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:Hiring a Writer with little experience From:"Ahuja, Rasil K Ms IMCEN/RCI" <Rasil -dot- Ahuja -at- hqda -dot- army -dot- mil> To:"'TECHWR-L'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 16 Nov 1999 11:52:41 -0500
Hello, all.
I work for a government contractor and recently submitted my resignation.
Needless to say, I am very excited about my new position.
However, in a recent conversation with the PM at this site, I was shown the
resume of a possible replacement......well, a likely replacement. This
candidate is a recent journalism grad with a little over one year of
professional experience writing reports, developing PowerPoint
presentations, writing "technical manual," etc. Although the resume states
the current title is Analyst/Technical Writer, I am somewhat doubtful
because there is little technical writing mentioned.
I am concerned about how this "newbie" will do in an environment where no
engineer takes an interest in documentation. When I began my career over
three years ago, I was fortunate to work closely with an engineer who made
it his mission to ensure that I understood the technology. There is no one
here who will take such an interest.
The question is: how much of an interest should I take in the hiring of my
replacement?