Interview Questions (deliberately veering from techie vs non-techie...)

["Eric J. Ray" <ejray -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM>]

In an attempt to twist an oft-rehashed topic into something
a little different ...

>What surprises me most about the non-technical tech writers I've met is that
>they don't seem interested in the scientific world, they don't want to be
>bothered learning new technology aside from their own communication tools,
>and they're even ignorant of the scientific method. I've yet to meet another
>writer who reads or subscribes to Science News, Scientific American, or
>any(!) technical journal as either a way to keep up in the industry or for
>sheer pleasure.  I really hope this is because I don't get out much.

Interestingly, one of the key interview questions for my first
tech writing job was about what I read and liked to read, both
books and journals. As I later learned, quantity of stuff read
was key, and quality was a very close second. Being able
to coherently discuss everything from National Geographic to
the latest in Scientific American to reasonably literate
novels was one of the main factors in getting the job.

Does anyone else have "interesting" culling questions, either
from the interviewer or interviewee standpoint?

Eric



*********************************************************
* Eric J. Ray, ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com, http://www.raycomm.com/
* TECHWR-L Listowner, co-author _Mastering HTML 4.0_
*   _HTML 4 for Dummies Quick Reference_, and others.
* RayComm, Inc., currently accepting contract inquiries.