Re: How do hiring companies view TW resumes?

[Ken Poshedly <poshedly -at- bellsouth -dot- net>]

My previous employers were "real" hardware companies that made heavy construction equipment or designed and built cement manufacturing plants.

_Can_ some of the tech writing on those things be done elsewhere than at the office? Yes, but often -- too often -- access to in-person engineers and other subjectmatter experts as well as engineering plots and other source material is required. And you just don't know when you're going to need that access.

And if "John, the engineer" is simply avoiding phone calls, you're out of luck. Had you been onsite, you could meet up with him in the breakroom or just stop in to see him and even watch him avoid phone calls.

I recall when a former employer (factory equipment) back in 1990 or so brought in "voicemail" and we in tech pubs saw the success rate of getting info from the design engineers drop immediately because "they" were considered important and we simply weren't that high on the totem pole.

Plus, many companies either don't have or don't allow their tech writers to have online access to engineering data. My company is Asian and apparently, telecommuting is simply not known or not accepted there because the culture is very controlled. Like it or not, that's the way it is.

There's any number of reasons why telecommuting is not accepted, but the biggest one is that the company simply doesn't want it. Remember when your parents said you can't go to the movies, and you said why not and they said (or shouted), "BECAUSE I SAID SO!!!!"

Those things being said, all of your points are valid, but don't change things. I moved here from way up north for a good job offer (I was out of work and married at the time) and feared what would happen if I lost my job (with no extensive safety net of friends/family nearby). I did get cut from staff (the only tech writer in the 425-person company) after two years, but latched onto another company a mere two weeks later and was there for 12 years. And so on.

It's just the way bit is.

-- Kenpo





________________________________
From: Jon Leer <jleer -at- leertech -dot- net>
To: Ken Poshedly <poshedly -at- bellsouth -dot- net>; TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Sent: Fri, April 2, 2010 6:37:31 AM
Subject: RE: How do hiring companies view TW resumes?

Bear with me... I am not picking on you or your company. I really would like
to understand this way of thinking.

Can you explain to me the absolute reasons for requiring relocation?

Is your equipment so unique that 40 hours hands-on is required?
Is it your culture?
Is it the fear that other employees will want to telecommute?
Or what is it?

If you take all of the tasks that a writer would have to do in a given week,
how many of the 40 hours entails physically being at your site? 

After many years of hearing the same relocation required/no telecommuting
mantra by companies it is hilarious that they don't just come out and say
why it is required. 

For years I have seen many companies nix telecommuting that would take
advantage of resources who are out of the immediate area, and then turn
around and outsource the work to another country. Go figure.

My problem with relocation (as I am sure for many) is the total uncertainty
of the during of the job. 

Here's a typical example which actually happened in the early 90s. For many
years a chemical engineer with his Masters and loads of management
experience had been working for a well-known company in Lousiana close to
where he grew up. Management called him in with the other managers and
announced the company had been sold. Their choice was to relocate to another
division in Oklahoma because the present location would be closed. 

Several managers decided to relocate. He was reluctant because he didn't
want to give up everything and everybody he knew in his home town. Plus, the
Gulf area had tons of petroleum jobs. With his experience, he'd land another
position in no time. 

1 1/2 years after his company closed, he was still unemployed because many
of the oil and gas jobs had evaporated (remember the early 90s?) Actually
his story was picked up by the Wall St. Journal, and he was working some
menial tasks (dishwasher sounds familiar). 

A year later he found a non-management position near his home town at half
of his original pay. And what had happened to his fellow managers who had
take the relocation package and pulled up roots (family and all)? Well,
about 2 years into the job the division was sold and closed. Everybody was
laid off. 


Jonathan Leer
Leer Technical Communications
603-315-4029
http://www.leertech.net

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+jleer=leertech -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+jleer=leertech -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of
Ken Poshedly
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 5:25 PM
To: Keith Hood; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com; Dan Goldstein
Subject: Re: How do hiring companies view TW resumes?

FWIW, we've been looking to hire another tech writer here in metro Atlanta
(heavy equipment manufacturing) and have contacted nearly a dozen good
candidates, men and women, all from out of state because those are where the
resumes are from. We've talked with some and left repeated voicemails for
others to call back at their convenience. Only two that I know of have
returned calls. These are folks who know up front where my company is
located.

Two candidates were contacted by my supervisor after my initial phone
interview; I explain during my phone call that relocation is required and
tele-commuting is not acceptable. Both said relocation was not a concern;
some new-hires rent an apartment nearby before moving spouse and kids here
(if any).

But then both of those two candidates backed out after getting a solid offer
by telephone from my boss; both said their spouse was against it; one was a
woman and the other was a guy.

We finally have someone (from out of state) coming in on Friday a.m. to
interview (we're covering all expenses). With great experience in this field
of heavy equipment tech writing as a writer and later as a supervisor and
even manager, I really do believe he's overqualified to be just a _TECH
WRITER_, but my boss wants him because of that experience. Will he stay?
Will he look to climb into my or even my boss's job? Time will tell.
Otherwise, he's great.

-- Kenpo in Atlanta




________________________________
From: Keith Hood <klhra -at- yahoo -dot- com>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com; Dan Goldstein
<DGoldstein -at- riverainmedical -dot- com>
Sent: Thu, April 1, 2010 4:27:59 PM
Subject: RE: How do hiring companies view TW resumes?

I think when someone tells a candidate he is "overqualified," that is also
something of an indication of how things go at that company. A hiring
decider often uses "overqualified" to mean "I'm afraid you'll find a better
job and leave too soon and we'll have to start the hiring process all over
again." But that can't be so much of a problem in a down market like this
where any job is damn difficult to find, much less a better job. And that
isn't so much of a problem at companies where employees like their work and
the environment. Even in a good market, leaving for a better job is less of
a consideration if you enjoy the current job and like the people. If the
hiring decider fears you won't stick around long enough to give him a return
on the time/money spent in the hiring process, it may be he realizes but
doesn't like thinking the company has a tendency to give people incentive to
look elsewhere. 

"Overqualified" also sometimes translates as "we're afraid there would be
personnel management problems because you'd embarrass the 2nd-raters we
already have working here." If they start using "overqualified" *after* you
interview, you can be certain this is the correct translation.


--- On Thu, 4/1/10, Dan Goldstein <DGoldstein -at- riverainmedical -dot- com> wrote:

> From: Dan Goldstein <DGoldstein -at- riverainmedical -dot- com>
> Subject: RE: How do hiring companies view TW resumes?
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Date: Thursday, April 1, 2010, 2:58 PM
> An update on this from the NYT:
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/29/us/29overqualified.html
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Dan Goldstein 
> > Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 2:31 PM
> > To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> > Subject: RE: How do hiring companies view TW resumes?
> > 
> > AFAIK, "overqualified" rarely means, "Someone less
> qualified 
> > than you would do a better job." It usually means, "We
> can't 
> > afford to hire someone as qualified as you." At least
> they're 
> > acknowledging how qualified you are.
> > 
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Bill Swallow
> > > Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 2:16 PM
> > > To: 
> > > Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> > > Subject: Re: How do hiring companies view TW
> resumes?
> > > 
> > > ... I've never heard "overqualified" more than I
> have in the past
> > > 15 months.
> > > 
> > 
> 
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