5 Ways to Survive an Interview with Me

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Yes, I’m that terrible person who interviews technical writers and asks those awkward questions. Here are some of the things I’m looking for when I interview people.

First, companies expect that graduates will have the same (more or less) writing skills – that’s a given. So, what they’re looking for are other qualities.

Such as?

• Problem solving skills – describe a problem you had and how you overcame the issues. Be modest & don’t tie yourself up in knots.
• Collaboration – demonstrate how/where you collaborated with others. I don’t mean email or twitter but, for example, how you took responsibility (“the project was running behind schedule, so we decided to hold a workshop…”) and how this resolved the issue at hand.
• Technologies – talk about an area you have some expertise. Show how this solved problems (always be the person who solves problems and gets things resolved!) and the benefits it offers.
• Memberships – if you’re a member of the STC or local IT group, talk about it. Paint a picture of someone who is savvy, interested in the community and likes to interact.
• Goals – they want you for the long term. Hiring is expensive. Interviews cost money. Describe your career path and where you want to be. Discuss how this company helps you realize your goals.

Can you see the difference this makes?

Instead of hiring a person just because they’re out of work, the company is getting someone who shares their vision.

Other things to remember

Who does the interview – many companies don’t have a technical writing team. This means the IT manager (or PM) will do the interview. If this is the case, do your prep work and expect questions about code, schedules and other area.

• Privacy — HR people may ‘hint’ or suggest that you discuss your lifestyle. Keep it simple but be polite.
• Tests – many companies will ask you to do a 45 min test. Expect this. Don’t be alarmed if they pull this out of the bag at the end of the interview. They shouldn’t do this but some people are like that.  

Things not to do at your interview

I’m looking for someone to write documents – someone who is low maintenance. You need to be that person. With that in mind, don’t:

• Arrive late – give yourself time to part the car, find the office, have a drink and calm down, especially if it’s a long drive to get there. Have a light snack (e.g. banana) before going in.
• Wear heavy cologne or perfume. In a small room, it can be over-whelming
• Eat garlic or other such foods before the interview. See above. Mouth freshener never hurt.
• Run down your previous employer. If reflects poorly on you and makes you look petty. Talk them up.

“It’s a great company but I want to move into XYZ, so I thought I’d speak to you.”

Be the type of person you’d like to hire.

Steer clear of the following:

• Religion
• Politics
• Gossip
• Extreme ideologies
• Age
• Family

it’s none of their business!

Allude to them, e.g. your family, if you wish but keep it brief. Don’t get too buddy-buddy. This is an interview. Keep it professional.

and then…

• Ask questions. This is the single biggest mistake interviewees make. They don’t ask questions. They think that being silent shows respect. Of course it does, but open up. You must have questions. Ask them. I want to hear what you think of the company.
• Show your interest. I used to print out the company annual report and discuss sections with the interviewers (when looking for work) – this blew them away.
• Quote things for their site. Talk about the company — as though you already worked for them.
• Social Media — have you joined their Facebook page? Do you follow them on Twitter. If not, why?

Don’t think of yourself as just a graduate, or an out-of-work 40 something.

Dont’ run yourself down.

You’re a potential asset to the company and if THEY make the right decision, they will hire you!

See the difference?

What the most difficult question you were asked at an interview?

 

Regards,

Ivan

Beijing, China

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Ivan: http://www.ihearttechnicalwriting.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ihearttechdocs
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ivanwalsh
Businessweek: http://bx.businessweek.com/profile/ivan-walsh/iwalsh905/

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Why did You Choose to be a Technical Writer? Accident or Design?

Why did you become a technical writer? Some get tech writer by accident (me!) while for others it was part of their career path. I spoke to some technical writers about this recently. Here’s what I learned. 

How I got into technical writing

1. Accident – Karen started in journalism and discovered technical writing by accident. She felt that technical writing suits people who enjoy communicate and learning new stuff. If you like/love technology, you’re half-way there, if not, chose another field.
2. Out of Manufacturing – after 10 years in engineering, another colleague saw the ‘writing on the wall’ as the US began to lose its manufacturing jobs to China, India, and Eastern Europe. Moving into technical writing proved an exit route. However, as technical docs are now getting off-shored, she’s considering moving into another field, possibly teaching.
3. Career Choice – new technical writers (especially in India and China) have decided on Tech Comms as a career and taken the appropriate degrees, such as English, Communication and, in some cases, Journalism.
4. Career Change – JP did a postgraduate in biology and moved into technical writing as it allowed her to combine her daytime job (technical docs) and real passion (travel writing).

Technical Writing (tech comms) is a very hot field in India, offering an attractive career for university graduates. Think Silicon Valley, late 90s and you get the idea.

How I became a technical writer

I started as a programmer (anyone remember Cobol? Fortran?) but was moved into tech docs during a downsize. I studied computer science in university and though the move at the time seemed a backwards step, it’s served me well.

