While the field of usability has existed for decades, the number and quality of careers in the field have greatly improved in the last 10-15 years. The long-term prognosis for the industry is good: there are constant opportunities in almost every industry since new products and technology come out all the time, in usability as well as user-centered design, interaction design and user experience design.
#23590
Clicking for a Job: Using Job Search Web Sites in a Technical Communication Job Search 
Technical communicators should use job search Web sites and other Internet resources (i.e., listservs and email networking) as part of their overall job search strategy. In using job search Web sites, technical communicators should choose carefully from four main categories of such sites: general job search sites, field-specific sites, professional organization sites, and specific employer sites. Each of these categories requires specific consideration. Job seekers should take into account the specific characteristics and purposes of the site and its users. To get the most effective results, technical communicators should also take special care when choosing keywords for job searches.
Bloch, Janel M. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Interviewing>Online
#31041
It's not about what software you use, or how you organize your document, or how big the document is; but about whether the expectations the client has set, have been met. The question is, then, how do we assure we're meeting all the client's expectations? The answer is client buy-in.
Mink, Don. BA Collective (2007). Careers>Consulting>Business Communication>Collaboration
#13230
The Client Did It: A WWW Whodunit
Why is it that we allow ourselves to be put in a compromising position where the client tells us how to be web designers? Maybe it's because the perception among the wider public is that 'anyone' can make a website. And they're right. Anyone can make a website--but not everyone can make an emotionally engaging interactive experience that will live in the visitor's memory. (Similarly, anyone with access to a photocopier and a stapler can 'make a book,' but good books are scarce.)
Shepherd, Robbie. List Apart, A (2000). Careers>Consulting>Web Design
#20090
This panel brings together three consultants to discuss the link between the client and consultant. Their individual papers provide the background; 'Create Your Consultant Image,' 'SmartStart Guides,' and 'Managing Client Relationships.'
Woods, Joyce F., Nancee E. Master and Karen Steele. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Consulting>Communication
#27086
Client-Friendly Atmosphere: The Polish and The Lubricants
During the last few years in projects, I interacted with a lot of clients. All these projects were based offshore, where client interaction was mainly through emails or teleconferences. When you do not work face-to-face with clients, communication is key to win your clients' confidence.
Nafde, Yamini. Indus (2006). Careers>Consulting>Collaboration
#32054
Client’s Needs, Client’s Wants and Finding the Balance
Since a healthy percentage of Reencoded readers deal directly with clents, it’s time we take a closer look at how to deal with them. It’s not uncommon for a client’s wants and a client’s needs to head in completely different directions. Hopefully these tips will help you draw the two back together and provide the client with a product or service that they’re happy with and that suits their requirements.
Praschan, Mark. ReEncoded (2008). Careers>Consulting>Web Design
#20840
Coach Your Staff to Better Performance 
Use coaching techniques to help employees reach more ambitious goals, faster and easier, or overcome performance problems. The coaching model is both an attitude and a way of communicating. Use coaching techniques to inspire and motivate people to accomplish more, with less stress and greater satisfaction. A coaching relationship supports the self-worth of each individual and provides a range of benefits to an organization. Coaching empowers others to seek and deliver their best.
Agnew, Beth. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Management>TC
#29583
Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators
The IABC Code of Ethics is based on three different yet interrelated principles of professional communication that apply throughout the world. These principles assume that just societies are governed by a profound respect for human rights and the rule of law; that ethics, the criteria for determining what is right and wrong, can be agreed upon by members of an organization; and, that understanding matters of taste requires sensitivity to cultural norms.
#19848
Combating Isolation as a Self-Employed Technical Communicator: Beyond Working Hours
Small, independent business owners never really stop thinking about their businesses; after all, your latest and greatest client may be on the stair stepper next to you at the gym. However, you know that sometimes you need a change of scenery, a change of activity, a chance to unhinge the hips that sometimes feel they are permanently fixed in a sitting position. Plus, occasionally, it’s necessary to realize that there is a world out there that is full of interesting things that have nothing to do with publication deadlines, document management, or online help. Yes, really, there is.
