Calculating the Value-Added: What Hiring Managers Need to Know About Academic Technical Communication Programs  

Hiring managers need to understand academic programs in technical communication in order to evaluate potential new hires, especially for entry-level positions in challenging, high-tech, international environments. Changes in the profession, in the workplace, and in higher education have led to the proliferation of academic programs. These may offer advantages over non-academic training, in terms of cost, comprehensiveness, content, and control. Academic programs are also different among themselves, based on credentials, institutions, instructors, and program homes. By developing reasonable, informed expectations for what academic programs teach, managers who hire program graduates can experience the payoffs of lower-risk, more cost-effective long-term hires.

Rehling, Louise. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Interviewing>Management

Choose Your Employer Wisely

For years, would-be employees have undergone scrutiny by employers during the interview process. In addition to our resume, we have to provide personal and professional references. We have to pass drug tests and personality tests. We have to prove our education and in many cases, whether or not we actually served in the military. It's all for a good cause of course, but rarely is the topic of employer suitability mentioned in the Job Hunting context. These last few years have been unprecedented in regards to company ethics and business practices. One doesn't have to look far to hear a sad tale of over-promised benefits, stock, and promotions from companies who are now nothing more than memories. The ongoing telecom scandals have even further rocked our beliefs in the stability and ethics of Corporate America. With all the recent layoffs and 'restructuring' now is a great chance for employees to take time out to evaluate their next employer. employee happiness is possibly the most important area of a person's overall professional satisfaction. Thus, it is not to be taken lightly. Nothing else matters if you go to work for the wrong company - not even if you've been out of work for a year and you simply need the money. Sooner or later, you'll be back in the same jam.

Souther, Christopher. GaryConroy.com (2002). Careers>Interviewing>TC

Circumventing HR: Effective Job-Hunting Strategies

A common misconception is that Human Resources departments exist to help job-seekers find their place within a company. In fact, the role of HR departments is to act as the gatekeeper. Savvy job-seekers know how to get around, over, and bypass the gates of HR, to connect with the decision-makers who can really help you. 

Hamer Associates. Careers>Interviewing

Clicking for a Job: Using Job Search Web Sites in a Technical Communication Job Search  

Technical communicators should use job search Web sites and other Internet resources (i.e., listservs and email networking) as part of their overall job search strategy. In using job search Web sites, technical communicators should choose carefully from four main categories of such sites: general job search sites, field-specific sites, professional organization sites, and specific employer sites. Each of these categories requires specific consideration. Job seekers should take into account the specific characteristics and purposes of the site and its users. To get the most effective results, technical communicators should also take special care when choosing keywords for job searches.

Bloch, Janel M. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Interviewing>Online

Comparing Apples to Apples: An Interviewing Process and Strategy  

An effective interview process better enables fhe selection of thoroughly qualified technical writers. This process is repeatable and ensures comparing “apples to apples. ” The seven steps are 1) advertise the job, 2) receive and review the resumes, 3) receive and review the writing samples, 4) set up the interuiezu, 5) hold the pre-intetiao strategy meeting, 6) hold the interoiew, 7)and hold the post-interview debriefing.

Sharp, Jane and Gloria M.D. Gyure. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Interviewing

Document Hack (A Technical Writer's Journal): Interview and Negotiation

My face-to-face interview with the company was similar to my phone interview. So similar, in fact that more than once I found myself answering the same questions I had answered over the phone. They did throw a couple curve balls at me, however. The strangest question I was asked was, 'If we called your references, what would they say about you?' I was unprepared for this one, and I ended up talking more about my references than about what they would say about me.

Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Careers>Interviewing>Writing>Technical Writing

Document Hack (A Technical Writer's Journal): Phone Interview

When I originally spoke to the recruiter on the phone, she gave me a brief description of the job and asked for my rate. We negotiated the rate for a few minutes and came up with an acceptable number ($25 an hour) and she sent me an e-mail with the full job description and a short agreement asking me to confirm her representation and my rate. I sent back my confirmation and that was it for a while.

Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Careers>Interviewing>Writing>Technical Writing

Eleven Tips for Getting Great References

It's often the final hurdle to getting a job and the point of the interview process when employers look for information they can't get from your resume or during an interview. Here's everything you need to know about references -- from whom to ask to how to ask them -- to guarantee you get rave reviews.

Krieger, Elizabeth. iVillage.com (2001). Careers>Interviewing

Finding That First Job  

Offers suggestions on finding work in technical communication for recent college graduates, professionals in other fields, and those who want to add documentation duties to their current jobs.

Block, Barbara M. Intercom (2001). Careers>Interviewing>TC

General Guidelines for Conducting Interviews

Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participant's experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around a topic. Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses. Usually open-ended questions are asked during interviews. Before you start to design your interview questions and process, clearly articulate to yourself what problem or need is to be addressed using the information to be gathered by the interviews. This helps you keep clear focus on the intent of each question.

