Re: First time interviewer!
Dear Whirlers,Some suggestions:
I am about to go into the process of interviewing a peer writer that will
join our company, currently I am the sole writer and actually this is the
first time for me to interview someone. I would welcome your suggestions for
interview quests or if there any of you already have an evaluation test for
tech writers, that would be great.
- Focus on writing ability more than tools. If the position is junior, the person you hire should be able to pick up all they need to know about the tools used in an afternoon. Tools only become important if the person is going to design templates or do layout.
- Remember that the interview is mutual. You are seeing if candidates fit the company's requirement, while they are seeing if the company is a place they'd like to work. Do candidates the courtesy of having read their resumes and cover letters ahead of time, and treat them politely.
- If candidates have samples, and have them talk about the samples: what they liked about the samples, what they would do differently now, the decisions that went into the samples, and so on. Between the samples and what the candidates say about them, you'll soon get a good sense ofwhat they're like.
- Avoid the usual questions, such as "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" or "Where do you expect to be five years from now?" Many candidates have canned answers for these questions, so you're not likely to learn much from them.
This isn't a complete list, by any means - just a few random thoughts.
--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com
"Don't loaf and invite inspiration; light out after it with a club, and if you don't get it you will nonetheless get something that looks remarkably like it."
- Jack London, "Getting into Print"
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References:
First time interviewer!: From: Radwa Darwish
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