Technical writer position with L-Soft to document LISTSERV

[Eric Thomas <ERIC -at- SEARN -dot- BITNET>]

After reviewing the  list description and recent postings  and not seeing
any apparent conflict,  I am taking the liberty of  posting the following
job announcement  to TECHWR-L, as  it appears to  be the ideal  forum for
getting in  touch with  qualified applicants. I  apologize in  advance if
this was inappropriate.

The position  in question is with  the company that markets  and develops
LISTSERV (the real one - the one that hosts TECHWR-L), and the task is to
rewrite  LISTSERV  documentation  from   scratch.  The  announcement  was
previously posted to a number  of LISTSERV-related lists, and we received
a number of applications, some encouraging and some not. However, none of
them was from  a professional writer. Conversely,  finding a professional
technical writer is not particularly difficult, but we are hoping to hire
someone who is already familiar with LISTSERV and will not end up burning
25-50% of a programmer's time just getting the raw information.

Well, it looks like I have just  found a real bonanza - 900-odd technical
writers who are already familiar with  LISTSERV :-) Since some of you may
have had  a technical  occupation in  a former life,  I am  enclosing the
entire  announcement, which  also  contains a  number  of more  technical
positions, to give you a bit  more background on the company. A technical
background might  be a plus, depending  on whether it would  allow you to
read  source  code and  figure  out  what the  program  does,  but it  is
certainly not  a requirement. Your writing  skills and style will  be the
determining factors.

  Eric

PS: We  have only  received one application  for the  Technical Secretary
    position thus far. If  you happen to know someone in  the DC area who
    might be interested, feel free to put him or her in touch with us.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A number of positions are available or will become available shortly with
L-Soft international,  Inc. ("L-Soft"). We are  posting this announcement
to L-Soft  related mailing  lists because  we believe  the nature  of our
business makes it  desirable to recruit people who  have prior experience
with  computer networks  and our  products. For  ethical reasons,  we are
restricting this posting to mailing lists specifically targeted at L-Soft
products.  While  you are  free  to  forward  this  message to  lists  or
individuals whom you think would be interested in one of the positions we
are planning to  offer, we kindly ask that you  refrain from reposting it
to public lists which are not in  some way related to the positions being
offered. That  is, please do  not repost this  message to a  mailing list
about medical sciences  just because the list is managed  by LISTSERV. We
appreciate your cooperation.

*************************************************************************
***************************** S U M M A R Y *****************************
*************************************************************************

Positions being offered:

1. Application programmer, unix     (one)
2. Application programmer, VMS      (one)
3. Mailing list administrator       (multiple)
4. Technical secretary              (one)
5. Technical writer                 (consultancy/multiple)

Note: the positions are listed in  alphabetical order; the numbers do not
correspond to any kind of priority scheme.

All positions except number 3  (mailing list administrator) are available
now. Position 3 will be filled as the need arises, probably 3Q94.

The positions are not rigid! When you turn in your resume, we will try to
determine how and when L-Soft could benefit from your involvement, rather
than aiming for the candidate  whose profile best fits the specifications
we  published. You  may apply  for several  positions, and  you may  even
suggest a position  that is not mentioned in  this announcement, provided
that the  work you propose to  do is mentioned in  the announcement. That
is,  feel  free  to  combine  3  and 5  if  you  have  the  corresponding
experience, but please do not apply for an accounting job that we have no
need for at the moment.

*************************************************************************
**************************** A P P L Y I N G ****************************
*************************************************************************

We will judge your resume on its contents rather than its form. We prefer
to receive applications by e-mail, because it makes it much easier for us
to scan through the replies. To apply, write to JOBS -at- LSOFT -dot- COM, using the
following subject field:

   Subject: Application for position 3 - Mailing list administrator

If you apply for several positions, use:

   Subject: Application for positions 1, 2 and 3

The exact  format is  unimportant as  long as the  number, preceded  by a
blank  (no '#'  sign  or equivalent),  is present.  The  reason for  this
requirement is  that we expect  to use  database searches to  process the
replies. There is no "punishment"  for formatting the subject improperly,
but of  course we are  likely to miss  your application when  running the
database search.

