[austechwriter] Re: Followup to: Technical Writers/Documentors needed!!!!

Hi there,

Apologies for the length of this post (and it's my first!).

--
Stuart Burnfield said:
> are these real jobs? The descriptions are so broad
> Back to genuine ads: I still think it's best to be a bit more
specific.
--

Stuart, I wondered about the same thing (sorry Dayle). In my
experience, though, vague descriptions often say more about the
culture and expectations of the hiring company than the recruiter or
their motivations.

Sometimes roles described like that can be great. Behind that lack of
specificity might be a really innovative organisation where management
is open to people shaping jobs in quite an entrepreneurial way. I've
worked in a few places like that, and it is amazing how motivated and
effective people can be in that kind of environment. I think those
companies are still out there, there are just fewer of them, and
they're smaller and perhaps more conservative about hiring than they
used to be.

Conversely it can be miserable if it turns out that the organisation
isn't sure what they want but they think they'll recognise it when
they see it. Then you might find yourself seduced into jobs only to
find out (too late) that their expectations are somewhat, um,
unrealistic. I've worked in a couple of those too, but not for too
long, thankfully.

Btw, if I am tempted by vague-ish sounding now and make it to
interview, I ask the hirer specific, behavioural questions about their
processes, favourite projects, technologies they've decided to go
with, how those decisions were made etc., Their comfort and confidence
in answering those kinds of questions, and the way I feel about their
answers, are all factors I consider before taking on a vague-ish
sounding role now.

That might sound quite brazen, but people respond positively to this
approach, particularly those who understand how important it is for a
tech writer to know how to ask the right questions. I concede it
probably helps if you have a direct communication style anyway.

I'm not saying that specifics aren't good too, just that sometimes
vague is okay.

Regards,

Mary
...who is not a recruiter :) and who was a hirer in a previous life


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