Technical writers have no formal professional certification to demonstrate their expertise. If you need a position as a documentation specialist, how do you present yourself as a qualified, quality applicant? Here are a few articles that should help you.
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The Team Interview Hiring Process 
In a team interview, several members of the publications team, as well as the hiring manager, interview each candidate. Each team member interviews the candidate individually, looking for a specific type of information. The interviewing team meets afterward to share information about the candidate. Although it takes more time, having each interviewer concentrate on one or two aspects of the candidate allows interview team, as a whole, to learn more about a candidate. This process, in turn, helps the manager to make better hiring decisions.
Billard, Trish. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>Interviewing>Collaboration
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The interviewee entered her prospective manager's office, eager to answer the questions that she knew would soon be fired at her. Shelley had been through this process a dozen times in the past few months as part of her quest for a technical writing position, and could anticipate the line of questioning. Far from being nervous, she was calm and confident. Phil, the manager, was also well versed in the interview process. Having hired many people during his career, he knew the type of person he was looking to hire. During an interview, his mind would usually be made up within the first few minutes about whether the candidate would get a second interview or would end up having to continue his or her search.
Zvalo, Peter. Writer's Block (2002). Careers>Interviewing>TC
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Techniques for Successful SME Interviews
Lambe offers tips for gathering information from SMEs.
Lambe, Jennifer L. Intercom (2000). Articles>Interviewing>Collaboration>SMEs
#22573
The Ten Commandments of Job Hunting
Offers ten suggestions for job seekers who wish to improve their interview skills.
Bannister Grey, Paula. Intercom (2004). Careers>Interviewing
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All of us have suffered the consequences of expensive, unasked questions both in our professional lives and our personal lives. As technical communicators, we need to ask good questions to elicit information, but many of us lack adequate training in this skill. Add to that the natural reticence of some technical communicators, and it's no wonder that we walk away from SME interviews or department meetings wishing we'd remembered to ask X, Y, or Z. This paper offers information as to why questions are so important, who needs to improve discovery skills, what process you should use to develop your questions, what types of questions are useful, how to strategize your questions, how to ask good questions, how to handle people answering the questions you ask them, and how to answer questions that are asked of you.
Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Interviewing>Knowledge Management>SMEs
#26399
As technical communicators, we need to ask good questions to elicit information, but many of us lack adequate training in this skill.
Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Usability Interface (2005). Articles>Usability>Interviewing
#31938
Tips for Tech Writers Interviewing Engineers: Building a Strong Relationship with Developers
Outside of the formal SME interview, a writer's relationship with engineers and experts is built on trust, respect, and a little bit of bribery.
Bryant, Stephanie. Suite101 (2008). Articles>Collaboration>Interviewing>SMEs
#31922
Tooling Up: Conducting an Authentic Job Search
Scientists and engineers sometimes reveal how scary the job search feels to them when they talk to recruiters. Often this comes couched in complaints about "how the job market works." It's true that the job search does take us out of our comfort zones. But not all of that fear is justified.
Jensen, David G. Science (2006). Careers>Interviewing
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As an interviewee, these actions might give you a competitive edge. As an interviewer, they might help set your standards on how you rate potential candidates.
O'Keefe, Karen. Writing Assistance (2006). Careers>Interviewing
#31496
The Twelve Laws of Media Relations
How you treat and respond to reporters, editors and analysts can greatly affect how your company is perceived in its marketplace. The relationship between “you” and “them” is so important it has its own name (media relations), its own experts (PR pros and firms that specialize in media relations) and its own set of rules. Below are 12 laws of media relations. Follow them, and you’re well on your way to gaining for your company the positive visibility you desire. Break them at your own peril.
Buchanan, James. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Interviewing>Public Relations>Business Communication
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Urban Legends of the Job Search
While it is true that employers far prefer electronic submittals to paper CV's, if you rely exclusively on the 'net for your job search, it will tank. Here's the trap: It feels like you are really accomplishing something by filling out online job applications, with very little risk. But you are just scattering seeds, few of which are likely to grow. While there is the possibility that someone will look at that package you've attached and call you for an interview, a great deal of your time is wasted.
Jensen, David G. Science (2005). Careers>Unemployment>Interviewing
#31936
User Interviews: A Basic Introduction
A basic introduction to user interviews, a great way to build research on your users and help improve the usability of your site.
Gray, Alistair. Webcredible (2008). Articles>Usability>Interviewing>Methods
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Using a Bookstore to Land a Job
Discusses how technical writers can prepare for new jobs by focusing on potential employers' needs and upgrading their writing skills.
Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2002). Careers>Interviewing>Writing
#26384
Weingart: A Craftsman to the Core
Experience with Wolfgang Weingart during his last year before retiring from the HGK Basel, Switzerland.
Rotmil, Adam M. AIGA (2004). Design>Typography>Interviewing
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What is a Behavioral Interview and Behavioral Interview Questions and Answers
What is a behavioral interview? Behavioral based interviewing is interviewing based on discovering how the interviewee acted in specific employment-related situations. The logic is that how you behaved in the past will predict how you will behave in the future i.e. past performance predicts future performance.
Doyle, Allison. About.com (2007). Careers>Interviewing>Methods
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What Makes a Great Entry-Level Candidate?
There is a shortage of experienced technical communicators in many places. This often forces Tech Pubs managers to hire and train entry-level (or change-of-career) candidates who have no portfolio, related work experience, or references in the field.
Sakson, Donna M., Leah Guren and Shirley Hancock. STC Proceedings (1999). Careers>Interviewing>TC
#20833
Who Should You Hire to Design Your Web Site?
You need to hire someone to design your Web site. What should you look for before signing on the dotted line?
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1995). Design>Web Design>Interviewing
#19885
You can take the subjective guesswork out of hiring by carefully analyzing a job’s tasks and creating a structured interview. With a consistent interviewing style and the use of good evaluation tools, you will be able to find the best candidate for the job. This progression topic will provide you with some tools to use for job analysis, interview development, and candidate selection.
Jensen, Susan M. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Interviewing>Management
#26600
If you are a newly-appointed documentation manager hiring your first technical writer, you are probably wondering what you have gotten yourself into. Do you know how to attract quality applicants, assess candidates’ qualifications, effectively interview , compare candidates, ensure a good fit, make an offer, negotiate compensation, and measure success? Where should you start? Hiring employees can be difficult whether adding one employee or staffing a full team from scratch.
O'Brien, Paula. TECHWR-L (2005). Careers>Management>Interviewing
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Writer and Subject-Matter Expert: Establishing a Positive Relationship
In a typical documentation project, the writer's role is not to express his or her own thoughts on paper, but rather the knowledge, plans, or ideas of someone else (usually a 'subject-matter expert' or SME). This article suggests ways to establish good working relationships with SMEs.
Zvalo, Peter. Writer's Block (2000). Articles>Interviewing>Writing
#31931
Writing the Teaching Statement
Take pity on me and my colleagues. As a faculty member who serves on faculty search committees and a frequent reader of job applications, I dread reading teaching statements. I have even considered asking search committees to stop asking for these essays (in which applicants discuss their teaching philosophies and their anticipated approaches to teaching) because they are so often insipid and painful to read. I've never actually made that suggestion, though, and for now, at my institution (and many others), teaching statements remain a required part of an application for a faculty position. So for every permanent-faculty search I'm involved in, I end up reading as many as several hundred insipid teaching statements. Have mercy.
Austin, Rachel Narehood. Science (2006). Careers>Interviewing>Academic
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You Got the Interview, Now Get the Job!
Describes successful interviewing techniques.
Hartman, Peter J. Intercom (2003). Careers>Interviewing
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Your Rights When Being Interviewed
Journalists are bound by federal and provincial laws on privacy, trespassing and defamation. They also have to follow a set of journalistic ethics and codes. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters and the Radio and Television News Directors Association, for instance, have developed several industry codes of ethics to deal with disputes and complaints. As well, media outlets may have their own formal or informal rules or conventions that their reporters must follow. The journalistic standards and practices of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), for instance, can be downloaded from the CBC-Radio Canada web site. Here, we outline: what your rights are, under the law and according to common journalistic standards; what your options are when the law doesn’t protect you; and what to do if your rights are violated.
#32177
Explaining the Value of Technical Communication on the Job Search
This presentation will provide techniques technical communicators can use to sell themselves to prospective employers who don't understand what technical communicators can do for them.
Castner, Joanna. STC Atlanta (2005). Careers>Interviewing>TC
#32224
Five Secrets to Successful Interviewing and Hiring
The technical communications profession involves a unique mix of technical and communication skills, which is not easy to find. Most managers have had the experience of interviewing and subsequently hiring a candidate who later turns out not to be the right person for the job. This situation begs the question of how to identify which candidate is a good fit for a given position. The answer is that there are five key activities that make the difference between a successful hiring decision and a not-so-successful one. We have all been on both sides of the interview, and this article will attempt to make you, the interviewer, more successful.
O'Keefe, Karen. TechCom Manager (2004). Careers>Management>Interviewing
