RE: Preparation for a phone screen interview

Subject: RE: Preparation for a phone screen interview
From: "Susan W. Gallagher" <sgallagher5 -at- cox -dot- net>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 19:14:07 -0800



--- John Posada <JPosada -at- book -dot- com> wrote:

> I attribute it to the fact that my first tech
> writing assignment was for RFP
> proposal responses for a large telecom. In that
> writing, you don't miss
> deadlines...not once, and it was a habit I developed
> that hasn't left me
> yet.
And Tom Storer answered:
Can we assume, then, that if you only have two minutes
to do something that takes three, sometimes you do it
in two, regardless of your email sig? ;-)
Now me. ;-)
(write this one down too, Geoff. You're bound to find an
article in it <g>)
***
Writing documentation is exactly like getting ready for
Christmas. When you're out of time, you must be done.
***
You can run around like a chicken with your head cut off
the whole month of December -- cooking and shopping and
decorating... -- but when the morning of Dec 25th arrives,
you're done. There is no more shopping or decorating or
one more batch of cookies. You're done. Plain and simple.
You're out of time and you're done.

When you're writing documentation, you can edit and rewrite
and perfect and add features all you want until the day of
the deadline. Then you're done. If you document does not go
out the door, the product doesn't get sold, your paycheck
doesn't happen.

Just like you save that unopened box of christmas lights
until next year, you save that enhancement until next rev.
You can run around like a chicken without a head all you
want. You can pull your 80-hour weeks -- I've done my
share. But when delivery day comes along, you deliver and
go on with life.

In 20 years, I have never missed a deadline. I have played
Deadline Chicken with the devs lots of times. And I've told
management that they can't have what they want in the time
allotted lots of times. But when the schedule says the docs
go out the door, they go.

MTC YMMV Performed by a professional writer in a closed
environment; do not try this at home. <g>
-Sue Gallagher


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A new book on Single Sourcing has been released by William Andrew
Publishing: _Single Sourcing: Building Modular Documentation_
is now available at: http://www.williamandrew.com/titles/1491.html.

Help Authoring Seminar 2003, coming soon to a city near you! Attend this
educational and affordable one-day seminar covering existing and emerging
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References:
RE: Preparation for a phone screen interview: From: John Posada
RE: Preparation for a phone screen interview: From: Tom Storer

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