It seems that when an
organization wants to add a contract or full-time technical writer to
their staff they are at a loss as to what questions they should ask the
candidates. I've certainly had some lame interview questions asked to
me over the years.
At times, it has seemed that because I have a liberal arts degree, some prospective clients and employers weren't sure about my background and experience because I was not a programmer and didn't have a technical degree but it's not like they have to poke me with a stick.
Although, I must admit that the lame questions and attitudes I've experienced while interviewing have been in the minority. But oh boy, the questions do stand out to me until this day.
Here are some of the lamest technical writer interview questions I've heard in my time:
| Question | Lameness |
| Who is your favorite author? | Sure I was an English major in college and loved Raymond Carver. While he is an author you've probably never heard of then how does my favorite author affect how I do my job? |
| How could you publish articles on your own without a programmer or technical person writing the first draft? | I have a body of published work
in national technology publications and on industry Web sites and have
had this question asked to me more than once over the years. There are writers who can produce original technical content and then there are those who cannot produce original technical content. When I hear this question or one in a similar vein, it leads to automatic disqualification of the potential employer or client. |
| What is your favorite kind of writing? | While
there are some oppressed novelists, poets, and screen writers in the
technical writer ranks this is a very silly question to ask a
professional writer. |
| How do you publish a Word document? | While
Word 2007 offers new features for publishing Word documents, how many
organizations have broken their work flow to acommodate these new
features? |
| What is your experience with Microsoft Office? | If you actually read my resume and done any online research about me you'll see that I've been a technical reviewer for books about Microsoft Office,
contributed to books about Microsoft Office, and provided technical
writing and user support for a major Federal government agency's
migration from Microsoft Office 2000 to Microsoft Office 2003. Outside of my particular experience, when a technical writer hits the senior level, most if not all Microsoft Office questions are moot in my opinion. |
| What is your favorite feature in Microsoft Word? | Microsoft Word is a tool for me to do my job and more often than not, I've had to make it work and playing no favorites. |
It's interesting to read your list. I've interviewed quite a bit over the past twenty years and really haven't encountered too many of these questions.
Here is how I would approach some of them.
#1: Though an English major myself, I haven't really been interviewed by too many English major types. Mostly managers and engineers. I usually mention popular business authors (Stephen Covey, etc.) and books like The Mythical Man Month and other software development books.
My English major answers would be Borges and William Blake, but I would be hard pressed to connect that answer to anything having to do with technical writing!
#2: I haven't published stuff, but I am surprised you get asked this. It sounds like a way to push your buttons, to see how you respond - as if they ere questioning the integrity of your work. I would just say, well, I wrote the stuff, it was reviewed by technical professionals and published according to their standards, and here are some references you can call.
#3: I agree it is silly, but I would answer: writing that helps me accomplish something, and by the way, that is the kind of writing I like to write (and then go into details pertinent to the company, product, or writing project.)
#4: Not sure what this question is getting at. The answer depends upon what your customers want...print, PDF, online help, web site? There are ways to use Word to do these things, and also better ways to do them.
#5: I agree with your approach.
#6: Another silly one - I would say see #4. But I am fond of tables.
The type of questions that bother me are ones that to me are out of scope for a technical writer...for example, explain pivot tables in Excel and how to implement them. I have nothing against that - tech writers have to be willing to learn anything - but if it's thrown at you out of the blue in an interview without being mentioned beforehand, you have little chance to demonstrate your ability to learn an unfamiliar concept. If that's what you want, tell your recruiter beforehand. Which also applies to another experience: after I was sent to one interview, it immediately became clear that they were looking for someone to diagnose, troubleshoot, and repair equipment, not document it. I had to end that one early.
Posted by: twitter.com/mjcollier | October 22, 2009 at 03:59 PM