Re: Employers' Mistaken Job Requirements

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

At 01:46 PM 1/27/99 -0800, Elizabeth Vollbach wrote:
>How can we convince employers who are looking to hire a tech writer that
>their primary concern should not be with the software programs a tech
>writer has experience using? that a technical writer is not, primarily,
>a typist?

I don't think it's even worth trying. In terms of feasibility,
particularly as a potential employee, you'll not convince anyone.
However, it's getting more and more possible to just head
down the road to a company that "gets it".
From the inside, you might have a chance, but it's iffy
at best.

>How can we convince employers that today's software is easy and can be
>learned quickly, and a good technical writer can't be defined by her
>software experience? A good writer is a good writer, right?

Seconding Andrew Plato's comments here, you're exactly right.
The software isn't that hard to learn.

>But take a look at the want ads. Every tech writer ad specifies right
>away which software the tech writer should have experience with and
>which degree they should have. Somehow employers see value in a college
>degree, but why when their other concern is just software experience?

I think that much of the problem comes from ignorance
about technical writers and what they do, and another
substantial part results from how easy it is to screen
out excess resumes based on quantifiable stuff
(no Frame mentioned, thus round-file it).

As Suzette Seveny said, though, there are some glimmers
of hope on the horizon. Just in the last couple of weeks
I've been in contact with a couple of companies that cared
far more about technical competence than tool knowledge,
and my current project at a big company is certainly one
that emphasizes quality and usefulness over tools.

In general, if you're looking for jobs through job postings
on DICE or elsewhere, you can tell a lot about the attitude
by the rate offered. If they claim to pay market or going
rates, there's a possibility that they "get it". If the posted
pay is sub-standard, they likely value the technical writer's
contributions accordingly.

Eric




^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Eric J. Ray    RayComm, Inc.
http://www.raycomm.com/      ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com

*Award-winning author of several popular computer books
*Syndicated columnist: Rays on Computing
*Technology Department Editor, _Technical Communication_


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