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I figured the computer science degree with 7 years technical writing
experience would address the technical and longevity elements.
> Geez John, after all the discrimination discussions I would think
> you would say "He couldn't read C".
Believe it or not, my posts yesterday not withstanding, I'm probably
one of the most non-discriminatory persons you could meet (I hate
everyone equally :-)...just kidding).
I wasn't arguing that the person making the comment wasn't completely
off-base, rude, crude, and possibly unethical..I was only saying it
wasn't illegal.
> For the senior technical writer position, I think that the term
> "senior" implies that the person has at least 5 years experience in
> the field rather than someone who is jumping over from another
> field. So you should state that in your advertisement.
>
> Having worked with a senior technical writer who had difficulty
> with the "technical" part, I would also add a requirement that the
> person has, at some point, done something that demonstrates the
> level of technical knowledge required for the job. For example, for
> software, I would want the person to have set up a test environment
> in past jobs that he/she could use during the documentation
> process. For electronics, you better be able to read the schematics
> and engineering diagrams.
>
> Diane "I read C" Brennan
> Programming Writer
> John Posada <jposada01 -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
> > I am attempting to recruit a "senior" technical
> > writer. I am finding people who respond to my job
> > announcements who have accomplished all sorts of
> > things and claim to be technical writers so that they can
> > be hired by my company.
>
> You aren't hiring a senior technical writer. You aren't hiring a
> technical writer. You are hiring sonmeone who can do what you want
> at the level that you want it.
>
> Be very specific about what you want in the applicant. You want
> someone who has created, from scratch, X types of documentation,
> with X skill sets, using X tools, for X years.
>
> Example: Looking for someone with a Computer Science degree who can
> read code and has a minimum of 7 years of writing expereince
> creating C-type (either C, C++, C#) API documentation using
> Framemaker.
>
> Be specific. You're then justified in eliminating anyone who misses
> any of the requirememnts.
>
> Example: "Why didn't you hire the applicant who came in yesterday?"
> "She couldn't read C"
John Posada
Senior Technical Writer
"I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."
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