Managing a Successful Employment Information Committee  

A successful STC Employment Information Committee provides many rewards for job seekers, employers, and committee members. The Society’s Employment Information Manager and members from the Employment Information Committees of the Silicon Valley Chapter and the Lone Star Chapter discuss techniques for operating a successful employment information chapters.

Murphy, Katherine B., Terry N. Turner and Roger E. Masse. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Management>Interviewing>STC

Setting Up Business Stakeholder Interviews Part 2

In part one, Michael shared how to navigate company politics to set up great stakeholder interviews. Here he covers his five tips for navigating company politics, avoiding client bias, and eliciting the information you need to inform your design.

Beavers, Michael. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Articles>Interviewing>Project Management>User Centered Design

That's a Good Question!  

All of us have suffered the consequences of expensive, unasked questions both in our professional lives and our personal lives. As technical communicators, we need to ask good questions to elicit information, but many of us lack adequate training in this skill. Add to that the natural reticence of some technical communicators, and it's no wonder that we walk away from SME interviews or department meetings wishing we'd remembered to ask X, Y, or Z. This paper offers information as to why questions are so important, who needs to improve discovery skills, what process you should use to develop your questions, what types of questions are useful, how to strategize your questions, how to ask good questions, how to handle people answering the questions you ask them, and how to answer questions that are asked of you.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Interviewing>Knowledge Management>SMEs

Attraction to Organizational Culture Profiles: Effects of Realistic Recruitment and Vertical and Horizontal Individualism—Collectivism    

Today's organizations are challenged with attracting, developing, and retaining high-quality employees; thus, many firms seek to improve their recruitment and selection processes. One approach involves using realistic job previews (RJPs) to communicate a balanced view of the organization. The authors explored the effects of organizational culture (hierarchy, market, clan, and adhocracy), recruitment strategy (RJP vs. traditional), and personality (horizontal and vertical individualism—collectivism) on attraction to Web-based organizational profiles using a sample of 234 undergraduate students in a mixed two-factor experimental design. Results indicate that the clan culture is viewed as the most attractive. Traditional versus RJP recruitment produced higher levels of organizational attraction. Finally, predicted relationships between the personality framework of horizontal and vertical individualism—collectivism and organizational attraction were supported.

Gardner, William L., Brian J. Reithel, Richard T. Foley, Claudia C. Cogliser and Fred O. Walumbwa . Management Communication Quarterly (2009). Articles>Management>Interviewing>Organizational Communication