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Re: where to volunteer to get tech writing experience...
Subject:Re: where to volunteer to get tech writing experience... From:Barry Campbell <barry -dot- campbell -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Sun, 9 Oct 2005 20:44:05 -0400
On 10/9/05, Hiking Nut <carolinahikingnut -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> Hello, can anyone recommend a company or organization where one could
> volunteer to do technical writing? I'm finding it a challenge landing
> that first position (especially without anything to put into my
> portfolio).
Where are you located? This sounds more like a question for those
with specific local knowledge of your area than a general tech writing
list.
Is there an active chapter of the STC near you? Join it and start networking.
As for what to put in your portfolio, did you take any classes, and
did they have homework assignments? Showing finished coursework is
perfectly acceptable.
If you really have nothing to show and are looking for an opportunity
to prove yourself, find an Open Source, collaboratively-developed
software project over at sourceforge.net that needs user
documentation. Learn the product and go write some. :-)
> Also, when interviewing for a position, what do most people put their
> documents in when presenting their portfolio to a potential employer
> (as they say, first impressions count and I'm sure a plain folder
> wouldn't cut it when presenting a sample of my work to an employer).
I haven't shown paper documents in years. I have PDFs of the
documents, plus examples of HTML help that I've developed (and even
some digital video of me teaching a class) on a password-protected
directory on my website; if need be, I can also burn my samples to
CD-ROM and pop them into any computer at the potential customer or
employer's site (or a laptop that I bring along.)
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