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Life would be a lot easier if every potential hiring
manager or client sent out an advance briefing on the
kind of interviewer he/she would be, but since that's
not the case, the prudent thing to do is usually to
come armed with something to show if you're asked.
I never unzip my case and ask, "would you like to see
my samples?" and about 50% of the time, they never see
the light of day. But the rest of the time, the person
I'm talking to isn't a publications manager or even a
writer, but is an R&D manager or a corporate director,
and visual aids, either what I've done or what I'd
suggest as a documentation package for the product
they're developing, come in very handy, because these
types of interviewers usually just want to know what
they're going to get at the end of the process and
don't want to hear about the process itself, much less
about my best and worst days.
Gene Kim-Eng
Bill Swallow said:
>
> I've been in the interviewer's chair a few times.
> Personally, I expect that you've written technical
> info, published to print and online, and have worked
> on help files if you're interviewing for anything
> other than an entry-level position. Seeing what you've
> done brings me little comfort as to your ability to do
> it. I'd much rather you talked about it, especially
> your challenges. How you talk about what you did is
> much more valuable than showing me the end result.
> *Anyone* could have done that portfolio for you... If
> you can talk me through your best and worst days, best
> and worst projects, and really show me you know your
> stuff, well, who cares about the portfolio, really.
> I've already "seen" all I need with which to make a
> decision.
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