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.
#31398
Eight Things You Can't Neglect
Almost every independent consultant knows the drill. You're asked what you do professionally and you reply that you own your own business. Perhaps you give the 30-second elevator speech, or just the 10-second party version. Either way, what happens next is all too predictable—the person greets the news with a mixture of envy and admiration and starts peppering you with questions about the solo life.
Steigman, Daria. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Consulting
#20487
#24867
The Electronic Job Search: Implications for Employers and Applicants 
Two different technologies seem to be colliding head-on as job seekers and employers attempt to improve their effectiveness in matching candidate with position. Job seekers dress up their resumes with different typefaces, type sizes, and other typographical treatments; and employers utilize scanning devices to enter resumes into huge corporate resume-management databases. But are today's scanners capable of reading all the font variations? And do the databases really achieve the results the employers are seeking?
Baker, William H., Kristen Bell DeTienne and Karl L. Smart. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Job Listings>Online
#18218
Electronic Mentoring Benefits for Practicing Communicators
Electronic mentoring establishes relationships that might not otherwise exist. You have the opportunity to participate in professional community service, remain current on communication issues, and develop a future employment pool.
Stertzbach, Lori A. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Mentoring>TC
#30236
Electronic Mentoring: Benefits and Rewards
Electronic mentoring uses e-mail to bring the academic and business communities together without the boundaries of geography or time. Through an electronic mentoring program professionals gain insights into the academic realm from students and educators as well as give students advice based upon their experiences as communicators in business. This paper is part of the 'Expand Your Learning Community: Electronic Mentoring' panel; it focuses on the benefits to businesses. knowledge?
Dimick, Sharlyn A. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Mentoring>Online
#15127
Eleven Commandments for Business Meeting Etiquette
Offers some rules on business meeting etiquette.
Smith, Gary M. Intercom (2000). Careers>Workplace>Collaboration
#13309
Eleven Tips for Getting Great References
It's often the final hurdle to getting a job and the point of the interview process when employers look for information they can't get from your resume or during an interview. Here's everything you need to know about references -- from whom to ask to how to ask them -- to guarantee you get rave reviews.
Krieger, Elizabeth. iVillage.com (2001). Careers>Interviewing
#26052
Emerging from the Sidelines: The Indian Technical Writing Community in a Global Marketplace
Comparing trends in India and the U.S. gives a sense that the Indian technical communication community is on a strong footing and can gain a competitive edge by focusing on some key areas.
Bhatia, Neeraj. Indus (2005). Careers>Salaries>Regional>India
#20316
The Emerging Role of the Translation Coordinator
Career opportunities for technical communicators are expanding by leaps and bounds. Ask a roomful of technical writers to define their jobs and you receive a myriad of answers, with responsibilities ranging from the specific and focused to the broad and encompassing. As the business world goes global and multilingual, technical communicators are being brought into this trend as translation coordinators, creating new opportunities and challenges. We’ll explore these new roles and possibilities from both the macro and micro perspectives—that is, the larger trend within technical communication, and the specific skillsets, methodologies and case histories from several positions in the work flow.
Romano, James V., Carol Peterson, Lynda Shindley and Bogo Vatovec. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>Language>Translation>Localization
#10427
As the responsibilities of and demand for technical communicators have grown, demand for a new set of skills called information design has emerged. Information design is preparing communication products so that they achieve performance objectives established for them. Although some technical communicators now call themselves information designers, the field originally emerged from architects, graphic designers, and library scientists, and related work by instructional designers. Information designers prepare blueprints for communication products. To do so effectively, they need skills in information design and development, the technology they are communicating, the technology of communication, the industries they are communicating to, and business skills. They must also be comfortable with a variety of media and genres. Moving to information design creates a new career ladder for technical communicators.
Carliner, Saul. Technical Communication Online (2001). Careers>Information Design
#21320
Emerging Technologies: Observations of a SIG Manager
Charles, the manager of STC's Emerging Technologies special interest group, predicts that refinement and consolidation of existing technologies will be a major trend in the technical communication industry in 2004. 'With products becoming increasingly sophisticated and complicated,' Charles writes, 'the demand for supporting documentation will grow.'
Charles, Dan. Intercom (2004). Careers>TC
#32018
The Emotionally Challenging, Open-Ended Interview 
For most job candidates, the interview experience is "an emotionally challenging endeavor". To succeed in interviews, candidates must understand the emotional labor needed to "manage their feelings" as they "create a publicly observable facial and bodily display". This is particularly true when recruiters use open-ended interviews that are not constrained to a narrow set of questions. My work in conducting research interviews illustrates several aspects of emotional labor in the interview context. Although I will talk from the perspective of the interviewer, my discussion of my own emotional labor is instructive for people entering an open-ended interview as either interviewer or interviewee because the challenges of emotional labor within the open-ended interview context apply to either interview role. Additionally, although I will draw on examples of datagathering interviews within a research context, this discussion of emotional labor applies to any interview setting--research, job interview, and so on--because the difficulties one encounters are similar across various open-ended interview situations.