Coding didn’t suit me. I signed up as others did at the time without understanding the field.

Remember, I’m from a very small town in the west of Ireland so the career advice we got wasn’t the greatest. Most teachers had no experience on PCs in the 80s. What they suggested was based on what the Dept of Education recommended.

So, for me personally, it wasn’t the smartest move but  it opened others opportunities later. I landed many contracts because I know how to write code and run simulations. Most other English majors could write (way better than me) but had limited technical skills.

Since then I’ve lived in the UK, US, Amsterdam and China, so it’s worked out quite well.

I have some concerns for ‘old school’ writers who don’t always see the shape of things to come.

You need to keep moving forward in this industry or risk getting left behind.

One last thing

India has an advantage as its education system values/prioritizes maths, while most all young Indians speak English.  So, it’s a terrific combination.

China, in contrast, lacks these language skills. So, the focus there is on development.

India is going to get stronger and stronger, especially if the government fast-tracks infrastructure development.

US technical writers will lose their jobs to India. I can guarantee it. It’s a done deal.

But…

There are tremendous opportunities for those who have the gumption to move there and help develop this industry.

India lacks experienced writers, projects managers and team leads. If you have these skills…

UPDATE – I had some comment by email. Most seem to have moved into tech docs by design. However, quite a few are now saying they to move out again to find work.

What careers do you think are open to them?

By the way, 3 of these emails were from people outside the large metro areas so contract options are very thin.

Any ideas?

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Ivan: http://www.ihearttechnicalwriting.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ihearttechdocs
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ivanwalsh
Businessweek: http://bx.businessweek.com/profile/ivan-walsh/iwalsh905/

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User Guide vs User Manual – which one is Right?

 

Let’s say you’re setting up a new Tech Docs Dept. You need to create new guidelines, style guides and naming conventions. Should you call the user ‘documents’ User Guides or User Manuals? Which one is Right?

I was asked this question by a colleague in India who is setting up a Technical Publishing Dept in Bangalore.  He wants to go with user guide—me too, actually.

1. When I worked in the UK it was (mostly) referred to as a User Manual
2. Whereas in the US, it was a User Guide. I think the Americans (and me!) like things to be short and to the point. Guide is just that little bit quicker to write.

Saying that, there is no right and wrong, but I did a little fact finding first.

What Google says about User Guides

I searched Google and came up with these results.

• 15,600,000 for “user guide”
• 10,700,000 for “user manual”
• 5,210,000 for “user’s guide”

What surprised me here was that User’s Guide was so widely used. I’ve always found this a bit annoying. I just don’t like hyphens, I guess.

Top 5 Most Popular User Guides

A quick check on the most popular user guides showed the following. Not what I expected.

• Google Earth User Guide – http://earth.google.com/userguide/v4/
• iPhone User s Guide – http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iphone_user_guide.pdf
• Patron User Guide – www.ebrary.com/corp/…/en/User_Guide/ebrary_Patron_User_Guide.pdf
• Adobe Reader Help – www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/pdfs/acrruserguide.pdf
• User Guide Tutorial – www.klariti.com/technical…/User-Guides-Tutorial.shtml

Even IBM gets confused

Next, I checked IBM and Microsoft  to see what term they used.

• 15324 for user guide
• 1047 for user manual

So, they prefer user guide. Though, you’d think they’d make this mandatory. Of course, it’screenshots not easy when you have offices in every corner of the world, so let’s cut them some slack.

Microsoft prefers User Guides too

The folks are Redmond were more consistent with

• 1.8 million for User Guides and only
• 73k for User Manuals

And, to be fair, many of the user manuals were actually guides when I checked. Someone check that search engine!

Is Apple different?

Yes, of course.

Apple prefers the term User’s Guide. Like I said, I never bought into this. I prefer short, snappy titles. We don’t call them System Administrator’s Guide, do we?

Well, of course, some do.

Some things to consider when naming your documents

• Ask your target audience what they expect.
• Avoid obscure or unique terms for your documents. Use industry standard terminology.
• Create a Style Guide or adopt one, e.g. the Microsoft or IBM style guide.
• Develop a naming convention, e.g. a structure approach so that all documents are named, filed, and indexed correctly. 
• Develop a numbering convention. Show people how to number documents, for example, when to go from 1.1  to 1.2 and when to go from 1.2 to 2.0.
• Be consistent.
• Be patient when they get it wrong.

My career really began to take off when I saw myself as an ‘enabler’ rather than a tech writer. My identify of who I was changed from a guy who cranked out docs to someone who helps others get their projects done.

People want to learn, do your best to help them get there.

What do you think? What’s the most practical way to name documents and setup a new Technical Writing Dept?

 

Regards, 

Ivan

Ivan: http://www.ihearttechnicalwriting.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ihearttechdocs
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ivanwalsh
Businessweek: http://bx.businessweek.com/profile/ivan-walsh/iwalsh905/

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