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Subject:Re: Agency and interviewing questions From:Camille Krug <camillek -at- FUTURE -dot- DSC -dot- DALSYS -dot- COM> Date:Sun, 8 Dec 1996 10:43:09 -0600
Krista
Your comments make very good sense. Writing samples are essential in
interviewing. Perhaps the responsibility of the writer during the hiring
process is to educate the agency/employer as to how he/she makes a living.
My peers and myself have in the past asked the employer to become more
specific in a contract so that we have the flexibility to maintain portions
of the docs (such as a reference card, or introduction chapter) in our
portfolios. Discussing this with an employer may educate them and nail down
some specifics so that you both win.
Systems manuals, such as the ones I am currently working on for our Unix-based
products, do contain sensitive data. One solution (condoned by
employers) is to reproduce portfolio samples containing dummy data, such
silly directories/file names.
As far as security goes, I have worked twice in the past couple of years
for the Royal Air Force in London. The security implications were based
more upon how the code and the data for the code were protected, not
the distribution of user manuals (which document an interface). However,
it is clearly stipulated that the docs are the property of the RAF. If a
prospective employer was to inquire as to work I did for them, I would
provide a reference first.
camille
camillek -at- dalsys -dot- com
stet -at- connect -dot- net
www.connect.net/stet/
On Sun, 8 Dec 1996, Krista van Laan wrote:
> Nancy Baum Delain wrote:
> > One way to tell if someone is worth interviewing without a writing sample
> > is to ask for the writing sample and wait for the response. If the
> > contractor says something like, "I'm sorry, but I have signed a
> > confidentiality agreement," you can bet that contractor will have just as
> > much respect for your stuff as for any former clients'. If, however, they
> > produce writing samples, you may want to think twice about hiring them.
> >
> Maybe. I knew a guy who had never written a word and used that line.
> He got the job, too. Yes, the employer could have called his references,
> but in my experience, they rarely do. There are so many legal issues
> regarding past personnel that the references don't usually have much
> to say beyond the dates a person worked.
> Even if you have signed a nondisclosure agreement, does that still
> apply to manuals that have been published and are for sale to the
> customer through the customer service center? What about published
> manuals that were written for products that are out of date? I show these
> kinds of samples all the time and have never even dreamed there
> would be a problem with something like that.
> I would think that most applicants are able to produce real samples.
> And when I am hiring, I expect to see some. I can understand
> respecting someone's confidentiality agreement, but the idea
> that an interviewer should think twice about hiring someone
> who does show samples is really interesting!
> ===================================================================
> Krista Van Laan
> Nokia Telecommunications Phone: 358 9 5112 3684
> P.O. Box 33 Fax: 358 9 5112 3876
> 02601 Espoo Finland Email: krista -dot- vanlaan -at- ntc -dot- nokia -dot- com
