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Subject:Re: Speaking of specific job requirements... From:"CB Casper" <knowone -at- surfy -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 27 Feb 2002 21:32:46 +0400
I seem manage to get into opposite situations!
I applied for a position at a TechWriting company.
They take entire jobs in house, supply temps, consult, whatever.
Their application had errors, misspellings, inconsistent
formatting, and one really goofy legalistic question that
could not be answered! Since this was a TechWriting company,
I looked at the application as a test, and provided them with
feedback in that light. It turns out that the president of
the company wrote the application, and thought it was great.
I didn't get the job, nor did I really want it after that.
Oh, the goofy question? Someone was going to ask . . .
Can you work with or without any special accommodations?
Yes or No
What a horrible question. There is no answer other than
the question needs rewriting. They responded that their
lawyers provided them the question.
It's like asking
"Do you want a chicken or veggie sandwich, yes or no?"
------------- previous message -------------
A recurring theme here is that
HR types don't know what tech writers do, and we know that most of
them are not writers themselves, in any sense of the word.
What's my point? A self-contradictory, illogical, badly written job
description is a strong indicator that the company needs your services,
Ms. or Mr. job-seeker. Call the company president and say so. Create a
job opportunity for yourself at the executive level. Make a pitch for
becoming the writer/editor who keeps management's feet out of their
mouths. Offer to review the HR department's policies and procedures
while you're cleaning up the job postings.
--
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