Freelancefolder

Ten Killer Interviewing Tips

Posted March 31, 2008 in Uncategorized 7 Rockin' Comments »

As a Technical Writer, I have had to interview hundreds of computer professionals to better understand the technology that I would be documenting. Programmers, Quality Assurance, Implementation, Sales, Management, Customer Service, Training… I have interviewed them all! The following article reveals tips you can use to optimize your interview experience and get the information you seek.

1. Interview in the morning. The morning is the time when people are fresh and are most willing to really give you good answers to your questions.
2. Ask questions when you don’t understand. Sometimes to maintain our professional image we say “yes” to someone who wants to make sure that we have understood. Don’t do this…this will bite you back in the future. Make sure you truly understood what the interviewee has said.
3. Prepare your questions well beforehand. Never arrive at an interview to get information on the fly, this is a disaster waiting to happen and others will feel that you are wasting their time. Get organized well beforehand.

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2008-03-30 Sunday Links Folder

Posted March 30, 2008 in Uncategorized 7 Rockin' Comments »

Hi everyone, I hope you’re having a great week-end and you don’t have too much work to do. As usual, on week-ends I like to compile a list of interesting articles I’ve read during the week that I think you’ll find interesting. I’m sure you’ll find some good stuff in there. :)

Here we go:

• 13 Ways to Move Big Files on the Web
• Social Media Starter Moves for Freelancers
• 8 Easily Avoidable Causes of Business Debt
• Worth 1,000 words: Photoshop Express now free and online (Photoshop Express)
• Full-throttle Productivity and Web-Work With Ubuntu
• Would You Use a Job Auction Site to Find Work?
• 26 Free Icon Sets We Love
• Debugging CSS the Fast Way
• Is There a Career in Blogging?

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A Step By Step Guide To Writing About Stuff You Know Very Little About

Posted March 28, 2008 in Writing 24 Rockin' Comments »

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with writing only on a handful of topics, but what if a client asks you to write on a topic you know nothing (or very little) about? Can you afford to turn down work?

Before you find yourself in a position where you have to say no to a client, why not practice a little?

Here’s what I suggest:

1. What Will You Write About?

First, find something you’re not comfortable writing about. Yes, something you know almost nothing about. This can be anything from “how to earn money blogging” to “how to lose weight”. Anything goes, for as long as it’s something you’re not too familiar with. [Click Here to Read More...]

Popular and Better – Synonyms or Misconception?

Posted March 26, 2008 in Uncategorized 3 Rockin' Comments »

In today’s society, where image is everything, it’s definitely easy to get carried away and end up thinking that a popular product or service is automatically better as well. Let’s try to look beyond the surface and ask ourselves if popularity should really be an important factor which needs to be taken into consideration when judging the quality of a certain product or service.

Popularity – An Important Variable?

On the one hand yes, assuming that, if a lot of people are using a certain product and are talking about it as well, it has to be good is common sense. Indeed, in most cases, popular products or services tend to be at least decent as far as quality is concerned. [Click Here to Read More...]

How To Balance Freelancing With A Full-Time Job Without Burning Out

Posted March 25, 2008 in Lifestyle, Productivity 26 Rockin' Comments »

It is possible to effectively balance your full-time job with freelancing – without going insane or burning out. I do it, and in this post, I’ll tell you how you can, too. Many of us begin freelancing while we are still employed in full-time jobs.

Here are some requirements and tips for staying sane while working the 9-5 and freelancing on the side.

• Get help from others
• Calculate your total work and billable hours
• Become an efficiency ninja
• Take care of yourself
• Write blog posts in advance
• Keep your two jobs separated
• Take mini vacations

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Ten Ways to Optimize Your Software Experience

Posted March 24, 2008 in Uncategorized 3 Rockin' Comments »

Today, software is an integral part of our lives – whether we are working on the web or on a school or business client-server environment that has all of the applications we must use. The following article features ten ways in which you can maximize your software experience, making order out of seeming chaos that can take place in the world of Information Technology:

1. Install the default version of the application. Unless you have special needs, the default version of the software application should have everything you need. Also, in the download or installation process, the vendor has considered the best way to install the application on your machine, which means better performance.
2. Install a Start Menu and Desktop Icon. There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to locate the program you just installed on your machine! I have seen a few applications get installed into a deep directory within Program Files, and unless there is a Start Menu or Desktop Shortcut Icon, it is practically impossible to find the basic executable file that runs the program.

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Web/Graphic Designers Interviewed On VandelayDesign

Posted March 24, 2008 in Uncategorized 3 Rockin' Comments »

Hi folks, just a quick post to let you know that Steven at VandelayDesign interviewed 10 web and graphic designers, some of them you probably already know. You can read the whole post on VandelayDesign.

Who got interviewed?

• Alen Grakalic of CSS Globe
• Jon Phillips of Freelance Folder (that would be me)
• David Airey
• Matt Griffin of Liquid Design Media
• Chris Coyier of CSS-Tricks
• Connor Wilson
• Thord Daniel Hedengren
• Michael Martin of Pro Blog Design
• Jacob Cass of Just Creative Design
• Dejan Cancarevic of StylizedWeb

Hope you enjoy the interviews! Thanks to Steven for putting all this together and for inviting me :)

2008-03-23 Sunday Links Folder

Posted March 23, 2008 in Uncategorized 6 Rockin' Comments »

Hi folks, how was your week? I hope you were able to meet all your deadlines and there’s not too much left on your to do list. I read many great articles this week that I’d like to share with you. Please take a minute to read these posts, I’m sure you’ll find them interesting.

But before we get to the list, Steve Mullen of StartUp BizCast is having a contest with some very cool prizes like:

• A coupon code worth $360 that can be used toward a news release distribution from premier online press release newswire PRWeb.
• A website SEO evaluation plus one hour of consultation from NetSearch Direct, a search engine and Internet marketing firm based in Richmond, Virginia. The value of this prize is $800!

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Ten Great Technical Writing Tips

Posted March 21, 2008 in Writing 23 Rockin' Comments »

Technical writing is a skill that will not only help you to better understand a software or system that you are working with, but also will help you to build credibility before others in an organization, especially as a knowledge expert regarding the topic or areas you are covering in your documentation. Here are ten tips for improving your technical writing skills, and these may be applied to not only software, but also to internal processes and procedures that define how a company operates:

1. Identify your writing goal. Many times when someone is explaining a system or a software functionality, he or she gets lost in the details of the system and the reader is not able to assimilate the details with the final goal of the documentation you are writing. Stay focused, and if you need, include a comment or two reminding the user of their final goal in reading the documentation.
2. Keep screen shots small. Sometimes, technical writers or support personnel capture a whole screen when there is only a part of the screen that needs capturing. This will help the reader to assimilate the button or field you are discussing with the screen.

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