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: Techwriter Aptitude Test (A Daydream) From:Miark <miark -at- MIJENIX -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 7 Nov 1997 11:18:09 -0600
>One guy first takes out the instruction leaflet and reads it. After a
>while he's able to set the time correctly, adjust for time zones, set
>the alarm and switch between 12 and 24 hour display. Congratulations.
>You've found your technical writer.
>
>Or what?
My gut instinct is the "what." I think it's most important to get an idea of
how one will perform the _job_in question_, so I would want to test them on
tasks based on the job.
Since the position precludes starting with finished docs--that's what
they're there to write, right?-- it would probably be more appropriate to
test their ability figure things out by themselves (what I call "play
skills") which is closer to what we really do.
Mike
Did I say "they're there to write, write"? Gee, I was a poet and didn't know
it. Doh!