Re: Tips for finding and hiring the right Technical Writer

[Joel and Rachel Wilhelm <eleysium -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Sounds like a homework question.

Joel


On Sep 22, 2007, at 6:04 AM, SB wrote:

> Hello,
>
> This is the first time that I will in the position of hiring a  
> Technical
> Writer.
> In the past, I hired someone that I knew rather well and on whom I  
> knew I
> could rely. He is still working for me.
>
> However now, I have to hire an additional Technical Writer.
>
> I would like to get some recommendations regarding:
>
>
>    1. The best way to write recruiting adds
>    2. Criteria for interviews. For example, I feel that a resume  
> says a
>    lot about the Technical writer, both as far as format and  
> contents contents
>    are concerned. If the formatting is not impressive, I always  
> feel that it
>    says a lot about the Technical Writer. Am I being too harsh?
>    3. Interview skills
>    4. Test?
>    5. Recommendations - how do I know that I will be able to rely  
> on that
>    person to get the job done?
>    6. Knowing that THIS is the right person
>
> In addition, I would like some advice and recommendations on:
>
>    1. Management skills - now I will have to actually manage two
>    technical writers
>    2. Outsourcing
>    3. We are still using MS Word :-( and do have a template but I  
> am not
>    very happy with it. My boss wants to redesign the first page of the
>    documents to look more professional.
>    4. I am pushing to move onto a more professional tool (Authoring  
> tool
>    or Wiki for documentation. I am leaning towards Wiki). I need to  
> make a
>    presentation to convince the management to make the move and to  
> explain what
>    are the pros and cons of each tool and why I think one is better  
> than the
>    other.
>    5. We don't have content or knowledge management and our company is
>    growing very fast. We are in different parts of the world and  
> there is
>    often a lot of redundant work being done, which I think is very  
> unfortunate
>    and due to the fact that we are still using a file server  
> instead of an
>    intranet.
>
> Any recommendation or useful pointers would be highly appreciated.
>
> Thank you very much,
>
> Sylvia
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Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or 
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007 
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
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True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
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