RE: BS-ing your way into a Tech Writing job (was: The Tech Writin g World)

[John Posada <JPosada -at- book -dot- com>]

>As a hiring manager, my preference was always for the former, but as a
>jobseeker, I'm finding that the most common preference appears to be for
>the latter.
>
>>I'm claiming the knowledge of how to get knowledge. Would you rather have
>>someone who doesn't know what you do now but knows how to learn anything
you
>>throw at them, or have someone who knows how do what you do, but if you
>>change, they are going to have to be replaced with someone who knows that
>>new subject?

Actually, all my gigs in the past 5 years has been because I interviewed as
the former. When you interview as "capability", you are opening yourself to
price war...who can do X cheaper. When you position yourself by "ability",
then you don't to nearly the same degree.

- 2 gigs ago. Help system for a client/server asset management enterprise
application. Novice with help systems and knew nothing about asset
management applications.
- 1 gigs ago, reengineering of a worldwide sales process built on Siebel and
SAP. Knew nothing about Siebel or SAP. I'd been a salesman 10 years before.
- This gig...documentation for an EIA Enterprise Integration Application for
an ecommerce company. Knew nothing about EIA and almost nothing about
ecommerce.

All three were/are deliriously happy; Gig1, the application got delivered
(my help was on deadline even though SW wasn't), Gig2, department lost 40%
of it's budget (after 3 extensions). Gig3, I'm still at and discussing going
permie to create and run a corporate documentation department.

John Posada
Senior Technical Writer
Barnes&Noble.com
jposada -at- book -dot- com
212-414-6656
icq: 178047452
aim: jposada1
  "When you only have two minutes to do 
  something that takes three, wait until you have three"
 

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