Teich, Thea. STC Proceedings (2000). Careers>Freelance>TC
#20068
Coming into the Workplace: What Every Technical Communicator Should Know—Besides Writing
Working successfully as a technical communicator involves a great deal more than a thorough knowledge of professional skills and capability in the craft. Working at this kind of job means dealing with all sorts of people, handling all sorts of assignments and dealing with all sorts of corporate agendas and requirements that have seemingly little to do with getting the project out the door. But it’s all in a day’s work, and if you want to keep the job, you’ve got to accept and actually operate within all of those guidelines, strictures, rules (written and unwritten) and mores that make up the corporate structure.
Barker, Thomas, Rebecca A. Fuller, Deborah J. Rosenquist, John Schladen and Thea Teich. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Workplace>Writing>Technical Writing
#21330
It seems like a lifetime ago when I asked my boss if I could adopt the title 'Information Architect.' After all, according to Richard Saul Wurman's definition, that is what I was. He laughed at me and said Information Architect isn’t a title, or a role. It’s not a job. That conversation took place only four years ago.
Malone, Erin. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Careers>Information Design
#14292
Communicating for Advantage in the Virtual Organization 
This paper looks at the virtual organization in an electronic market environment and the different models of communication and management that may be required. The authors begin by providing some clear definitions of virtual cultures and different models of virtuality that can exist within the electronic market. Degrees of virtuality can be seriously constrained by the extent to which organizations have predefined communication linkages in the marketplace and the extent to which these can be substituted by virtual ones, but also by the intensity of virtual linkages which support the virtual model. Six virtual organizational models are proposed within a dynamic framework of change. In order to realize strategic advantage, virtual organizations must align their management models and communication processes with their virtual culture.
Burn, Janice and Martin Barnett. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (1988). Careers>Management>Online
#21571
Communicating What You Do That's Special
Designed for technical communicators with one to five years of working experience, this workshop enables participants to successfully demonstrate the value of their work by drawing on personal experiences to describe their capabilities and approaches. Specifically participants will effectively muster facts, figures, and metaphors to convince an employer (supervisor, colleague, project director, or whomever) that he or she can: come into a project “cold”; complete a front-end analysis of needs; develop an appropriate approach; and perform to specified standards, regardless of subject matter. Further, this workshop aims to build self-esteem by highlighting the added value that a technical communicator brings to a project by representing a special perspective.
Huff, Claudia H. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>TC>Rhetoric
#18644
Technical language is important to professions like ours. It enables us to define precisely what we are talking about, so facilitating unambiguous communication within our profession, with other professions, and when appropriate, with consumers of our services.
Bowen, Caroline. Tripod.com (1998). Careers>Collaboration>Communication
#26589
Communication Ability as a Predictor of Job Satisfaction in Managerial and Nonmanagerial Positions
This paper examines the connection between communication ability and job satisfaction. The Social Skills Inventory and the Job Descriptive Index were administered to sixty-eight participants. The mean age of participants was 26.5 (SD=8.84) and mean duration of current employment was 3.89 years (SD=5.67). The results showed a significant correlation between overall social skills and overall job satisfaction. This study also examined how managers and nonmanagers differ when examining the connection between social skills and job satisfaction. The results showed a significant correlation between nonmanager’s ability to interpret verbal and nonverbal messages and their overall job satisfaction.
Raphael, Douglas David. Association for Business Communication (2005). Careers>Management>Communication
#31283
Communication Analytics: A New Way to Position the Traditional Audit
The communication audit has become a popular tool to measure audience satisfaction with the content and packaging of information. Typically, these audits are designed as surveys and/or focus groups that solicit reactions to important elements of the way that communication is managed, such as choice of media, relevance of topics, frequency and timing of publications and meetings, and the workplace climate.
