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Subject:RE: Advice for interviewing new tech writers From:"Robart, Kay" <Kay -dot- Robart -at- tea -dot- texas -dot- gov> To:Lynne Wright <Lynne -dot- Wright -at- tiburoninc -dot- com>, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>, Kelly Smith <KellyMJSmith -at- gmail -dot- com>, techwr-l List <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 22 Jan 2015 19:32:36 +0000
Yes, I think instincts are very important. I once had some red flags about one applicant even though she was very nice and seemed competent in the interview. I told my boss my doubts, but she was determined to hire her. After being relocated by the company from across the country, the new employee came to work a total of one day and then went on disability. They only ended up being able to lay her off after six months, during a regular layoff.
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+kay -dot- robart=tea -dot- texas -dot- gov -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kay -dot- robart=tea -dot- texas -dot- gov -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Lynne Wright
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2015 1:19 PM
To: Gene Kim-Eng; Kelly Smith; techwr-l List
Subject: RE: Advice for interviewing new tech writers
Yes of course: but people DO make stuff up!
Most people who've been through a few interviews or have even just googled "the 10 things NOT to say in an interview" are going to know that they've got to spin everything to make themselves look good.
I interviewed one guy who was clueless/arrogant enough to spout a pile of negative things about co-workers in his past jobs, but most aren't daft enough to come in waving big red flags. And since references can't flat-out say "don't hire that person--they were incompetent and difficult to get along with", it can be difficult to tell if the person you are interviewing is telling the truth, or saying what they know you want to hear.
On the upside, in most cases, my instincts about people arising from interviews generally turned out to be spot on; the ones who seemed competent and easy to get along with, were; the ones who seemed to have a bit of an attitude or lacking in people skills (but who were hired anyway, based on the fact that their skills seemed ok and we were desperate for help) became problems pretty fast.
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