Job hunting and proprietary formats

[Ottavio Caruso]

I'm pretty sure that most of you would refuse an email correspondence
based on proprietary formats, e.g. MS-Word attachments.
Some would even go to the point of deleting or bouncing such messages or
reply in tune with RMS's 'We Can Put an End to Word Attachments'
campaign :
<http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html>.

But what if your professional career, and eventually your life, should
depend on it?
What if you are going to apply for a wonderful job, a job dealing with
installing and maintaining Linux boxes, and the potential employer
demand
that the whole correspondence be managed in stupid word files?

What if you are desperate and willing to compromise, you fire
your shiny FOSS word processor and the file won't even load properly?

So? What to do? Borrowing somebody's PC? Dual boot? Give up?

I have started asking questions.


On Mon, 08 May 2006 20:23:50 +0200, "Ottavio Caruso"  said:
> Dears Sirs,
> 
> I am interested in applying for your vacancy COMPUTER
> TECHNICIAN/REF.[blah...]. You require that I download a document in
> ms-word format, then manipulate it and send it back to you by email.
> Unfortunately I have problems opening this document on my computer that
> runs a version of Linux.
> 
> In Abiword, it looks all messed up and garbled. I'm sure I can find some
> trick to reformat it but then most likely it won't display properly on
> your computers.
> 
> The only solution would be for me to borrow somebody else's PC, however
> I feel this is a diminution of my Linux skills, which are one of the
> requisites you ask for this job.
> 
> A better solution would have been rich text format or html, which are
> more portable than MS-Word.
> 
> I'd be glad if I had your opinion about it, so that I know if there is
> a work around or if I had better give up.
> 
> Yours sincerely
> 
> Ottavio Caruso


No answers expected, none received

Ottavio Caruso

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