McNamara, Carter. Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits (1999). Careers>Interviewing

General Job Search Tips

So, you're in the throes of job search. Perhaps the job that was good enough to take in order to make ends meet just isn't good enough anymore. Maybe you're working 60-hour weeks, coming home completely burned out, and you're tire of being tired. Perhaps your job did the unthinkable — laid you off. Whether it's your first job search or your fourth, you are not alone, and there are ways to maximize and even enrich the process of job search.

Liao, Annie. STC Puget Sound (2005). Careers>TC>Interviewing

Getting a Technical Writing Job, Even If You Have No Experience  

Technical writing jobs can be hard to get if you have little or no experience. But there are things you can do to improve your chances of getting hired.

Docsymmetry. Careers>TC>Interviewing>Technical Writing

Hello?...The Art of the Telephone Interview  

Remember when interviewing meant dressing up, grabbing your best samples, and heading over to meet your potential employer face to face? Today the industry trend is to conduct most first interviews over the telephone. With the emergence of telecommuting and a global workforce, I don't see the trend toward telephone interviews going away any time soon.

Davis, Doug. STC (2007). Careers>Interviewing

Hiring a Technical Writer  

Hiring a technical writer can be tricky, even if you happen to be one. Where can you find a technical writer? What characteristics should you look for? How can you tell a good writer from a bad one?

Docsymmetry. Careers>Management>Interviewing

Hiring Guide: Hiring the Best Technical Communicator

Whether you sell widgets or wisdom, bicycles or bytes, a technical communicator makes sure that your best thinking is reflected on paper and online. Hiring a technical communicator is the same as hiring any qualified professional. This online guide offers some suggestions to help you find and select the best technical communicator for your job.

STC West Coast Canada (2003). Careers>Management>Interviewing

Hiring Right: Road to Success

Running a translation business is not easy. As small as the industry may be, we as business owners face a full set of business challenges: personnel management, sales and marketing, client relations, and the list goes on. Everyday, we go into work hoping to improve the business, to make it more successful. Sometimes we wonder, what is the killer factor? What makes some companies more successful than others?

Iler, Huiping. WTB Language Group (2005). Careers>Management>Interviewing

How to Interview and Hire People

Before you worry about interviewing, consider this: good interviewing does not make a good candidate out of a bad one. The higher the quality of the people coming in to your interviewing process, the higher the quality of those that will come out of it. Do not rely on HR or some other person to decide who enters the process. The more energy you, as a hiring manager, invest in recruiting, the better your results will be.

Berkun, Scott. ScottBerkun.com (2006). Careers>Interviewing>Management

Informational Interviews

Informational interviewing, a.k.a. networking, is a very effective way to learn and make contacts, in not just technical writing, but any field you are considering as a career option.

Blair, Jennifer. STC West Coast Canada. Careers>Interviewing

Interview Basics

There are four parts to any interview: Opening (small talk), information giving, information taking, and conclusion. Before you go into an interview, know your: job strengths (writing, media contacts); managerial strengths (organized); personal strengths (energetic); weaknesses.

Raperto, Marie. IABC (2006). Careers>Interviewing

Interview Checklist

When you sit down with the hiring manager, that's the point where you see if this is really what you want and they see if you are what they want. If you prepare yourself ahead of time, you'll do well. You can find a wealth of information on the Internet about interviewing. The following is a checklist of items to consider in preparing yourself, during the interview and follow up after the interview.

Young, Rich. IABC (2006). Careers>Interviewing

The Interview Process for Technical Communicators  

Making a hiring decision can be one of the most important decisions made by a manager. You have a technical job to fill that requires high level skills. You also have a group dynamic and corporate culture to consider. The interview process is a set of tools and techniques for gaining information about a potential hire and making an informed decision. This workshop provides a supportive forum for learning from each other’s hiring and job hunting experiences. We also have a wealth of resources to draw upon throughout the interview process. A bibliography will be available for all participants.

Johnson, Jennifer Ramirez and Lee Anne Fernandez. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>Interviewing

Interviewing Basics Help You Focus on Content

Interviewing is an excellent primary source of information for any research project. Interviews with subject-matter experts can expose the most up-to-date information and introduce new material that may shatter your originally held ideas about a subject.

Goldberger, Dalya. Writer's Block (1997). Careers>Interviewing

Interviewing for a Job  

Effective interviewing begins with knowing where interviewing fits within the process of finding a job.

Lund, Arnold M. HFES (1995). Careers>Interviewing

Interviewing for Performance  

The author discusses how managers can best prepare for an interview to ensure that the perfect candidate for the job is selected. The article also includes charts that can be used to assess a candidateï¿ï¿ï¿s performance in key areas such as tool skill level, knowledge of online help, and analytical ability.

Bailey, Elizabeth. Intercom (2006). Careers>Management>Interviewing