RE: Interviewing writers

["Lydia Wong" <lydiaw -at- fpoint -dot- com>]

I didn't catch the beginning of this thread. The gist (as I understand it)
is:
-------------------------
Chuck Martin said:
If I were interviewing a tech writer and decided to give a small written
test, and got a response that, verbally or non-verbally, communicated the
message that "I didn't expect this," that person sure wouldn't be at the top
of my hiring candidate's list.
-------------------------

There have been many discussions about testing applicants on this list, so
it might be useful for you, Chuck (or whoever posted the first note about
this), to search the archives on this topic. I searched them not long ago,
and found, as we see in this latest discussion, a lot of disagreement about
testing applicants.

I have my own opinions,  but since they are mixed, I probably wouldn't
further the discussion by expressing them. ; )  However, when I searched the
archives I found a post by Eddy Skau that comments on the scenario Chuck
describes quite nicely. Eddy wrote (in part):

<snip>
To me, a person who takes umbrage over writing a test would display:
1) Doubt about their abilities
2) Inability to work with a team (subtle)
3) Insubordination (where applicable)
4) Not serious about securing the job in question.
<end snip>

I think Eddy's overall point is correct: testing applicants reveals more
about them than just their writing skills.

Just my (and Eddy's!) two cents,

Lydia
-------------------
Lydia Wong
Technical Writer
FarPoint Technologies, Inc.
www.fpoint.com <http://www.fpoint.com>