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:RE: A wee story for you... From:"Swallow, William" <WSwallow -at- courion -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 18 Jun 2001 15:08:58 -0400
:: Person C has used to open files that are sent to him so he can
:: convert them to RTF and use in Word. He knows 1 menu item (Save As)
:: and although he wants to, hasn't had to use it for anything else.
:: However, he is sharp, a fast learner, and knows 3 other WP
:: applications inside and out.
::
:: Person D has never seen the splash page let alone the main interface
:: and she wouldn't know FM from RTFM.
::
:: Who can say they know FM on their resume. Yes for person A. No for
:: Person D.
::
:: How about person B and C? If person B or C says he is an experienced
:: FM user, is he lying?
No, that person is not lying, though that person should be expected to be
questioned about his/her experience in greater detail. So what happens
there? The resume says "experienced user". The interviewer asks "so what'd
you use it for?" and the interviewee replies "just saving as RTF". The
logical next question is "Have you done any other work in FM? Template
creation, style updating, master page usage?" So what does this person do
now? Say "Yes, I'm an experienced FM user" or say "No, I've never done
anything beyond save as RTF".
No matter what the case, the interviewer's expectations are shattered when
the person doesn't own up to the "experienced user" label on the resume.
Let me approach this a different way... Job hunting and interviewing is 90%
subjective. Experience levels are fairly relative, especially when comparing
your experience to someone else.
Some people call me an "expert" or "guru" for some technologies. I look at
myself and still see others as "experts" or "gurus" whom I could learn a
good deal from. Who's right?
If you're going to include tools on your resume, at least include some
indication of your skills with them. You don't need to go as far as to
include a ranking of 1 - 5... it can be a simple breakdown between
"experience" and "familiarity".
So persons A and B are "experienced" and C is "familiar". Person D shouldn't
have it on his/her resume.
My $0.02...
*****************
BILL SWALLOW
Technical Writer
C O U R I O N C O R P O R A T I O N
1881 Worcester Road
Framingham, Mass. 01701
T E L * 508-879-8400 x316
F A X * 508-879-8500
www.courion.com
*****************
*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com
Sponsored by Cub Lea, specialist in low-cost outsourced development
and documentation. Overload and time-sensitive jobs at exceptional
rates. Unique free gifts for all visitors to http://www.cublea.com
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
