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Subject:Re: Am I employable? From:"Kay Ethier" <kethier -at- travelthepath -dot- com> To:<tf -at- malcolmsmith -dot- net> Date:Sat, 11 Mar 2000 09:01:31 -0500
Tom:
You are Probably employable.
We help our clients find writers, and vice versa. When our clients give us
their requirements, they do not always want someone who knows it all. They
sometimes want to train the person themselves to avoid any baggage / habits
learned from prior assignments. These companies want to get someone on
board, show them what to do and provide complete training. We have one
such client now who is looking for someone good with editing and layout so
they can teach them Frame+SGML and structured document authoring!! This
same client has requested "no experience in our industry" to ensure no
baggage!
To be blunt, too, some companies will seek you out because you are entry
level and they can start you at a lower salary.
Knowing Linux and hand-coding are good skills to have, but vague-ish. Try a
site like techies.com, where you build a resume online. Techies.com walks
you through key skills and talents, having you rate yourself in each one.
Then you rate activities and personal traits relating to those talents.
This should help you get some ideas for your real resume. You may even find
a better way to reflect that you are an "all around great guy." :-)
As an aside, you might also want to brush up on your interviewing skills ...
that never hurts!
Good luck to you,
Kay
PS - send me your resume (the bad one is fine) if you are interested in tech
writing in the Eastern U.S. We have several assignments pending with
clients right now, plus one internal [entry-level] opening.
Kay Ethier
Bright Path Solutions
919.547.0129 http://www.travelthepath.com
_________________________________
STC Carolina Chapter Newsletter Editor
Senior Editor, "IT:Information Technology for Professionals"
----- Original Message -----
From: <tf -at- malcolmsmith -dot- net>
To: TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2000 6:59 PM
Subject: Am I employable?
> I'm sure the employers on this list are just chomping at the bit. Here
are some "problem areas":
>
> - My resume is terrible. It's old, has nothing but coursework and
unrelated experience on it.
> - I don't really know the tools. FrameMaker? Ack. Word? Haven't
messed with a Microsoft product in a while...
> - The skills I have, I can't easily define.
