Re: Hiring Question

Subject: Re: Hiring Question
From: Peter Neilson <neilson -at- alltel -dot- net>
To: TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2005 20:17:27 -0500

At the most successful tech-writing organization I've
ever seen, we used a few basic criteria. Knowledge of
computers or programming languages was NOT required.
The ability to research and to write was assumed for any
applicant who had a PhD in anything. And our favorite
interview questions were, "Who's your favorite
science-fiction author?" and "Sing a song from a Gilbert
and Sullivan operetta." Not that that's what we usually
asked, but the few we hired who didn't work out never got
asked those questions. Those questions, by the way, are
good open-ended questions. They invite the applicant
to wander off into outer space (good!) or to become
defensive in an environment falsely perceived as
hostile (bad!). We felt they might possibly predict the
ability to work effectively with the SMEs.
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Follow-Ups:

References:
RE: Hiring Question: From: Pamela Sarantos
Re: Hiring Question: From: Bill Swallow
Re: Hiring Question: From: Gene Kim-Eng

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