We have discussed this subject many times in this forum. But still I can't help writing this.

A job email I received says that potential candidates must send samples, ideally a help file like document, as part of the filtering process. I feel this is mainly because of lack of faith in the skills of potential candidates, or a flawed market study about the skills of technical writers in Bangalore as well as India in particular.

The following are the common questions asked by an interview panel to a technical writer candidate:

1. Tell us about yourself? (This question is usually asked to verify what you have said in the CV and what you say at the interview are the same. In between, the interviewers will ask questions as if they are not fully convinced).

2. Why do you want to leave your exising job? Or, Why did you apply to this position?

3. What is SDLC/DDLC? What are the steps in DDLC? What is the difference between SDLC and DDLC?

"The IT sector should stop recruiting engineers from other branches, Infosys mentor N R Narayana Murthy said on Saturday." I read this in today's Deccan Herald. You can read the news report at this link:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/80673/it-should-hire-only-computer.html

Do you agree with Murthy's statement? I feel that this is a deeply conservative statement incongrous with what is happening elsewhere. This illustartes the bias "computer engineers' have towards "non-engineers" in IT cos.

It is true that competition among employees is high in software companies. This fact also works out to be true in the case of technical writing teams also. But when the competition gets unhealthy and dirty, the going gets tough and the project suffers.

Which is more important for a technical communicator? Writing skills or tool skills?

The 'intelligent' answer is both on an equal basis. You can tell this to interviewers; they will nod in agreement. But what exactly is the reality? In companies, it is the tool guys that rule the roost whether it is MS Word, FrameMaker, Robohelp, or Flare, and not the guy with excellent writing skills. If you have average writing skills, but excellent tool skills, you career can go places. You are one of the promising people in the company from a non-technical background.

Have you ever wondered how technical writers are appraised in a company?
Have you ever asked someone how technical writers should be apparaised?
Do you have any idea how your performance has been evaluated in a a company and what worked for you and what worked against you?

The following is a simple checklist for technical writers:

1. Use standard, conventional English. Stick to the basics as many companies localize and translate technical documents to multiple languages. The linguistic rules and guidelines for translation are based on standard usage, and not on unconventional or nonstandard writing.

2. Use standard sentence structure. This is a major issue faced by non-native writers. Always stick to the accepted standards of writing clear and simple sentences.

The post titled "10 Tips for Effective Technical Writing" will give some idea for wannabe technical writers. The post is at:
http://renziebaluyut.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/10-tips-for-effective-technical-writing/