit new machines
usually means adapting new machines to
behave like old ones.
*** 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
---
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.