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John Vaughan wrote:
>
I had to teach myself
> PageMaker, Micrografx Designer, general principles of layout, learn a
> complex technology I had never heard of, scour the internet for other tools
> like Hypersnap which samples images off of the desktop, etc., all in four
> months, and simultaneously deliver a high quality highly technical document
> that passes muster with engineers and non-engineers alike all over the
> globe. I accomplished this with no formal training whatsoever. I am quite
> sure many people reading this know exactly what I am talking about; I'm no
> svengali. I know I am shamelessly blowing my own horn, but isn't this the
> kind of creativity that what people want out there?
Well when you put it like that ... no, I wouldn't call this creativity,
per se. I would, however, most definitely agree that it characterizes
you as a self-starter who's resourceful, disciplined, independent,
hard-working, and tenacious. Semantics? Maybe, but I guarantee you these
words will not set off any red flags for reviewers of your resume
whereas "creative technical writer" just might.
I say this as someone who has hired technical writer/editors for a large
defense contractor. Were I to see "creative technical writer" on an
incoming resume, I wouldn't know what the person meant by that and right
away there'd be a disconnect before I even finished reading. A resume
should communicate very plainly (as the person who taught resume writing
noted); other issues -- and personal attributes -- can be dealt with
more effectively in a cover letter and in the interview.
Congratulations, by the way; sounds like you're well on your way to a
job you'll enjoy!
Louise O'Donald
lodonald -at- primenet -dot- com
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