Re: Criteria for entry-level writers

[Jean Weber <jean_weber -at- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM>]

To me, "entry level" means someone with some relevant knowledge and skills,
but not necessarily any directly relevant experience. 

"Relevant" knowledge and skills for a technical writer will, of course,
vary with the requirements of the job (some might need technical knowledge;
others might not). I'd put writing ability first, and I'd expect a
candidate to have done enough research to have some idea of the style
that's common in the industry -- which may not, of course, be the style my
company is using. If you're applying for a job in the software industry,
all you have to do is pick up the manual for any Microsoft product -- or
even a third-party book for, say, Word, in a bookstore.

I'd look for someone who is sufficiently interested to have some knowledge
of the buzzwords in the industry. Anyone can find this out from common
computer-related magazines. For example, I wouldn't expect someone to know
how to code in HTML, but I would expect them to know what it is and what
it's for, at least in very general terms.

For practical reasons I'd want someone who was familiar with at least one
common word-processing program (not necessarily the one my company uses);
depending on the work, some familiarity with any dtp program and any
graphics program would also be on the list. I'd want someone to be
comfortable enough around a computer that they wouldn't have to ask
extremely basic questions. ("Where's 'x' hidden on this system?" is quite
legitimate, I think, at any level.) 

I think anyone seriously looking for a technical writing position needs to
put together a portfolio of work, not necessarily produced on a job, and be
prepared to discuss it at an interview. I recommend to editing students
that they select a few pieces of someone else's published writing (in a
government brochure, for example) that they think could be done better, and
rewrite it, then put the "before" and "after" versions in their portfolio.
A writing candidate could do the same. I used to show stuff I'd done that I
was *not* happy with (because I had to follow someone else's instructions,
which I didn't agree with) and point out what I would have done differently
if it had been my decision.

As Marv Cochrane put it, I also look for "someone who seemed genuinely
interested in the tasks we had, who seemed eager and able to learn, and who
would be a good personality fit within our documentation and software
development teams." 

<soapbox>

Age, by the way, is no barrier for finding good entry-level candidates.
I've known middle-aged workforce-reentry people with no degree but lots of
life experience (often including part-time office work of various sorts)
who could write rings around folks with far more "education" and
"experience" -- and who may have even gone to school when schools were
still teaching grammar. If you want someone to write for an audience of
bookkeepers or typists, someone with that background may be exactly what
you need. (Such folks are often, by the way, also real good at the tedious
maintenance tasks that drive less-patient -- and usually younger -- people
up the wall.)

</soapbox>

Jean Hollis Weber
Sydney, Australia
mailto:jean_weber -at- compuserve -dot- com


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