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: Writing samples and portfolios From:"CL T" <straylightsghost -at- gmail -dot- com> Date:Mon, 1 Dec 2008 12:15:15 -0700
Agreed!
I try to get permission to use any proprietary docs, otherwise I'll scrub
the doc and excerpts. Excellent advice Gene.
I also made an "Interactive business card CD" (even shaped like a business
card) once. It was popular and did help me land several contracts. I still
pass out a regular CD at every interview with doc samples, etc. I can't
believe how many people *don't* do that.
On Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 11:52 AM, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> wrote:
> >From a hiring manager's POV, I'd rather see samples
> of real documents for real products that a candidate
> can demonstrate knowledge of content and what went
> into making. If online delivery of samples is required,
> I'd rather get scans of real documents with proprietary
> data blacked out than candidate-created generic
> samples or open-source project documents.
>
> My own writing samples consist of scrubbed excerpts
> from past documents and links to full documents that
> past employers and/or clients have made available for
> open download from their websites. Assorted examples
> going back some 15 years with notations added to
> point out common features of my past works to help
> make it clearer that they are all my work.
>
> Gene Kim-Eng
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> >Previously when asked for writing samples, I would
> >bring them to the interview and show them in person
> >only as my work contains proprietary information. Do
> >people still do this? I have considered modifying some
> >of my documents but they would lose a lot of value if
> >I made them generic. And, I've considered creating
> >my own samples but a) clearly that is a time intensive
> >process and b) I don't think documenting simple
> >software will showcase my abilities.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
> solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
> HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals.
>http://www.doctohelp.com
>
> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control!
>http://www.helpandmanual.com/
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as straylightsghost -at- gmail -dot- com -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> or visit
>http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/straylightsghost%40gmail.com
>
>
> To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
>http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.
>
> Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
>http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat
>
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. http://www.doctohelp.com
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-