Re: What employers want (WAS grammar... etc.)

[Anne Halsey <Wrdfinesse -at- AOL -dot- COM>]

Lisa, bless her little boots <g!> gets us off the grammar sniping
by asking what we want vs need in a TCer:

> -university education
        For me, personally, no.  Some of the best TCers I've ever worked
        with have been college dropouts.  However ... many companies
        require at least a BA/BS to get in the door.  Do I think this is
        right or fair?  Nope.  But them as has the $$ can make the rules.

>  -6 years experience
        Depends on the position.  I've had to fill positions where six years
        of experience was the MINIMUM that would really allow someone to
        do the job adequately.  (This volume of experience typically - YMMV -
        means that you've served as a team lead; done some scheduling and
        resource allocation; had to juggle multiple concurrent projects/deadlines;
        chosen and self-trained yourself on tools; negotiated deliverables and
        receivables; and worked without supervision.)

        Do all positions require this level of experience?  No.  But presumably
        those that write the job requirements understand their own needs.

>  -TW degree
        Nope.  And I'll probably offend some of my professors (sorry, Jim!) and
        gradschool cohorts by saying this.  But, given the choice of hiring a
        newbie with a spankin' bright MS in TechComm and no (or very little)
        experience OR hiring a proven campaigner, I'll take the campaigner every
        single time.

        For those of you currently pursuing a TC/TW degree, now's the
        time to hear bells and whistles go off, and to think "internship"
        and "co-op."  Get that experience BEFORE you graduate, bunkies!

>  -American citizenship
        Undecided.  I can't think of any place I've worked where citizenship
        was a requirement.  And, with so many more jobs than there are
        qualified TCers to do them, I'm not worried particularly about giving
        non-citizens a job at the expense of citizens.

>  -eager to please
        Nope.  Eager to learn and excel, yes.  Eager to please me?  Nah.
        Eager to please the audience?  Sure and youbetcha.

>  -works well under pressure
        Yup.  Very high on my personal list.  I can't have someone on my
        team caving at the thought of multiple (gulp) concurrent deadlines.
        Or the inevitable stretch of pre-deadline overtime.

>  -skilled with PageMaker/FrameMaker/MS Word/COBOL Programming
        Nah.  Tools aren't particularly relevant, IMO.  If you can learn one of
        the biggies in each category (HATs, DTPs, WPs, graphics
        packages), you can learn 'em all.

>  -sunny disposition
        Nope.  But I don't like working day in and day out with the gloom-n-doom
        contingent.

In addition to the above, I want someone with a passion for excellence,
an eagerness to learn and demysify technology, and an insatiable
curiousity.  The rest, as they say, will take care of itself.

JMO,

        Anne Halsey
        wrdfinesse -at- aol -dot- com


 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=