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>I'm getting the feeling that companies (or specifically HR offices) think
the economy is such >that they can pick and choose the next Tech
Writer/Information Developer/Documentation >Engineer (you pick, just trying
to be politically correct) because they come a dime a dozen
>now. I recently had a five hour interview where I sat in a room and five
different people
>came in one at a time and drilled me. At about the third one, I was tired
of reiterating my
>history and how I got started in Tech Writing. By the time it was over, I
didn't care if I had
> the job or not. They haven't called in a week and a half so I guess they
felt the same.
This is unusual? Nearly every interview I have had involved one-on-one with
3-5 people, all asking the same or similar questions.
>A few years ago, I had a really strange one. I was placed at a conference
table with eight
>people. Everyone seemed to be competing to be the most clever and popular.
I felt like I was
>back in high school. They fired questions back and forth, then finished
with asking me what
>was the funniest thing that ever happened to me. I started to reply that
that meeting was the
>tops but I gave them a reply and left. Needless to say, no call from them
either.
A company I used to work for had all the managers and supervisors interview
candidates one-on-one. Then they writing team got to to ask questions,
including one ice-breaker- "What would you bring to a potluck?" This was a
nice way to see how the candidate fit in with the group. It worked out very
well.
>Come to think of it, I still don't know what kind of documentation they
did.
Isn't that something you research before the interview, or ask about during
the interview?
Speaking of interesting interview experiences, a friend of mine had a very
strange experience on a job interview. At the end of the interview, the HR
rep walked her to the elevator. The doors were about to close, and he
reached out to hold them open, asking "If you were a tree, what kind would
you be and why?".
-Amanda L. Lutey
> Publications Information Specialist
> John Deere Worldwide Commercial & Consumer Equipment Division
>
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