TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
OK, so we stipulate the Catch-22 effect, and further that Age and
Treachery historically overcome Youth and Beauty. The problem is still
lasting long enough to become Aged and Treacherous.
References and experience come with time, but 'rep' can be established
with a good first impression. This works back to the question of how
a damngood youngun can impress a potential employer. Let's assume
that I already have a winning smile, superb manners and a wholesome
disposition -- these are of course lies, but we're all friends here.
The unanswered, and perhaps unanswerable, question is how to impress
someone I never met before that I'm a quality wordsmith worth the
hire, and how do I make that impression within a presumably short
window of attention?
I could write a knock-the-socks-off cover letter (in theory).
Unfortunately, technical communications are usually informative and/or
educational documents which do not require knock-the-socks-off
writing. As I understand it, knock-the-socks-off writing is often
specifically discouraged in favor of impersonal, transparent
documentation.
If I was reading a manual on How to Deploy a Widget, I wouldn't want
to finish thinking "That was good writing!" I would want to finish
thinking "I know how to deploy a widget." Note the punctuation:
period instead of exclamation point. I might also think "Gee, that
manual was easy to read," period or exclamation point, but "easy to
read" is not necessarily a property of an attention-getting cover
letter.
Still fishing for advice...
On 8/2/05, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> wrote:
>
> True enough, but the odds are that those who have the references,
> the rep and the experience will get the job before those who don't
> have them get a chance to prove it.
>
> Gene Kim-Eng
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <arroxaneullman -at- aol -dot- com>
> > You can be good or great without "walking on water" or having a long
> > employment history.
> >
> > Arroxane, standing up for the damngood younguns
>
--
I can answer any question.
"I don't know" is an answer.
"I don't know yet" is a better answer.
Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
