Directives Do Right: Writing for the "Mounties"  

Coates's job as a senior writer and editor for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is full of variety and challenges.

Coates, Melanie. Intercom (2006). Careers>Business Communication>Case Studies

Diversity in Technical Communication: A Work in Progress  

This paper documents the beginnings of an effort to increase the diversity of technical communicators in the Pacific Northwest. An ad hoc committee of technical communicators came together for this purpose because they believe that greater diversity will help technical communicators better understand and reach audiences from a wide variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds. The committee is using the STC International Student Technical Writing Competition as a tool for introducing technical communication as a career choice to people of color at the high school level.

Cheirrett, Peg A. and Bruce R. Gibbs. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>TC>Ethnic

Diving into the Wonderful World of Web  

When asked for my opinion on how to break into the Web world, I usually tell people to volunteer. I was very lucky when beginning my Web career in the early days of the Internet—my Web sites received a lot of good exposure. But when I jumped into self-employment a few years ago, I had to start all over again: I needed to show potential clients what I could do, not what my Web team could do. So I found a poorly designed Web site and offered to redesign it for free (the Oklahoma Indian Times Web site at www.okit.com). OKIT jumped at the offer (to read more about this, see “The Need for Web Site Navigation” in the June 1999 issue of Intercom). A lot of my friends thought I was crazy doing all that work for free. But I needed to build a Web site from scratch so I could give prospective clients an example of my work. Nothing is more convincing than before and after pictures.

Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. Intercom (2001). Careers>Portfolios>Web Design

Do All Writers Need a Literary Agent?

What kind of contract do I sign with a literary agent? Here are some things to consider.

About.com. Careers>Freelance>Writing

Do You Have the Brain to be a Writer?

Parents, teachers, and guidance counsellors sometimes tell children who are anxious about what they're going to do with their life, that they can pursue virtually any career they put their mind to. With determination and lots of hard work, anyone can become a future Prime Minister or President. As reassuring as this sounds, recent findings in the field of brain research suggest that not all people (i.e., brains) are born equal.

Zvalo, Peter. Writer's Block (1996). Careers>Advice

Do's and Don'ts for Resumes

Keep it simple and easy to read. Do not overuse bold or italic lettering. When sending via e-mail, remember everyone may not have the same equipment/programs that you do.

Raperto, Marie. IABC (2006). Careers>Resumes

Document Hack (A Technical Writer's Journal): Changing Bosses

Switching bosses within the same company is not an entirely smooth process. On the day of the crossover, I showed up to work and discovered my badge and my email deactivated. It took most of the day to get security to reactivate my accounts.

Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing

Document Hack (A Technical Writer's Journal): Contracting for Fun and Profit

Because I am working at this job through a contract, rather than as a regular employee, there are some situations unique to my position. In the technical writing industry, many writers work on a contract basis through an agency. This type of employment is called contracting, although you may also hear it called consulting. I prefer the term contracting because I associate consultants with people whose job is to advise a company on one issue or another. That may or may not describe a particular technical writing assignment.

Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Careers>Writing>Consulting>Technical Writing

Document Hack (A Technical Writer's Journal): First Day

Rule number one for a contractor is to never panic about what happens your first day. First days are naturally chaotic, and often companies are not fully prepared for you. Because contractors are usually brought in to solve a particular problem, the people are anxious to get you started, but companies, especially large ones, are not geared for quick action.

Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Careers>Advice>Writing>Technical Writing

Document Hack (A Technical Writer's Journal): Interview and Negotiation

My face-to-face interview with the company was similar to my phone interview. So similar, in fact that more than once I found myself answering the same questions I had answered over the phone. They did throw a couple curve balls at me, however. The strangest question I was asked was, 'If we called your references, what would they say about you?' I was unprepared for this one, and I ended up talking more about my references than about what they would say about me.

Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Careers>Interviewing>Writing>Technical Writing

Document Hack (A Technical Writer's Journal): Phone Interview

When I originally spoke to the recruiter on the phone, she gave me a brief description of the job and asked for my rate. We negotiated the rate for a few minutes and came up with an acceptable number ($25 an hour) and she sent me an e-mail with the full job description and a short agreement asking me to confirm her representation and my rate. I sent back my confirmation and that was it for a while.

Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Careers>Interviewing>Writing>Technical Writing

Documentation Team Leadership in the 1990s  

In the 1990s, product life cycles are short, technology is ever-advancing, work environments are fast-paced, and there is an ongoing agenda to cut costs. This environment requires documentation teams to accomplish more faster with fewer personnel resources These requirements have redefined the roles and responsibilities of technical writers and documentation team leaders. Leadership skills have become critical to the overall success of documentation teams Critical leadership skills include appropriately implementing situational leadership, working effectively with people who have diverse working and social styles, and participating in ongoing role negotiations.

