Re: Inappropriate interview....(Long but I think it is appro

[John Posada <JOHN -dot- POSADA -at- EY -dot- COM>]

Diana...I have a variation of a saying.

"There are no stupid questions...only the stupid people that ask them"

Understand that you were talking to an HR person who probably wouldn't know a
technical writer if one bit her on her butt. She had the right to ask any
question she wanted.  On the other hand, a stupid question can justifiably
receive a stupid answer.

>> 1. Describe a time that you acted totally inappropriate and
nonprofessional  in your work environment....and what was the end
     result? <<

I've never acted inappropriate and nonprofessional in my work environment.  It
was my work environment that acted inappropriate and nonprofessional...the end
result was that I fired them.


>> 2.  What are some criticisms that have been given to you about your work?<<

Gee...interesting concept. I've never had any of my work criticized, so I
obviously am unprepared to answer that.


>>  3.  Describe a time when you tried to persuade another worker to "conform"
to your standards...and lost the argument.<<

I never loose an argument and I never have to persuade another worker to
conform to my standard since we both realize that it is a standard that they
could never hope to aspire to.


  >> And get this, when I was asked one of the few actual technical
     questions, "What is an online helpsystem?", I proceeded to answer her
     using technical terminology.  She responded by saying, "Yeah, and I'm
     supposed to know what that means?"<<

Yes, you are,or you obviously aren't qualified to understand my answer to the
question, so let me talk to someone who can appreciate the answer and don't
waste MY time.


>>  What do you all think?  Should a write a nasty letter to the company
describing the interview process?<<

Yes, but not to describe the interview process and do it by voice.  If you want
to get to the head of the department, just ask for the manager, and when asked
what it was about, mention that "I'm a woman and I feel that I was asked
inappropriate questions."  If something even HINTS of EEO or discrimination, HR
people jump. Instead, you should explain that the person that did the interview
is not appropriate for handling that job skill and while "I wouldn't accept the
position based on the way I was treated and the company's obvious lack of
understanding of that environment", that the person is eliminating many other
qualified applicants, "so I just thought you should be aware of it."

  >> Ps:  I was also asked "When would you NOT use a SANS Seriff font?"  I've
been a tech writer for 4 yrs, and honestly I felt this was a "preference"
question.  Is there a real answer?<<

What she may have been looking for is not to use sans seriff font in the body
of a text as seriff fonts have been shown to be easier to read when in a large
bock of text, such as the body of text under a heading.


>>  Also, she asked me to name a reference book that tech writers commonly
     refer to for guidance.  I told her a Style Guide and Standards Manual.
      She said no, she was looking for a specific title.  I asked, "Have
     you been to the bookstore lately?  There are many."  Is there a
     specific GODDLY book?<<

She was probably told that "Chicago Manual of Style" or "A Manual of Style" by
the Government Printing Office are "the GODDLY" books

John Posada
john -at- tdandw -dot- com (personal)
http://www.tdandw.com (personal)

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