You  can also  apply via  mundane means,  by writing  (or FAXing)  to our
Washington office:

    L-Soft International, Inc.
    3509 Connecticut Ave, NW
    Suite 300
    Washington, DC 20008-2402

    FAX: +1 (301) 913-9849

In addition to  your resume, we need  to know when you would  be ready to
start working for us, and, for consultancy or part-time involvements, how
much of your time you could spend working for L-Soft.

*************************************************************************
***************************** G E N E R A L *****************************
*************************************************************************

- All applicants must speak and write  English fluently, so that they can
  communicate with customers and with other L-Soft employees.

- Due to the international nature of L-Soft's customer base, knowledge of
  languages other than  English is always appreciated,  regardless of the
  position you are applying for.

- In general,  L-Soft does not  require technical employees  to relocate,
  although  that  is  of  course   preferred.  Please  indicate  in  your
  application whether you would be prepared to relocate or commute to the
  DC area, or  would prefer "tele-commuting", ie working at  home using a
  personal computer  or workstation  connected to  the Internet.  In that
  case please  describe the equipment  you already  have and give  a cost
  estimate for your  Internet connection. L-Soft will,  in principle, pay
  for  a  SLIP/PPP  Internet  connection   for  employees  that  opt  for
  tele-commuting. If most of  your work is to be done  by telnetting to a
  central  L-Soft computer,  we  will  expect you  to  purchase your  own
  personal computer, if you do not already have one. If on the other hand
  that personal computer or workstation  is your primary working tool, we
  will usually pay for it (and it  will remain with L-Soft when and if we
  part).

- Non-US  applicants are  welcome,  but will  have to  be  employed on  a
  consultancy basis.  Consultants will be  expected to pay all  taxes and
  social  charges  related to  their  employment  (and will  consequently
  receive higher pay than regular employees). Consultants are responsible
  for  making  these  calculations  themselves, based  on  the  laws  and
  regulations of their country of residence. The negotiations with L-Soft
  will then be based on the amounts L-Soft actually pays.

- L-Soft's corporate strategy is to support its line of business products
  on the systems and environments its customers want to run them on. This
  requires an  open mind  and a  genuine willingness  to set  aside one's
  personal feelings  and cooperate  with other employees  who may  have a
  very different  background and thinking  process. People who  think the
  solution  to our  customers'  interoperability problems  is to  migrate
  everyone to a single operating system need not apply.

- Regardless of the  position, prior knowledge of our  products is always
  appreciated.

*************************************************************************
*************** Position 1: Application programmer, unix ****************
*************************************************************************

Profile: unix  programmer with about  5 years of  experience. Involvement
with multiple flavours of unix, or  with systems other than unix, will be
highly appreciated. Good  knowledge of sendmail, TCP/IP  and the Internet
is  required. Practical  experience  with development  and/or support  of
large  applications is  a plus.  Willingness to  work with  mainframe/VAX
programmers to solve customers' problems is an absolute requirement.

Task:  full  responsibility for  the  technical  support and  development
aspects of  the unix  version of LISTSERV,  and for  maintaining L-Soft's
unix systems.

- Maintenance and development of  unix-specific functions of the LISTSERV
  library.

- Responsibility for porting the product to new unixes.

- Routine merge of unix-specific and system-independent code to build new
  deliverables on all supported unix environments.

- Preparation   of  installation   kits,  makefiles,   and  corresponding
  documentation.

- Customer  support and  assistance,  for problems  related  to the  unix
  version.

- General-purpose system administration  responsibilities (backups, patch
  installation, etc).

Involvement: the  tasks outlined above  are expected to  add up to  a 50%
involvement.  Applicants will  be offered  a full-time  position if  they
qualify under  another of the  positions being  offered, or if  they have
other  suitable  professional  expertise. Consultants  should  note  that
L-Soft can support up to a 100% involvement until 3-4Q94.

*************************************************************************
**************** Position 2: Application programmer, VMS ****************
*************************************************************************

Profile:  VMS  programmer  with   several  years  of  experience  writing
application-level  code  (not  just  DCL  programs),  and  in  particular
multi-process applications using system services and the RTL. This is not
a VMS  administrator's job! Please do  not apply unless you  have genuine
programming experience. Knowledge of C  and PASCAL is required, knowledge
of  BLISS  is  appreciated.   Willingness  to  work  with  mainframe/unix
programmers to solve customers' problems is an absolute requirement.

