Abundance and Joy through Job Enrichment

With the economic crunch affecting the workplace, many of us are being asked to perform additional tasks while facing the same tight deadlines. Dealing with this stress sometimes makes me feel bogged down and stuck in a cycle of drudgery.

Azis, Denise. MetroVoice (2002). Careers>TC

Academic Cover Letters

When you're applying for a faculty position with a college or university, the cover letter is your first chance to make a strong impression as a promising researcher and teacher. Below you'll find some strategies for presenting your qualifications effectively in an academic context.

Purdue University (1998). Careers>Resumes>Cover Letters

The Academic Job Market in Technical Communication, 2002-2003    

Analysis of the academic job market in 2002-2003 reveals that 118 nationally advertised academic jobs named technical or professional communication as a primary or secondary specialization. Of the 56 in the "primary" category that we were able to contact, we identified 42 jobs filled, 10 unfilled, and 4 pending. However, only 29% of the jobs for which technical or professional communication was the primary specialization were filled by people with degrees in the field, and an even lower percent (25%) of all jobs, whether advertised for a primary or secondary specialization, were filled by people with degrees in the field. Search chairs report a higher priority on teaching and research potential than on a particular research specialization, and 62% of all filled positions involve teaching in related areas (composition, literature, or other writing courses).

Rude, Carolyn D. and Kelli Cargile Cook. Technical Communication Quarterly (2002). Careers>Academic>TC>History

Academic/Industry Relationships  

Technical Communication educators and professionals share one important concern: the future. The most important way in which both parties can shape the future is by working together to support the future technical communications community: students. STC’s Academic Industry Committee has developed a faculty internship to support direct connections between the faculty members who prepare student technical communicators and the companies who will employ them. These and other Academic Industry Committee projects are designed to bring the best of two groups working in one valuable goal and profession more closely and cooperatively together. The future depends on our work – together.

Fink, Bonnie L., Roger A. Grice, Sandra Harner, Deborah Rosenquist and Katherine E. Staples. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>Academic>Collaboration

Accounting: A+ in Your Column

To save yourself heartache, introduce the accounting department to the idea of measuring the total value returned minus the cost of documentation. After all, if the accounting department understands one thing, it's saving (or attempting to) save money. If you can show them that, yes, you did do fewer pages, but it saved three days of your time and managerial review, four thousand dollars in printing, and many hours of customer service dealing with disgruntled users, the department may be more understanding.

Brautman, Heather. Carolina Communique (2004). Careers>TC

ACESjobs

This is the American Copy Editors Society site for job postings of interest to copy editors or others in journalism and other editing careers.

Yahoo. Careers>Job Listings>Editing

Achieving It All!  

An observation can be made about success—everybody talks about it, but far too few do anything definite to ensure their own personal success. To be successful, you must know how to set and achieve goals, build a personal success plan, and develop self-motivation. Tapping into your unlimited potential allows you to progress, grow, and change. Powerful tools can be used to achieve your personal and professional goals. Understanding the role of visualization and how to formulate and use affirmations will help you become more successful!

Laurent, J. Suzanna. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>Advice

ACM SIGCHI Job Postings in HCI

List archives, from the ACM SIGCHI job postings in HCI mailing list.

ACM SIGCHI (2005). Careers>Job Listings>Human Computer Interaction

Add Programming to Your Skill Set

While many technical communicators may already have HTML, CSS, or Javascript skills, many may feel that it's time to take the next step: creating a web page that hooks up to a Microsoft Access database. With new, affordable tools, now is certainly a good time to get started. While there are a number of tools that you could use, this article describes Web Matrix as an example that can help you get started with programming and connecting a web page to a database.

Hansen, Heidi. STC Puget Sound (2005). Careers>TC>Databases>Microsoft Access

Adjusting to Changing Times in Technical Communication  

Without the usual abundance of jobs, I was forced to re-evaluate my skills, my place in our profession, and, ultimately, myself. Slowly but surely I realized that I could find work if I was willing to let go of the past, re-assess the current playing field, and act accordingly.

Hall, Ceil W. Intercom (2003). Careers>TC

Advertise Indian Technical Writing Jobs

Contact infotechwriter@lycos.com to advertise indian technical writing/editing jobs.

