by David Dick, Associate Fellow
David is a member of the Washington, D.C., Chapter and assistant manager of the Usability and User Experience (UUX) Community. He offers some great advice for job seekers in the following article. Topics include:
» Process to produce and manage documentation
The power of questions
Have you ever been to an employment interview where the interviewer asked, “Do you have any questions?” If you said “no,” then you missed an opportunity to take advantage of a defining moment of your interview. Dalton Hooper writes in “Getting Yourself Hired Lesson 3: Do You Have Any Questions For Me?” that asking questions is a precious gift; and never throw it away. Leveraged to their fullest, the questions you ask can carry more weight than the answers you have given up to that point. The interview is an opportunity for the interviewer and you to establish a rapport, and that only happens if you contribute to the interview by asking questions.
Having passed up opportunities to ask questions during interviews, I decided to educate myself on the questions that I should ask. I want to make a positive impression of my character and competence—what questions would do just that?
What should I ask?
What questions are appropriate to ask during an interview? Should I ask if Friday is casual day, and if I can work from home? Although these questions are important to me, asking them may not project a professional image of me to the interviewer.
Certainly, if I have personal obligations that affect my working hours, or special needs that the employer should be aware of, I should talk about them during the interview.
I posted my question to the Lone Writer Special Interest Group (SIG) e-mail discussion list. To my delight, several members replied with questions they considered essential to ask an interviewer. I grouped their questions into three categories:
» Process to produce and manage publications
Background of the company
Are you pursuing a job (that is, pay check) or a place to work? Nick Corcodilos writes in Pursue Companies, Not Jobs, that you should look for good companies that are in a business you want to be involved in. If the company has people, a culture, a product line, and a future that appeal to you, then investigate it in detail and craft your questions accordingly. Learn as much as you can about the company before the interview. A good place to begin your investigation is the company’s website to learn about services, customers, and corporate culture (for example, About Us).
Questions you may want to ask
Ed Marshall (Lone Writer SIG member) suggests asking a question or two about who uses the company’s products and for what purpose, who their main competitors are, and what the long-term projects are. These questions emphasize that you have done some research and are interested in the company. This gives you a good lead-in to the next question.
Ask the interviewer to explain the project to which you would be assigned and documentation deadlines. Marshall suggested asking the interviewer to explain how to handle priorities and progress reporting, how to work with subject matter experts and project stakeholders, and the process for work order fulfillment.
Ask to see where you would be working. A technical writer wrote to me that she had an interview with a company that provided all the right answers and assured her that their writers were valued members of the company. She asked to see where the writers work. The manager walked her by all the neat cubes and offices to where the writers worked—in one large cube, divided into four triangles, wedged into the corner of the attached warehouse.
If you work as a contractor, ask the interviewer the status of the contract. If the interviewer tells you that the contract was recently awarded, you can be confident that the position is stable.
Process to produce and manage documentation
Most companies have processes to produce and manage documentation that adhere to ISO 9000 and/or CMMI standards to some degree. During your interview, learn as much as you can about documentation control such as the process to plan new documents and tools to manage them.
Questions you may want to ask
Ask about processes the company employs to ensure quality of documentation (or other information product) such as peer reviews, technical reviews, and usability testing, and how you would participate in those processes. Susan Park (Lone Writer SIG member) wrote, “If I were interviewing, I would like to know what processes they use to ensure the quality of documentation (for example, peer reviews, technical reviews, or nothing).” Park would ask, “How do current writers gather information? Do they work closely with testers, programmers, trainers, or are they expected just to re-hash specs and not ‘bother’ other groups?”
Kris Westrum (Lone Writer SIG member) recommends asking what types of user assistance and tools are used to create embedded Help, online Help (format types), and books. If you have a background in development of Help solutions or are interested in learning how to develop them, ask the interviewer what opportunities would be possible for you.
Ask how the writers gather information; for example, do they work with testers, programmers, or trainers? Sometimes, employers view Technical Writers as experts in formatting text to page. This question offers you an opportunity to discuss the job description, and verify and clarify your roles and responsibilities.
“I like to know what people think of as good writing,” Elisa Sawyer (Lone Writer SIG member) wrote. “I was once asked, in an interview, what I thought of a specific manual. The people interviewing me wanted someone who could make substantial improvements while preserving the self-esteem of the author, who had good writing skills but did not understand some finer points in handling the material. Apparently I handled the interview with enough tact, and got the job.”
Professional development
Generally, you are responsible for your own professional development in order to keep your skills fresh. Many companies pride themselves on the professional development of their staff such as certifications and advanced education, and offer tuition assistance and advanced training.
Questions you may want to ask
Kris Westrum recommends asking the interviewer what training opportunities the company offers to enhance your skills, how other writers stay current, and what cross-training opportunities the company offers that could help you get a better handle on the company and possibly lead to advancement.
“Ask what career advancement opportunities are available to you,” Teresa Trujillo (Lone Writer SIG member) wrote. “If they haven’t given a lot of thought as to why, or how, someone in this position might advance you can be assured that it is a dead-end position,” she continued. Trujillo believes that a good employer will like that a new hire is looking for long term advancement.
Ask about the company’s policy to support membership to a professional society and attendance to conferences. Take this opportunity to explain your involvement in the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and participation in your local chapter, and at annual conferences. Explain how membership to the STC contributes to your professional development, and how you contribute to the STC.
Are you qualified?
The final question to ask will allow the interviewer to close and provide you with feedback about your qualifications. According to WikiAnswers, a very good end-of-interview question would be:
“Do you have any concerns that would prevent you from recommending or selecting me for this job?”
This question will give you an opportunity to directly address any concerns the interviewer might have about you.
Final thoughts
Although this article identifies a few questions to ask the interviewer, the number of questions to ask will depend on the interview. If you and the interviewer have a good rapport and time permits, there is no limit on the number of questions to ask. Asking well-thought-out questions will not only show the interviewer that you are interested in the position and paying attention to the discussion, but also provide you the vital feedback you need to determine whether the job opportunity is a good fit for you.
At the time that I wrote this article, I was employed and optimistic of long-term employment. That all came to an end when the company lost a major contract and sent people scrambling for jobs. I used this article as a strategy for my own job search. I am now happily employed as a technical writer for a contractor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.
Recommended reading
Hooper, Dalton (2007, September). “Getting Yourself Hired Lesson 3: Do You Have Any Questions For Me?” Retrieved September 2008 from http://datelinehouston.wordpress.com/?s=getting+yourself+hired (Originally made available in the September 2007 issue of Connections , STC Silicon Valley newsletter).
Corcodilos, Nick. “Pursue Companies, Not Jobs.” Ask The Headhunter. Retrieved April 2008 from http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/hapursuecos.htm.
“Questions to Ask about a Company.” Synergistic Communications. Retrieved April 2008 from http://www.synergistech.com/qs-company.shtml.
“Questions to Ask at the End of an Interview.” WikiAnswers. Retrieved April 2008 from http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_questions_are_important_to_ask_at_the_end_of_the_interview.
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