Re: are tw-interviewers incompetent by definition?

[Bill DuBay <bill_dubay -at- PHOENIX -dot- COM>]

That's an easy one. If you were a member of a professional organization with
a respected certifying program, there is every reason to believe that they
would have been more likely to call you in than someone not credentialed.
Just knowing that there is a credentialling profession out there would have
given them more confidence, not only in your abilities but also in the
anticipation that you can import the benefits of not only of your skills but
also professional standards into their organization.

Bill DuBay
Technical Writer
Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
email: bill_dubay -at- phoenix -dot- com
(714)790-2049 FAX: (714)790-2001
http://www.phoenix.com
-------------
Original Text
From: Win Day <winday -at- IDIRECT -dot- COM>, on 6/17/97 4:07 AM:
At 06:03 PM 6/16/97 PDT, Bill DuBay <bill_dubay -at- PHOENIX -dot- COM> wrote:
>There are countless cases we are all familiar with, in which a company hires
>a tech writer for the first time. Every one else is an engineer. They know
>they need to get a tech writer on board, but don't know how to tell good
>documents from bad. They could give a test, but don't know how to do that.
>With certification, the certifying organization gives the test and can
verify
>that this person has passed the test and will bring the benefits of the
>profession into the company.
>

That's exactly the situation I walked into with my current client.

They are a process controls engineering firm -- they had 12 engineers when I
started contracting to them two years ago, and now they have 20.  They had
never even heard of a technical writer before I landed on their doorstep
through a personal contact.

I spent a week in their office, examining samples of every type of document
they produce.  Then I went away and wrote a proposal -- this is where you
are now, this is where you could be, this is why you should aim for that
goal, this is how I can help you do that, and this is what it'll cost you to
get there.  I've been contracting to them ever since.

They hired me based on the strength of the proposal.  I included a sample
rewrite of a couple of pages from one of their manuals, a short-term and
long-term project plan, and detailed schedules and budgets for both.  I
didn't even bring a portfolio -- everything I'd written while I was working
in engineering was proprietary. (My background is chemical engineering.)

How could certification have helped me here?  And why can't anyone else do
what I did without certification?

Win
----------------------
Win Day
Technical Writer/Editor
Email: winday -at- idirect -dot- com

=====================================
"I have learned that to get a job done and have
fun in it is about all you can get out of life."

       - Jessie Tarbox Beals
=====================================

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