Re: a different resume red flag
tool knowledge as much more important than "domain" knowledge and the
ability to get information from reluctant sources?
Once more, NOBODY EVER SAID THAT! Not in techwr-l, anyway. Not ever. Not one single time. I dare you to show me where I or anyone else claimed that tool usage or tool knowledge was even a little bit more important than getting the facts and getting them right.
I've seen too many
times where someone who is a whiz with WWP or Word or Frame can produce
things that look nice, but are almost totally lacking any meaningful
content.
Yes, we've all seen that. Nobody is defending the practice, though.
It is easier to teach someone how to use Word or Frame or
whatever the way YOU want them to use it to produce documentation, than
it is to teach them how to reconcile three or four different sets of
contradictory comments, how to actually write, how to deal with
developers, marketing, et al.
Not necessarily. Some people are great at schmoozing SMEs and thinking in big-picture terms about the reconciliation of opposing viewpoints but, as evidenced by their continuing defensiveness on the issue in this forum, forever remain incapable of internalizing the most basic concepts of document structure, design for readability, or tool use. Different strokes for different folks. Yes, it's hard to teach critical thinking to some people. It's hard to teach creative problem-solving to some people. And it's hard to teach keyboard shortcuts to some people. Celebrate our diversity and move on, okay?
Who would you rather hire--a candidate who
is an Adobe Certified Expert in Framemaker but can't write, or someone
who may not know the intricacies of Frame and doesn't use its feature
correctly, but writes solid, usable documentation? Neither is the best
choice, but which one will most likely produce better documentation?
If someone doesn't know the intricacies of Frame and refuses to learn them because it's beneath his dignity to do so, he's not likely to produce usable documentation. Documentation has to be usable within a framework that includes not only the audience but also the employer and the coworker. If it is not maintainable or if it requires assigning another resource to follow along behind the writer with a shovel, then it is not usable from the employer's point of view.
I think we're on the same page--too much stress on one set of
requirements is wrong. We all want to hire and work with people who know
the tools, know (or can quickly come up to speed) on the domain
knowledge, know how to interview, investigate, and write.
That's the first sensible thing you've said in this thread, Steve.
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