Re: Tech writer who can't write a resume

[Sanford Carr <spcarr -at- NEBULA -dot- ISPACE -dot- COM>]

Heli Rooslid wrote:

> This has been an eye-opening thread for me.  It had never occurred to me
> that a technical writer would farm it out.  I'll have to add that question
> to my interview list.  (And BTW, I doubt I'd hire any writer who did NOT
> write his/her own.)

I've commented on this thread before, but comments like these make me
want to say a little more.

All writing is not the same!

Would you assume that tech writiers could produce outstanding
advertising copy?  How about video scripts?  Fiction?  Poetry?
Why can't a skilled technical writer hire a skilled "personal
marketing" writer to produce the best possible output.  If I were
hiring, I'd want to judge a writer by samples of their work that are
a similar as possible to what I'm asking them to do.  I certainly
hire copywriters for my advertising and scriptwriters for my video
production - why is this any different?

I hope that those who equate resume writing to tech writing are as
open minded about software tool knowledge and industry background.
Then we can get rid of those annoying "must know Framemaker" and
"minimum of 5 years of software documentation experience"
qualifications in your ads.



Sanford Carr             spcarr -at- nebula -dot- ispace -dot- com
Palmetto Group           http://innet.com/~spcarr/
Strategic solutions for small business management.