Malik, Suman. Technical Communications Group. Careers>Job Listings>Regional>India

Advice about Technical Writing

Technical writing doesn't always mean 'computers.' Many companies hire technical writers to document policies and procedures for auditors. This means you would actually sit with someone and write down the steps they follow to do a function. Technical writers must be excellent communicators. Verbal and written skills must be of the highest caliber. A technical writer must be methodical, organized, and succinct.

Taylor, Vicki M. Suite101 (2001). Careers>Advice>Writing>Technical Writing

Advice for Beginning Science Writers

This document is the record of a discussion that took place on the nasw-talk mailing list from May 10th through May 14th, 1997. It deals with several issues at the core of the science writing profession.

NASW (2006). Careers>Scientific Communication

Advice to Technical Writers

A friend asked the going rate for author's royalties on a technical or trade paperback, so I asked some people what they received. A few wrote back with extremely enlightening and fascinating comments. I passed these notes on to other authors, and received yet more interesting reading back. I have now edited all these comments down a bit, mostly taking out the names of authors and publishers and removing publisher specific comments.

Ray Tracing News (1996). Careers>Writing>Pricing>Technical Writing

Age Discrimination in Technical Communication  

Age discrimination in the workplace occurs any time one worker is treated differently from another due to age, or another worker's beliefs about age-related inabilities. Solving the problem of age discrimination in the workplace involves three things: understanding the problem and how it affects the way we work, educating ourselves and the rest of the general working public about age discrimination, and finding specific ways to address and overcome the issue.

Steele, Karen A. and Linda I. Bell. STC Proceedings (1993). Careers>Advice>Discrimination>Workplace

All by Myself...

All job searchers probably needs to be prepared for that scenario and to be ready to subcontract. That doesn't mean buying an expensive software package to do your own accounting. It does mean being ready to set up an Excel spreadsheet to track your income and expenses.

Gordon, Miryam. STC Puget Sound (2005). Careers>Freelance>Contracts

Another Career for Editors?  

Talented people with the editorial skills of condensing and organizing copy can often position themselves for jobs that don’t bear the title 'Editor.'

Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2001). Careers>Editing

Answer the Four Key Questions

Your resume must persuasively answer at least four key questions to win the interview.

Tech-Writer. Careers>Resumes

Appraising Technical Communicators  

Appraisals based on objective performance criteria identify and measure the abilities and contributions of technical communicators. This workshop explores how to develop effective performance criteria, specific to technical communication, and how to use these criteria to evaluate performance and foster professional growth and development.

Gilbert, Catherine E. and Sharon A. Gambaro. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>TC>Assessment

Are Pune Technical Writers the Highest Paid?

Are Pune technical writers the highest paid of the breed in India? The word on the street doesn't say so. As a hiring manager, I don't believe so. But, the salary survey suggests so.

Menezes, Frederick. Indus (2005). Careers>Writing>Regional>India

Are You a Craftsperson or an Entrepreneur?  

Discusses Michael E. Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited, a book that has led her to rethink her business and her approach to some key tasks.

Frick, Elizabeth G. 'Bette'. Intercom (2007). Careers>TC

Are You a Technical Writer?

I started by saying that I wish to make everyone a technical writer. But I think I have taken the easy way out and am saying everyone is a technical writer. Welcome to technical writing!

Kamath, Gurudutt R. ITpeople (2000). Careers>TC>Writing>Technical Writing

Are You Careering in Control?  

If you're having difficulty as a technical communicator finding the right career advancement path, then you're not alone; many technical communicators struggle with the problem of controlling their careers. It sometimes appears easier to let others make decisions about where, for whom, on what and how you work. Technical communicators often go 'where the work is' rather than assess the dynamics of the marketplace and determine where they can add the most value. The reality is that you have the power to control your own career and that you can make conscious decisions, build a plan based on those decisions and implement that plan. As a technical communicator, you can use the same skill set that entrepreneurs use to take advantage of the marketplace and to create the career opportunities that you want.

Simmons, Laurel R. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>TC

Are You Prepared for Unpredictable Business Losses?

Freelancing is business. Loss from unexpected problems, such as a robbery, is a business loss, not a reflection of who you are.

Maislin, Seth A. Editorial Freelancers Association (1995). Careers>Freelance