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: Newbie Information -- Compilation From:Garret Romaine <garret -dot- h -dot- romaine -at- EXGATE -dot- TEK -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 29 Apr 1998 11:15:22 -0700
> At 07:54 AM 4/29/98 -0400, Tim Altom wrote:
> >I propose to do a kind of FAQ just for newbie questions. Our Techwr-l
> site
> >has a FAQ, but what it does is list a question or topic and then display
> a
> >page with a bunch of responses from the list. If we were to add the
> common
> >newbie questions we'd promptly double the list of topics.
We faced a similar issue in our chapter. One of our officers, Mark Ace,
created a Special Interest Group for entry level writers, which met monthly.
After he pulled a half-dozen of these meetings together, it became very
clear that he was answering the same questions over and over again.
Our response was to set up a quarterly Entry-Level seminar event. We bring
in a series of speakers to talk about tools, local resources, hiring
practices, resumes & portfolios...so that after four hours, the group is
much better prepared for life in our local industry. The overheads are bound
up in a $10 book, and after lunch, which is also included in the price
(usually about $35 - $40) there's a chance for some networking. It's been a
great recruiting tool for the chapter...
