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Subject:Re: FWD: Career changer vs. entry level From:Wayne Douglass <wayned -at- VERITY -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 28 Oct 1997 16:12:37 -0800
At 04:18 PM 10/28/97 -0700, anonymous wrote:
>>I have been writing for years without the benefit of a techie title. My
>>positions have all required various types of technical writing, but have not
>>been *based* on writing. After following the entry level and degree threads
>>I feel that I am bound to be looked upon with a jaundiced eye by hiring types.
>>
>>I have a snazzy portfolio, but it consists mostly of marketing/graphic
>>design projects. I foolishly didn't keep copies of the "boring" things like
>>software manuals that I updated and rewrote over the years. At the time it
>>never occurred to me that I would someday make a living doing just that.
>>
Knuckleheaded hiring types, like the poor, we will always have with us, I'm
afraid, so be prepared to suffer fools gladly. But you seem to be better
prepared than most to make a career change. You have a snazzy portfolio, and
you can talk about your experience with the "boring" stuff even if you don't
have samples. If I were a hiring manager, I would ask what you wrote about,
what you liked, disliked about the boring stuff, how you dealt with your
sources. The snazzy stuff would give me a good idea of what your writing
style is like. And somebody with graphics/design talent is always nice to
have around in a tech writing group.
--Wayne
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Wayne Douglass phone: 408-542-2139
Verity, Inc. FAX: 408-542-2040
894 Ross Road mailto:wayned -at- verity -dot- com
Sunnyvale, CA 94089 http://www.verity.com
"Connecting People With Information"
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