Task:  full  responsibility  for  technical support  and  packaging,  and
partial responsibility for development of the VMS version of LISTSERV.

- Maintenance and  development of VMS-specific functions  of the LISTSERV
  library, and of interfaces to specific mail systems (MX and PMDF).

- Routine merge of VMS-specific and  system-independent code to build new
  VAX and AXP deliverables.

- Preparation of VMSINSTAL kits and corresponding documentation.

- Development  of  various  administration/configuration tools  to  bring
  LISTSERV in line with the VMS "look and feel" for the system manager.

- Customer  support  and assistance,  for  problems  related to  the  VMS
  version.

Involvement: the  tasks outlined above  are expected to  add up to  a 50%
involvement.  Applicants will  be offered  a full-time  position if  they
qualify under  another of the  positions being  offered, or if  they have
other  suitable  professional  expertise. Consultants  should  note  that
L-Soft can support up to a 100% involvement until 3-4Q94.

*************************************************************************
**************** Position 3: Mailing list administrator *****************
*************************************************************************

Profile: technical background and prior experience with the management of
large  or multiple  LISTSERV  mailing lists.  Programming experience  and
foreign languages (if fluent) are highly appreciated.

Task: responsibility  for the day  to day  administration of a  number of
mailing lists, under the supervision of the Manager of Technical Support.
Depending on  the applicant's programming  skills, this could  range from
processing of  delivery errors and  "first level" customer  assistance to
"second level" customer  support and development of  "exits" to implement
sophisticated customers' requirements.

Involvement: anywhere  between 25-100%. This  position is expected  to be
combined with one  of the other positions, although that  is not strictly
necessary.

*************************************************************************
******************** Position 4: Technical secretary ********************
*************************************************************************

IMPORTANT: This position  is only available to applicants  residing in or
willing to  relocate to the  DC area.  Knowledge of languages  other than
English,  and  in particular  Spanish,  is  highly appreciated  for  this
position.

Profile  1: young,  ambitious secretary  with an  interest in  developing
computer-related  skills in  a company  whose business  is to  sell group
communication software. Prior experience  with computers (word processing
and  other   simple  applications)  is  required,   and  experience  with
electronic mail  or mailing  lists would be  highly appreciated  (but not
required).

Profile 2: applicant with  dual background, such as technical/accounting,
technical/financial, and with prior experience with computers.

Task: general  secretarial duties,  including responsibility  for sending
out  and  tracking  invoices,  depositing  payments,  keeping  record  of
expenses, etc.  In addition, the  applicant would be trained  on-site and
learn  the basics  of electronic  mail, mailing  lists, and  so on.  This
training will  hopefully make  it possible for  the applicant  to perform
other,  more specialized  duties,  such as  mailing list  administration,
technical writing/translation, sales,  first-level customer support, etc.
This is  a position with real  career opportunities for someone  with the
right mix of ambition and resourcefulness.

Involvement: in  principle, full-time  employment, although we  will also
consider part-time applicants.

*************************************************************************
********************* Position 5: Technical writer **********************
*************************************************************************

IMPORTANT:  All applicants  must  submit  (or be  prepared  to submit  on
request) a  sample of  some prior documentation  work, preferably  in the
area of electronic communication.

Profile: technical  writer or  user support  person with  a few  years of
experience  and prior  knowledge of  electronic mail,  the Internet,  and
LISTSERV. We will also  consider applications from professional technical
writers  without  the  pre-requisite experience.  Native  or  near-native
English  proficiency  is   a  must.  Knowledge  of   other  languages  is
particularly appreciated. UK residents are welcome to apply!

Task: full  or partial (shared)  responsibility for the  documentation of
all L-Soft products,  and in particular LISTSERV.  L-Soft technical staff
will  provide  assistance  as  necessary, but  the  technical  writer  is
expected  to  be  able  to  work on  his  own,  given  appropriate  "raw"
unpolished documents to extract the information from.

Involvement: anywhere  from 50-100%; multiple part-time  positions may be
retained if there  are enough suitable applicants.  L-Soft's objective is
to complete the documentation as fast  as possible, in "task force" mode,
and then  retain the services of  one technical writer on  a part-time or
consulting basis,  to update the  documentation and write new  manuals as
necessary.