Re: Editing and writing tests for jobs

[kate -at- kathleen -dot- net]

Ben Kovitz wrote:
> However, I can see a reasonable basis for using tests.  The "look at
> their work" approach requires that the interviewer be able to judge
> for him or herself whether the writing is any good.  That is, it
> requires that the interviewer have some knowledge or at least good
> intuition about tech writing.  Not everyone has that.  No need to
> bemoan that.  That's why tech writers have jobs.
[...]

When I'm in an interview with someone who doesn't seem to know why they're 
supposed to look at my samples, I'm more expressive about the samples I 
show. In other words, I'll put a manual in front of the interviewer, and 
from across the desk or table, turn it to relevant sections (without 
seeming pushy -- they're usually grateful that I'm driving!) and comment on 
why I want them to see those bits.

- "In this section, I had to explain the database schema to a bunch of 
non-techie types who work in the entertainment industry. You can see that 
I've chosen to use a lot of pictures, simple and clear language, and a 
consistent metaphor all the way through."

- "Here's an example of a tutorial I wrote on planning and scheduling 
methodology for discrete complex manufacturing. The audience was familiar 
with manufacturing terminology, so as you can see, I used that liberally, 
but not necessarily familiar with our theories, so I've taken care to 
explain them in such-and-such a way."

- "This is a complete pubs set. I managed this project, and the reason why 
I'm showing you all of these pieces is so you can see the coherence in 
design (which I was part of) and style. You can see here and here that we 
used similar examples from manual to manual, and although the complexity of 
material varies from the user's manual to the developer's guide, the voice 
remains consistent. Here's what I mean... ."

Before I began to take this approach, I would often hand samples to 
interviewers, watch as they gave the books a cursory flip, and have to 
answer questions about what font I used and what tool the book was written 
in. Now interviewers seem relieved to be gaining some insight while they're 
looking at my samples, and they're always impressed with my commentary.

- Kate O'


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