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.
Subject:RE: Hiring TW without a test From:"Robart, Kay" <Kay -dot- Robart -at- tea -dot- state -dot- tx -dot- us> To:Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> Date:Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:45:12 +0000
I really doubt that your style varies that much from one job to another that someone wouldn't be able to tell that the same person wrote it. Of course I follow a style guide. If you have certain grammatical patterns in your writing, they're going to come out no matter what you write.
As a sometimes editor who has had to rewrite the same types of passages from the same authors time after time, and as someone who as scrutinized a lot of writing samples in hiring, believe me, you can tell.
-----Original Message-----
From: Gene Kim-Eng [mailto:techwr -at- genek -dot- com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 12:43 PM
To: Robart, Kay
Cc: Jen; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Hiring TW without a test
If I wrote them, maybe not. If I step into a company with an
established writing style and document organization structure, I adapt
my writing to it, and if I hire a writer into such a company, I don't
expect that writer to start redesigning everything to fit his or her
personal style preferences.
Making documentation work better is not the same thing as making it all
look the same.
Gene Kim-Eng
On 3/20/2013 6:15 AM, Robart, Kay wrote:
> The most common method of ascertaining writing skills is to ask the candidate to bring samples. I know that some people are concerned about plagiarism, but if you have samples from several different positions at different companies, you can tell if the same people wrote them.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
EPUB Webinar: Join STC Vice President Nicky Bleiel as she discusses tips for creating EPUB, the file format used for e-readers, tablets, smartphones, and more.
