Re: Co-ops

[Chuck Banks <chuck -at- ASL -dot- DL -dot- NEC -dot- COM>]

Julie Bommarito is right.  Try ANY compay.  But do a little research
about each company.  Hit the reference books in the library.  Find
out what sort of products or services each company provides.  Find
out what problems their industry faces in general and what problems
each company faces in particular.  Get copies of their annual reports
and study them for clues that indicate problems a technical
communicator can solve (e.g., Poor customer acceptance of product or
service, poor quality annual report -- investors read these).

Impress each interviewer with your knowledge of their company, its
standing locally and in its industry, and of their problems.  Get
samples of their documentation and identify some areas where they
might improve it.  BE CAREFUL.  DON'T suggest logo or font changes.
Try for content or format changes.  Tables and bulleted items in
place of paragraphs, for instance.

DON'T bring up your recent graduation.  Offer writing examples
and talk about your experiences.  If an interviewer asks about your
graduation date, state it and leave it at that.  If the interviewer
indicates they're not looking for recent graduates, turn the tables
to your advantage.  For instance, you might say:

     I understand your need for experienced technical communicators,
and I have professional experience outside the classroom as my
resume and writing samples indicate.

Treat your job search as a job in itself.  If you are to be
successful (i.e., you garner, say, 5 or 6 job offers from which to
choose) you must put your technical communication skills to work
for you.  Write your own cover letters and resumes.  It's a sign
of confidence in your own abilities, and, when the interviewers
as for samples of your writing, as you dig them out, point out
that your resume and cover letter are samples.  Managers of
technical writers aren't usually surprised, but personnel people
are.  They see mostly resumes from head hunters and other 'resume
mills.'

Good Luck!

Chuck Banks
--
__        ________     ______
|\\   |  ||          //              Chuck Banks
| \\  |  ||_______  ||               Senior Technical Writer
|  \\ |  ||         ||               NEC America, Inc.
|   \\|   \\______   \\______        E-Mail:      chuck -at- asl -dot- dl -dot- nec -dot- com
America, Incorporated                CompuServe:  72520,411