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I think I remember interviewing you. I figured you only knew Ventura
Publisher 4.x, HyperCard, and HiJaak and were trying to cover it up, so I
didn't hire you. ; )
Seriously, there are significant costs involved in hiring someone who has
never used the DTP tools that your doc department uses. And this thinking
applies doubly so to contractors who have to get in and out quickly. You
can't waste 3 weeks or more ramping up and figuring out the nuances of a
tool.
Graphics apps don't really apply, because most tech writers don't do
terribly difficult tasks with them.
I don't care if everyone else said they learned Framemaker in a week, it
took me months to get where I am (and I am still learning).
IMO, tech writers, like everyone else these days, have to specialize.
-----Original Message-----
From: Lisa Higgins [mailto:Lisa -dot- Higgins -at- LEVEL3 -dot- COM]
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 1999 4:30 PM
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject: Re: Employers' mistaken job requirements?
You know, I have a fairly flip response to tools requirements. If I'm asked
about my tool expertise (I don't have it on my resume), I sort of laugh a
little and pooh-pooh the idea. I'll say something like, "Oh, I don't worry
too much about what tools I use. I have preferences, sure, but I can use
what you have." I explain that I've been using computers for about
eleventy-bajillion years now, and I make a living writing documents. DTPs
and graphics tools pretty much all work the same (within subsets). Different
tools have the features in different places. That's OK. I'll find them.
At least in my field, I guess I wonder how it is that someone could expect
me to fumble my way through a complex, half-implemented telecommunications
provisioning tool or something well enough to write a user guide about it,
yet be completely baffled by something like Microsoft Word. It just doesn't
make sense to me.
