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Subject:RE: Do I have to understand the material? From:John Posada <JPosada -at- book -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 15 Aug 2002 17:19:21 -0400
>I think there is a difference between "up to speed" and
>"expert." The person who built the thing is an expert.
>The tech writer just needs to
>understand it. There are different information levels
>expected for different types of documentation...
I keep trying to relate these comments to the original post that spawned
them...
There is a difference between what we know we need, and what those who have
the position for sale are looking for. Place a resume with great writing
credentials and mediocre technical knowledge next to a resume with great
writing credentials and strong technical and the one with strong technical
knowledge will win almost every time.
be honest...two resumes cross your desk for a position involving software
and networking...nothing complex. One a great writer and great attitude, and
one a great writer, good attitude, and enough MS* credentials next to their
name to choke a spellchecker...who will get first crack at the interview?
Why? Shades of attitude are difficult to show in a resume and cannot be
located by database searching. Knowledge of specific technologies is easy to
document and can even be picked up by text searches through a database.
In times of 100 writer for every available position, expert IS the
difference.
John Posada
Senior Technical Writer
jposada -at- book -dot- com
212-414-6656
-----Original Message-----
From: Abelove, Amanda [mailto:Amanda -dot- Abelove -at- unistudios -dot- com]
Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2002 1:41 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: Do I have to understand the material?
I think there is a difference between "up to speed" and "expert." The
person who built the thing is an expert. The tech writer just needs to
understand it. There are different information levels expected for
different types of documentation...
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