Technical Editor interview questions and answers
This Technical Editor interview profile brings together a snapshot of what to look for in candidates with a balanced sample of suitable interview questions.
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Use the following interview questions to hire the right Technical Editor for your team. Typically, your candidates will have a technical writing background. They will have a portfolio of polished and relevant work samples such as user guides and engineering reports. For this role, it is critical to use their portfolio as a conversation starter.
Dig into their technical expertise by asking questions about the process of developing a complex project — what guidelines they were given, who they worked with, and what kind of results they achieved. As a project manager, they should be comfortable with delegating tasks and monitoring the progress of their team. If your new hire will be in charge of building and leading a team, be sure to ask some questions about how they hire and train technical writers.
These open-ended and situational questions are written to help you evaluate candidates’ technical writing experience. Get your candidates talking to learn more about their leadership and project management skills as these are critical for editorial roles. Finally, technical editors are top notch technical writers, and it is in the nature of good writers to ask smart, probing questions. To identify strong candidates for this position, listen closely to the questions they ask.
Operational and Situational questions
Portfolio Questions
- What guidelines or materials are you typically given to begin a project like [this work sample]?
- What process did you go through to develop [this work sample?]
- Who else did you work with to develop [this work sample]? What did they do?
- How much time did it take to complete [this work sample]?
- How do you know when a project is complete?
- Describe one of your more successful pieces. How do you define success?
Technical Editing Questions
- What interests you about being a technical editor for our industry?
- What measures do you take to improve your technical editing expertise?
- In as much detail as possible, describe a recent technical editing project you worked on.
- What software tools do you typically use?
- How quickly can you learn to use a new tool?
- What’s your role in developing project timelines?
- How much experience do you have with interviewing subject matter experts?
- How do you find talented technical writers for your team?
- What’s your approach to providing constructive criticism?
- How do you motivate your team to meet tight deadlines?
- Describe a time your client/project stakeholders gave you negative feedback. How did you handle it?