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: Portfolios and writing samples... From:DHICKEY -at- ALIS -dot- COM Date:Tue, 10 Aug 1999 11:18:03 -0400
Greetings!
> *An employer is certainly within her rights to demand a portfolio.
> She is not, however, within her rights to ask the candidate if she can
> photocopy the samples. *
> lends itself to suspicion of a hidden agenda. I personally
> know three gifted writers in my area who have been victimized
> this very way by unscrupulous interviewers who intimidated
> them into allowing their portfolios be taken from the room
> during their interviews, only to have some copies appear
Egads... I'm going for an interview tomorrow where the interviewer asked for
some writing samples he could keep! I felt a little uneasy about this
request, but I was going to print out a chapter from an older manual.
Now that I've read this post, I see that my uneasiness may be justified.
I'll just tell the interviewer (it's an agency) that if a company wants to
see my writing samples, they can interview me.
<KACHING> Here's your $1 Eric!
--
Be seeing you,
Dave
---------------------------------------------
John David Hickey
Montreal, Quebec, Canada eh?
They say that the pen is mightier than the sword.
But if you miss a deadline, you'd better bring the sword.
---------------------------------------------
Don't confuse my opinion with my employer's.
Each exists in blissful ignorance of the other.