In order to connect to content it’s necessary to have content to connect to—in other words, a job where you can use your skills and talents as a technical communicator. I’m currently working on that aspect of things so interviews are in my future.
I’m a firm believer that an interview should be a two-way street: Just as an employer is evaluating you, you should be evaluating the employer. In an interview, not only is an employer sizing up your skills, experience, and capability to do the job, but he/she is also trying to determine how well you’ll fit into the company culture. You should be doing the same. Does the job sound interesting and is it something you’d enjoy doing? Do you sense you’d fit into the company well?
While it may be difficult, I recommend trying to find out as much about the corporate culture as you can. For example, I don’t know about you, but if I’m interviewing for a position in a department where during crunch time the Vice President requires employees to work every weekend and comes in and counts cars in the parking lot to make sure everyone is there, I’d like to know that ahead of time so I can run in the other direction. (An actual situation at a company I worked at, in case you’re wondering.)
Most people who provide job seeking advice say you should never leave a job interview without asking questions yourself. In her blog Rachel Peters posted a great article titled, “Don’t start blindly: What to ask in a job interview.” She proposed several questions to ask at various stages of the hiring process: During the HR screening interview (usually a brief phone call, in my experience), during the first interview, and during the second interview, if there is one. I used her questions as a starting point when coming up with my list. Following are some additional questions I’ve asked during the hiring process.
Questions to ask technical communicators:
- How many technical writers are in the department?
- What are you looking for in a technical writer?
- How do others in the company view technical writers?
- Who are your users?
- How do you obtain user feedback on the documentation?
- What are your plans for the documentation in the future?
- What kind of growth and leadership opportunities does the position have?
- What kind of training opportunities are available?
- What’s your favorite thing about working for the company? What’s your least favorite thing?
Questions to ask engineers and developers:
- What’s your preferred method for working with technical writers?
- What qualities and skills are you looking for in a technical writer?
- When do you think technical writers should come onto a project?
- What level of technical (or programming) knowledge do you expect technical writers to have?
- What’s your favorite thing about working for the company? What’s your least favorite thing?
What questions do you recommend?
Hi Peggy. Thanks for the reference to my site! I’m glad my questions were able to help with your thoughts. The questions you list here are great too. I never got the chance to talk to a developer in an interview, but I think the questions you suggest are exactly what I’d ask them. I often found myself asking developers these questions once I was on the job actually – something like, “Would you rather I email you my questions or just stop by your desk?” It worked out well, because all the devs were different. Great post!
Thank YOU, Rachel, for your original post, it helped me a lot! I especially like your reminder to never leave an interview without asking what the next step is. I keep this in mind every time.
These are great lists of questions. You can also find out about the company culture before you ever go to the interview. For example, if they have a blog, you can often tell a lot about what it’s like to work there: Do they prefer to project a formal, corporate image or one that’s less formal? Do they value innovation? Creativity?
Participate in professional societies, like STC, as well as in organizations that aren’t tied to a particular profession, like Toastmasters. You’ll meet people who work for the companies you’re interested in; and, while it might not be practical to sit them down and quiz them, you can pick up a lot of hints just by spending time with them. Do they like their job? Do they find it fun or frustrating? To paraphrase Yogi, you can hear a lot just by listening.
Great tips, Larry, thanks. I hadn’t thought about looking for a company’s blog to learn about their culture. One thing I try to do whenever I apply for a job somewhere (or before I apply if I can) is look on LinkedIn and see if I know anyone at the company. What’s been happening more often lately is I’m able to find someone who is connected to someone I know, which has led to some great contacts and referrals.
This is great advice, Peggy! Not only can this be used in an interview, but it could be used after you land a job. It has been my experience that I do not necessarily get to speak to both technical communicators and engineers/developers during the interview process. It is usually one or the other. I begin work as a technical writer at a new job on Monday, and I will definitely use this list of questions to get to know the team I am working with better (in this case it is accountants, which is going to be a completely new experience for me!). Great blog!