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I haven't followed this thread, so forgive me if I'm restating stuff. I
wouldn't hire a writer without a writing test, and I hire a lot of them. If
a writer can't sit down on the fly and demonstrate to me that they
understand fundamental issues of audience, structure, context, etc., I don't
want them in my group. I'll be damned if I'm going to babysit some guy who
says he's a technical writer but doesn't have a clue, and won't give me a
sample to prove he's who he says he is. Oh, and portfolio samples? Give me a
break. That's why God invented good editors. I've been burned, obviously,
which is why my response sounds so testy. But folks with surprisingly
convincing resumes and references can FREQUENTLY turn out not to have any
real notion of the purpose of verbs. I am NOT NOT NOT doing that again.
Especially not for $50/hour. So, you want to work for me? Be prepared to
show me what you can do. If you don't want to do that, you won't work in my
group.
