Posts within the category: Jobs

April 10, 2012

Job: MANDIANT looking for Technical Documentation Writer

Are you passionate about designing applications that solve real problems? Do you have an interest in building products that help national security and Fortune 500 companies protect their networks from evil? Are you smart, analytical, and curious about how things work? If this description sounds like you, then read on… 

MANDIANT, a fast growing information security company, is seeking a Technical Documentation Writer. The ideal candidate should be experienced in writing technical Product/User documentation from the ground up, working closely with both software engineers and customers. Strong oral, written and visual communication skills desired.

Learn more and apply.

March 15, 2012

JOB: Speechwriter for National Health Care Professional Association

American Nurses Association seeks an experienced public relations professional immediately for temporary assignment of 4 months. Must have excellent writing skills to include speechwriting, news releases, talking points; experience in traditional media relations and social media campaigns; and ability to produce compelling PowerPoint presentations. Must be a strategic thinker who is flexible, detail- and deadline-oriented, and able to juggle multiple assignments. Please send resume along with samples of recent speeches and PowerPoints to Joan Hurwitz at joan.hurwitz@ana.org

February 21, 2012

Great job leads for DC-area writers

I've learned about a couple of prime job openings in the D.C. area for writers. The first is at the Investment Company Institute (ICI). I've worked with ICI, and it's a great environment for intelligent wordsmiths who understand the financial services industry. I would be thrilled if a great candidate for their Writer/Editor job picked up the lead through this blog. The second is at the World Resources Institute (WRI). I haven't worked with WRI, but this is D.C., so I know someone who went to college with someone whose cousin knows someone who's worked there.

Good luck, smart people! Apply now. And please let me know if you get the interview or the job.

• "The Investment Company Institute, the trade association for U.S. investment companies, is looking for a Writer/Editor to join their communications team. Provides writing and editorial support for ICI communications and policy initiatives; supports development of content for web and social media; provides support to media team; assists in defining priorities and identifying opportunities for creative strategic communications. Bachelor's degree and 5 or more years of communication or publication experience; strong writing and editing skills; knowledge of financial services industry desired; web and social media skills a plus. ICI offers competitive pay and benefits. Email resume, cover letter, and writing sample to employment@ici.org. EOE."

• "The World Resources Institute (WRI) seeks outstanding candidates for the position of Online Editor/Writer in the External Relations department. WRI is a fast-growing environmental organization with diverse programs that operate both globally and within specific countries and regions. WRI’s work includes climate change, deforestation, ecosystem protection, sustainable markets, environmental governance, and sustainable transportation. This position works with WRI’s program and communications staff to expand WRI’s visibility and impact, and influence decision makers to advance solutions for today’s top sustainability and environmental challenges." Learn more at WRI's Careers page.

March 9, 2011

Hiring? Nine interview questions you must ask applicants about their writing skills

At last, the economy is picking up a little. After a couple of years of "doing more with less," you may be lucky enough to be hiring. Maybe you've spent all morning digging through piles of cover letters, resumes, and writing samples. It's not easy to figure out whether an applicant has excellent writing skills or even competent ones, and it's painful to discover after you've made an offer that your new employee is a poor writer.

Pose these questions during the interview, and you'll learn all you need to know about an applicant's writing skills, problem-solving strategies, and experience helping colleagues with their writing. And, best of all, you'll avoid "hirer's remorse."

1. Do you like to write? Why? Liking to write isn't a prerequisite for on-the-job success, but it's one good indicator. The Why? follow-up should give you some indication of whether the answer is sincere.
2. What are your writing strengths and weaknesses? Of course, you'll want to know what an applicant is or isn't good at, but the best reason to ask this question is to get a sense of how well the applicant can talk about writing, which is an important skill of its own.
3. How much writing have you done in your previous jobs? (Use a specific measure.) Good writers know how much they produce. "I wrote four 250-word articles for each issue of our monthly newsletter" or "I answered between 20 and 30 e-mails to customers each day" would be good answers to this question.
4. How do you measure the success of one of your writing projects? This question helps you assess whether the applicant has a results-oriented approach to writing. Does he or she think, as you do, that good writing accomplishes something?
5. Can you describe three different writing tasks you had on your previous job? Can you arrange them in order of difficulty, listing the easiest one first? There's no right or wrong answer to this question, but it will reveal a lot about the applicant's writing experience.
   
6. Can you cite one grammar or punctuation rule you are absolutely certain about? A job interview is stressful enough; you probably don't want to torture the poor applicant with a grammar quiz. But asking a prospective employee to cite one rule, just one, will indicate whether this person is comfortable with the mechanics of writing. It's a fair question, not a tricky one.
7. Have you mentored or helped anyone else become a better writer? If so, what steps did you take to help? While not a writing skill per se, mentoring other writers does involve the ability to explain what's wrong with a draft document and help the writer make it better.  These are important skills for anyone who will be part of a writing team.
   
8. When you have problems with your writing, what steps do you take to improve? This question may help you get a sense of whether the applicant will take writing feedback well or—even better—seek it out.
   
9. What changes could have been made to the workflow at your last job that would have improved the quality of the documents or content you produced? Applicants who can answer this question well will be real assets to your team because they understand that writing well is a process. Improve the process and the quality of the product will improve too.

OK, maybe asking all nine of these questions would make for a really long interview. Let me know which ones you'll use, or leave a comment here to list the writing-related interview questions you include in interviews.

March 2, 2009

Job Application Language: Choose VERY Carefully

I recently served as a "hired reader." I had a consulting gig as the subject matter expert hired to review application packets for a high-level Communications Director position.  I read and scored the three required essay questions applicants answered to apply for the job. (Applicants also submitted a cover letter and resume.)

I read more than 6o sets of essay questions.  My friends, I read some bad writing.  The worst of the writing was a special type of job-application bad:  overly general, hyperbolic, and loaded with vague wiggle words.  After reading all those essays, I've deemed the word very to be the worst of the wiggle words.

Here are some gems of very misuse drawn from the application essays:

• "very literally... " As opposed to kinda literally?
• "very strong resistance..." Is this measurably stronger than mere strong resistance?
• "a very controversial issue..."  No very is necessary here. Controversial is a specific, clear word which requires no very.
• "a very significant challenge..." See very strong resistance and very controversial issue.
• "the company's very first records management system..." First is first, and very can't make it any stronger.
• "I worked with very disparate people... ." Perhaps that's why you're leaving your job?
• "in this large very diverse organization..." Only appropriate if you work for the United Nations.

And the list of unnecessary very's goes on:

• "I would take a very serious look at ..."
• "I work very closely with the Director... ."
• "The company president became very engaged in..."
• "completed on a very tight schedule..."
• "the approach very clearly allows..."
• I produced five products on a very compressed timeline... ."

But I don't want to appear bitter. Some of the essays were excellent. (And in this job market, they'd better be!) Here's what the high scorers did well:

• Answered the essay question directly. This is a writing skill
  we've all been practicing since fifth grade. If the question asks
  you how you've overcome obstacles to achieve success, you must mention
  the obstacles, what you did to overcome them, and how you achieved
  success.  Seems obvious, but lots of applicants missed this.
• Provided examples. Application writing is full of claims.  To make these claims convincing, the good writers included examples. So when you claim you have project management experience, give at least one specific, compelling example.
• Proofread. The good writers made sure their writing was free of errors.  But in addition to committing very abuse, the bad writers' essays contained bad spelling and grammar, typos, and sentences that didn't make sense.  Several people even used lowercase i to refer to themselves as in "In addition, i have extensive experience with ..."

-- Leslie O'Flahavan

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