atw: On the subject of job ads

Dear austechies,

 

I am gob-smacked that some subscribers to this list decry the posting of job
ads. Just for the record, I invited (and regularly re-invite) every
recruitment agency I know of  to post ads on this list. Sometimes I post
them on an agency's behalf. (I don't rewrite the ads. Not only do I not have
time to do so, but the wording of an agency's ad can give you a reasonable
idea of how serious it is in finding the right person for the job.) And
sometimes I post jobs that I have going (and more often than not fill the
role with a subscriber). While I am list-admin, I will continue to encourage
the posting of job ads, as I'm convinced that this is a valuable service to
a profession where the majority of practitioners are contractors.

 

To expect an ad to show a precise contract period is not always reasonable.
Enlightened organisations start recruiting writers before the full extent of
the documentation requirements is nailed down. (To wait until that happens
will often hold up the project.) And some will expect the writer to help
them scope the project. And if the writer can only scope the project once
they've been recruited, obviously the ad can't give the scope in advance.
Ads that show the contract period as a fixed period usually come from
unenlightened organisations, ones who have little appreciation of the
complexities and uncertainties of documentation projects.

 

As for money, this industry is not about buying and selling strawberries.
The end recruiter usually wants to see the calibre of candidates first so
that they can assess the risk factors (likelihood of rework, for example). A
poor set of applicants would warrant  a lesser than average rate because eof
the likelihood of lesser quality work, possibly requiring rework (and thus
more costs). This is not an issue with good quality candidates, who usually
get what ask for. 

 

Geoffrey Marnell

list-admin

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