Hoffmann, Elizabeth A. Business Communication Quarterly (2008). Careers>Interviewing
#23651
Emphasizing Internal Technical Communication
Internal communication activities frequently have a lower priority over external communication efforts because they do not directly support current and future customers. Many organizations do not realize that internal communication activities can be just as critical to delivering their products and services. The Research and Development Division at SAS has taken a unique approach to facilitating internal knowledge transfer by dedicating a department to this effort. We’ve found that we must frequently evaluate the needs of our internal audiences, and that we can successfully employ technologies and deliverables often used for external communication to support our user's needs.
Brown, Sandy, Lindsey Greene, Ronald A. Statt and Kathleen Walch. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Management>Workflow
#19699
Employment Abroad: The View from Holland
On the basis of my experience moving from the Boston, Massachusetts, area to the Netherlands three years ago, I’d definitely encourage you to consider employment here, or any other place that truly beckons you.
Peltz, Donna. Intercom (2003). Careers>TC>Regional>Netherlands
#14606
Carliner predicts that 2003 will again be a difficult year for employment in technical communication, but also identifies possibilities for increased employment of technical communicators in several industries.
Carliner, Saul. Intercom (2003). Careers>TC
#21321
Employment Trends: Industries and Qualities
This article provides supplemental information to STC's 2004 Salary Survey.
#29772
Encouraging Innovation in Your Organization
In today's environment we often find ourselves drowning in our work. We don't take the time to stop and assess what we are doing. Are there better ways to do what we do? Are we making the biggest and best contribution we can make? Can you manage innovation? This paper will discuss the importance of innovation and one method we used to drive innovation.
Crawford, Vanadis, Angela Pitts, Rosalind Radcliffe and Leah Ann Seifert. STC Proceedings (2004). Careers>Workplace>Project Management>Assessment
#31436
Engagement: Linking Employees to Strategic Direction
When considering the issue of employee engagement, communicators need to know what they are dealing with. Engagement is something that plays out on an organization-wide level, so communicators should understand what an organization is.
Potter, Lester. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Management>Public Relations>Workplace
#26579
This article explains how strengthening communication skills of our diverse workers could enhance competence, cooperation, and confidence in the workplace. A study focusing on language barriers was used to emphasize how variations in communication can, if not handled properly, escalate into conflicts in the workplace. Findings from the study that negatively affect productivity: lack of adequate training, lack of awareness of the culture of diverse groups and the perception that some were being subjected to racism and stereotypes are discussed.
Nealy, Chynette and Amiso George. Association for Business Communication (2004). Careers>Business Communication>Discrimination>Education
#27598
Entering the Technical Writing Field
Technical writers produce, organize and edit scientific and technical information, crafting language that can be understood by people who service, maintain, or operate various types of equipment. To gather data about the subject matter, they may observe production processes, interview production and engineering staff, or refer to trade journals and other such publications.
Miller, Susan W. Los Angeles Times, The (2001). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing
#30556
Entrepreneurs and the 'F' Word
Since most employees-turned-entrepreneurs have little formal training in finance, they may be less than confident about how to ensure that their finances are in order. Frick shares some of her experiences in learning how to manage her finances for her business.
Frick, Elizabeth G. 'Bette'. Intercom (2007). Careers>Management>Financial
#24815
Entrepreneurship is a process of planning, organizing and assuming a business venture risk. Downsizing, (rightsizing), mergers and acquisitions, 'glass ceilings', potential layoffs, company closings, stress dangers and unfair employment practices, are numbing descriptions relating to many current businesses. If you possess excellent work skills and habits, this should lead to early investigations into entreprenuerships, and analyze alternate risks vs. benefits. Countless false starts and heavy expenses can be avoided by visiting the local public or college libraries for entrepreneurial texts. Using the services of your local Small Business Administration office is most valuable. Over 16,000,000 small businesses in the U.S. can’t be wrong. A study of your future via the entrepreneurial route may surprise you!
Hamlett, James G. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Management
#27812
Recognize the many paths to success and be prepared to forge your own if needed. You may find at the end of your 'wrong way' happy clients, satisfied users, and a successful and delivered system.
Bachmann, Karen L. Usability Interface (2006). Careers>Consulting>Usability
#11821
EPSS: What Does It Mean to You
Electronic Performance Support System(s), or EPSS, automates three types of traditional performance support for software users: training, documentation, and help desks. Integrating these support mechanisms into software--using wizards, clear and simple interfaces, and various forms of embedded user assistance--allows novice users to perform competently with minimal help from training, documentation or calls to help desks.
Marion, Craig. Usability Interface (1999). Careers>Usability>Help
#29773
Errors and Omissions Insurance: Assuming the Risk of Professional Liability
Like most other business owners, technical communicators may, from time to time, have legal exposure for their actions and mistakes. Errors and omissions insurance is one way to manage the risks the associated with operating a business and while it may not be the best solution for everyone, it's worth considering whether the benefits of this of insurance coverage outweighs the costs.
Juillet, Christopher. STC Proceedings (2004). Careers>TC>Legal
