As a follow up to our post about what certain companies look for in candidates, we wanted to take it one step further and see what the people who do the hiring see as necessary knowledge and skills for writing positions.
We reached out to David Bachmann, a Technical Writer and the Documentation Manager with Relativity about what is required of their Technical Writers. He emphasized “previous experience, along with the way in which they discuss the craft of technical writing, proves to us that they’d be the best at delivering on those responsibilities [of the job.” When asked about the day-to-day expectations, Relativity provides project managers for structure, and tech writers will “document new or enhanced features that their development teams have just completed the code for and are preparing to release to customers in the near future.”
Documentation and previous work from Technical Writing courses can be good supplements to an application to show your work, because as usual in the working world, experience reigns supreme.For special skills that would aid in hiring, he notes “MadCap Flare, JIRA, AHA (not necessary but helpful), SourceTree, Jenkins, GitHub, Word, and Notepad++” are all useful platforms and tools to be familiar with.
From the teaching perspective, DePaul’s First Year Writing Coordinator Dr. Erin Workman was able to provide some insight on what sets some candidates above others, mostly for the more readily available part-time positions. Aside from the degree and one year of college level writing instruction experience, Dr. Workman notes that she looks “for a cogent articulation of teaching philosophy or pedagogical approach supported with concrete examples of pedagogical practices.”
When it comes to the interview, she gets more specific. “Standard questions that I pose to all candidates include ‘what are your top goals for teaching FYW classes, and why,’ ‘what kinds of reading and writing assignments do you use in your FYW classes,’ and ‘walk me through a typical day in one of your writing classes.’” said Erin. I also look for candidates who have experience with ePortfolios, online writing instruction, anti-racist pedagogy, and/or multilingual writing instruction. Not having experience in one or more of those areas isn’t necessarily a deal breaker as long as the candidate is receptive to learning about them.”
Finally, Dr. Workman notes how helpful “course evaluations, observation reports, [and] feedback on student writing [with student consent, of course]” can be to an application, so do not hesitate to share the good things people say about you.
As working professionals and those who do the hiring, David Bachmann and Dr. Erin Workman are the perfect resource for the application process and a nice insight to the other side of the interview table.