Gayeski, Diane. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Careers>Management>Communication
#24901
Communication and the Internship: The Roles of Program Directors and Teachers in Facilitating Change
This panel addresses the necessity of dialogue within and about the technical communication workplace of the future as it mixes scholarship, classroom practice, and the reports of corporate technical communication managers to offer a comprehensive approach to the analysis of internship data and the productive use of internship experiences.
Fink, Bonnie L. and Alice l. Philbin. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Internships
#24895
The quality of internships for students and for employers is highly influenced by how well the students and employers are prepared for them. In this segment, we discuss how academia can prepare students so that students and their employers get the most out of internships. We suggest a model that academia and employers can use to identify skills and knowledge students require now and in the future to ensure successful internships. We identify the need for employers to produce a quality internship environment that takes full advantage of the students’ skills and knowledge. And, we’ll discuss how academia and employers collaborate to continually enhance the quality of internship programs.
English, Kathleen A. and Barry Jereb. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Internships
#19688
Communication in International Virtual Offices
Advances in communication technologies mean that colleagues from different parts of the world can work together in the same online space. In some cases, that space is an e-mail exchange, text messaging, or a shared corporate intranet site; in other cases, it is an electronic bulletin board or chat room related to a project. These shared online work spaces—or international virtual offices (IVOs)—provide a level of interaction that can reduce production costs and shorten production cycles.
St. Amant, Kirk R. Intercom (2003). Careers>Telecommuting>Collaboration>Workplace
#18917
Companies Turn to Grades, and Employees Go to Court
An increasingly popular technique for evaluating employees is prompting lawsuits charging discrimination at three big companies. At issue is the ranking of managers, professionals and sometimes lower-level employees from best to worst, or grading them on a bell curve, and then using that ranking to help determine pay and sometimes whether to fire someone.
Abelson, Reed. New York Times, The (2001). Careers>Collaboration>Assessment
#10608
Company E-mail and Internet Policies
More and more companies are monitoring e-mail and Internet use by employees. How do they do it, why do they do it, and is it really legal? This article explores the privacy, harassment and criminal concerns raised by employees' use of the Internet and e-mail. Plus, two forms: E-mail/Internet Usage Policy and Software Policy.
Weil, Barbara Gall. GigaLaw.com (2000). Careers>Workplace>Privacy>Email
#20089
Comparing Apples to Apples: An Interviewing Process and Strategy
An effective interview process better enables fhe selection of thoroughly qualified technical writers. This process is repeatable and ensures comparing “apples to apples. ” The seven steps are 1) advertise the job, 2) receive and review the resumes, 3) receive and review the writing samples, 4) set up the interuiezu, 5) hold the pre-intetiao strategy meeting, 6) hold the interoiew, 7)and hold the post-interview debriefing.
Sharp, Jane and Gloria M.D. Gyure. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Interviewing
#27836
Comparing Indexing Approaches: Diversity in Style and Content
Indexers, like other freelancers, often work alone. Although they have unlimited access to indexes prepared by others via the bookstore or public library, they rarely have the opportunity to meet with other indexers to talk about indexing, indexing techniques, or a project they may be struggling with. This can be frustrating for both beginning and advanced indexers, especially those who receive little feedback from clients about the quality of their work.
Rowland, Marilyn. Editorial Freelancers Association (1995). Careers>Freelance>Indexing
#30835
Competentieprofiel Technische Communicatie
STIC-leden kunnen zich uitstekend vinden in het competentieprofiel voor de Technisch Communicatie-specialist. Dat blijkt uit de resultaten van de enquête die de werkgroep Opleiding en Trainingen in het najaar 2007 aan de STIC-leden voorlegde.
#31437
Competitive Advantage through Employee Engagement
Engagement. Is it the latest corporate buzzword? Not for serious business leaders who understand the correlation between engaged employees and improved financial performance. They see engagement as a source of competitive advantage. All things equal, they believe, an organization that has engaged employees will outperform one that doesn’t.
Shaffer, Jim. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Management>Collaboration>Workplace