Muench, Barbara S. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Documentation>Management

Documenting ISO 9000  

The ISO 9000 series of Quality Standards redefines how business will be conducted into the next century. The series is designed to measure the effectiveness of the Quality System in place, thereby ensuring both customer and company needs are always satisfied. The foundation of a robust Quality System is its documentation: problems in this area represent the largest single cause of registration failures. Quality System documentation also forms the basis upon which the 3rd party registrar builds the audit plan for your company.

Robinson, Ralph E. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>Documentation>Policies and Procedures>ISO 9000

Does Globalization Spell Trouble for Technical Writers?

The nature of work for traditionally white-collar professions such as technical writing, is also changing. While a growing number of professional writers is opting for the life of the freelancer, and enjoying the freedom and earning potential that this lifestyle can provide, many permanent full-time writing positions are being eliminated when work is delegated to temporary or contract workers.

Zvalo, Peter. Writer's Block (2001). Careers>Writing>International

Don't Let Your Work Become a Commodity    

Learn specific steps technical communicators can take to respond to the commoditization of technical tasks.

Harvey, Michael. Intercom (2008). Careers>TC>Workplace

Don't Wait to be Downsized!

Sure, the economy's booming now, but as the Asian crisis becomes the North American crisis, it pays to remember Newton's famous law of gravity: what goes up must come down again. And, of course, when the economy comes down and pension fund managers start asking those awkward questions about why they should remain invested in your company's stock, managers have a lemming-like tendency to trim staff to make room for short-term profits and long-term plausible deniability. As a technical communicator, you're obviously well up on the hit list, which some might see as a bad thing--but there's a silver lining to every cloud (or, in our case, a copper lining; they don't pay us well enough for silver). In fact, the good news is that it's easy to ensure you're the first one fired, so you can leave before the job becomes mundane without looking like a quitter. Then there are all those perquisites (severance pay, a little downtime)...

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (1999). Careers>Unemployment>Planning>Technical Writing

Dr. Strangemeeting (or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Enjoy the Donuts)

Experts claim you'll spend 1500 hours in meetings during a typical 30-year career--that is, if you can duck some meetings by looking busy and if you can retire early. If you duck slowly or plan a long career, you could easily spend more time in meetings than you spend working. Fortunately, a little planning and some quick thinking should let you turn meetings into a blessing--or at least a tolerable evil.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2001). Careers>Workplace>Collaboration

The Dynamic Duo: Motivation and Recognition  

Offers several tips for motivating workers and recognizing their successes.

Laurent, J. Suzanna. Intercom (2003). Careers>Management

E-Careers and Technical Communication  

What is the single invention causing most changes today? The Internet and the World Wide Web.

Davis, Marjorie T. Mercer University (2002). Careers>TC>Online

E-Portfolios  

E-portfolios collect samples of technical communication on a CD or a website. They offer more presentation options than the traditional hardcopy portfolio. While the construction differs from the traditional portfolio, the purpose and principles of design and content remain the same.

Smith, Elizabeth Overman 'Betsy'. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Portfolios>Online

Earning Respect: How To Improve Your Department's Image  

Could your department's contributions be better understood and valued? This workshop will give you some ideas for improving your department's image. You'll learn some time-honored marketing techniques for finding out what your customers think of your efforts. You'll also find out how to use those techniques to change perceptions. You'll discover ways to prevent second-guessing of your document designs. And you'll find out how to promote your services to the rest of your organization.

Bolton, David. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Management>Collaboration

Écriture Technique: Une définition et commentaires au sujet des offres d'emploi

L'ecriture technique est une limite qui represente un ensemble d'activites de plus en plus large qui sont concues pour communiquer l'information comprehensible qui peut aident a peuple soit productive. Le contenu cree par les auteurs techniques a traditionnellement implique des articles comme 'comment-' aux manuels, aux guides de reference et aux rapports de corporation. L'apparition de nouvelles technologies, de tendances et de coutumes nous incite a augmenter l'armature de la reference qui entoure les activites d'un auteur technique.

Je Ne peux pas Obtenir Édité (2007). (French) Careers>Writing>Technical Writing

Effective Project Planning  

Our roles as technical communicators are often dictated to us by other people. Clients come to us after their product has already been developed, saying, 'I need a manual,' or 'I've written the necessary procedures--just make them look nice. ' It's easy to fall into the trap of just doing what we're told when we're told to do it.

Hansen, Lauren Y. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Project Management>Planning

Effective Scannable Resumes

The Career Center: Writing a Resume Effective Scannable Resumes section contains information that can be helpful when you are preparing to write a resume. It discusses how many companies are using OCR scanning to pick keywords out of a resume and enter them into a database. This section can help you write your resume so it will allow for effective scanning.

Burnett, Rebecca E. Thomson (2001). Careers>Resumes>TC

Elance Writing and Translation Projects

A list of job opportunities in writing and translation.

Elance. Careers>Job Listings>Writing>Language