[Framers] How do you identify an advanced Framemaker user?

[Shmuel Wolfson]

Ask them to combine some short documents using single-sourcing features, 
and see how they do it, whether they use shared book, text insets, 
variables, etc.

But I disagree that it's not important to have a good technical writer, 
and that it's more important to know FM well. You need both, and you 
could always send him/her to an advanced FM course. In my opinion it's 
more important that they have a good technical aptitude and are good at 
explaining things. I would hire someone who at least knows FM though.

--
Shmuel Wolfson
Technical Writer
058-763-7133

On 16-Apr-18 5:36 PM, Robert Lauriston wrote:

> If I had a badly maintained FrameMaker book with a lot of cruft on the
> reference pages, inconsistent styles, and so on, I'd ask them to
> identify problems and say how they'd clean them up.
>
> I'd ask to see one or more templates they'd created and have them
> detail the process of creating a new book from them.
>
> Actually, the first thing I'd suggest would be to consider whether
> it's time to move on from FrameMaker.
>
> On Sun, Apr 15, 2018 at 9:31 AM, Carol J. Elkins
> <celkins at awrittenword.com> wrote:
>> Over the next couple of years, I need to help my major client find and train
>> an in-house replacement for me as I wind down my freelance practice. They
>> will not consider an independent contractor next time, so it may be harder
>> to recruit and identify someone with the required skills. I've built 20
>> years of documentation for this client in unstructured Framemaker, and
>> managing these thousands of documents and books depends less on someone
>> being a good technical writer than being an excellent Framemaker user.
>>
>> For those of you who are corporate employers, I'd like to know how you
>> screen candidates to identify those who truly are advanced Framemaker users.
>> Is there a test you employ? Do you ask them to build a template from
>> scratch? Are there certifications that you require? Do you use a recruiting
>> service? How would you locate qualified candidates (in addition to posting
>> to Frameusers)?
>>
>> Note that I am NOT recruiting; that is still a few years down the road 8-).
>> I just need to start thinking about the best way to replace myself. My
>> long-time designated backup is also planning to retire in the next couple of
>> years, so I have to start again to find the best person for my job. I am
>> willing to train them how to do my job, but it requires their already being
>> a master of Framemaker.
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