Re: What is a reasonable training period for newbie writers?

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>]

Krista Van Laan wrote:
> 
> In response to Bruce Byfield's post:
> 
> <Regarding how you can tell if someone's going to work out when
> they have no previous experience>
> 
> > It's not a science. But I would consider (in no particular order)
> > such things as:
> > - How quick or willing are they to learn?
> > - Do they show any interest in learning their subject?
> > - Can they work on their own?
> > - Can they deal with shifting agendas?
> > - What is the quality of their finished work?
> > - How long do they take to finish their work?
> > - What sort of mistakes to they make?
> > - How do they react when they make mistakes: by reassigning blame?
> > Solving the problem? Ignoring it? Do they remake mistakes?
> 
> It would be nice if it were a science, wouldn't it? This is a good
> list, though.
> 

On second thought, I'd say that I consider the last two points the
most important. I assume that anyone who is learning will make
mistakes, so I'd never hold that against them. However, what sort of
mistakes tells you what sort of person they are, and, from that, I
could assess how their strengths and weaknesses fit in with others'.
How they recover from mistakes tells you even more. It shows how
quick-witted they are, and their ability to recover says a lot about
both their personalities and the quality of their work. For example,
I'd wonder whether a person who consistently blamed others wasn't a
poor team player, unless I could observe independently that others
really deserved the blame. Similarly, someone who sought blame or
ignored the problem is very likely more interested in protecting
their ego than in getting the job done, an orientation which in my
experience almost always goes with a lack of ability and a generally
difficult personality.


-- 
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
Contributing Editor, Maximum Linux
604.421.7189 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"The king works backwards, day and night,
Says you went left when you should have gone right,
Try to do undo what you've once done wrong,
The king works backwards all day long."
- Pete Morton

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