Guerilla WriteFare™: Nice Work If You Can Get it -- Here's How

My experience in the corporate environment has been that larger companies don't go out of their way to hire home-based freelancers. That's not to say that they never do -- it simply hasn't been my experience with them. I run into this problem all the time. Finding off-site work is a challenge. I scour the top 20 or so job search engines and other places for work and, while there really are quite a few contract positions out there, nearly all of them require on-site work. That's the bad news. Here's the good news: I have figured this thing out, believe it or not. In fact, I'm working on a book and a seminar about it. To locate good work that allows you to work out of the home office, you must know three things: How to look. Where to look. Hw to build trusting relationships with your customers.

Knowles, Michael. STC Northeast Ohio (2003). Careers>Freelance>TC

Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal

This Proposal Guide has been created to provide both instructions on how to write a funding proposal and actual examples of a completed proposal. The Guide is designed as a tool for advanced graduate students and others to learn more about the actual proposal writing process. (This Guide is a companion to the Guide for Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation.)

Levine, S. Joseph. Michigan State University (2001). Careers>Business Communication>Proposals

Guidelines for Mentoring Programs  

A successful mentoring relationship benefits those involved through increased confidence and a sense of direction. The relationship provides a risk-free learning environment in which to offer career guidance. Mentoring relationships can develop between individuals within an organization, between individuals in two different organizations, or between students and STC professionals.

STC. Careers>Mentoring>Management

Handling Tough Situations: The Art of Buying Time

We have discussed the advantages of attacking tough situations not all at once but in four phases: (1) minimal immediate response, aimed at buying time; (2) realistic preparation based on a complete scenario; (3) problem-solving discussion focused on reaching an agreement; and (4) follow-through to ensure that agreements are carried out. The main argument for this approach is simple: to be persuasive, you need good arguments; when you are surprised and upset, you can't think of your best arguments; therefore, whenever possible, give yourself time to calm down, think, and prepare properly.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Careers>Collaboration

Handling Tough Situations: The Short Method

We discussed how to buy time when you are assaulted by an unpleasant surprise. Our argument was that few people respond well to challenging situations unless they have some time to prepare. Therefore, whenever you can, you should divide the task into four distinct phases: (1) minimal immediate response, (2) preparation, (3) problem-solving discussion, and (4) follow-through. Unfortunately, some situations don't let you postpone a full discussion. For such cases, you need the 'short method,' which condenses phases 1-3.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Careers>Collaboration>Project Management

Happiness is A Good Fit: Personality Typing Tools for Career Management  

Members of our profession have tended to manage their careers by choosing either technical or management paths, then following them. Increasingly, technical communicators are factoring their personality types into the equation. This paper examines how standardized personality typing tools used by career planners are applied to help team members to find a good job fit, build a highfunctioning team, salvage interpersonal conflicts in the workplace, and make a suitable career change.

Bailie, Rahel Anne, Liz Babcock, Conni E. Evans and Emma C. Hamer. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Management>TC

Hate Selling? Try Helping!

You cannot succeed in any business without selling. Delegating or ignoring selling skills is one of the worst things you can do. How to develop your sales skills, even if you think you hate it. Wendy Peck explains.

Peck, Wendy. Wise-Women (2004). Careers>Business Communication>Marketing

Have Modem, Won't Travel: Telecommuting as a Career Enabler for Technical Communicators with Disabilities  

The detailed Mission Plan for the Special Needs Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) has an objective to extend the availability of online technical communication resources and a strategy for achieving that objective. Specifically, Strategy 1.5, reads as follows: Encourage Special Needs SIG members to research and report on the use of telecommuting in the field of technical communication and study the viability of telecommunication as a means of increasing the employability of practitioners with special needs.

Marty, Helen A. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Telecommuting>Accessibility

Have Women Websters Achieved Equality On the Internet?

Will cyberspace fulfill our dreams of creating a new work environment where not only women but men can choose to work remotely at home, rocking babies with one hand while pushing pixels with the other? There are no easy answers.

Bucqueroux, Bonnie. Wise-Women (2004). Careers>Web Design>Collaboration>Gender

Have You Used Your Career Center Lately?

If you want your online career center to attract good resumes or really interesting candidates, usability is a key factor. If you are committed to attracting the most qualified candidates, be prepared to invest time and effort to improve the content and quality, and conduct tests to assess usability.

Bavasso Roffo, Sandra C. Usability Interface (2005). Careers>Advice

HCIRN Job Bank

Job postings in Human-Computer Interaction, organized by geographic region.

HCIRN (2003). Careers>Job Listings>Human Computer Interaction

Health Care Prescriptions for a Terminal Job

What do you do about medical insurance coverage if you are laid off?

Randolph, Brett W.F. Boston Broadside (1992). Careers>Unemployment>Biomedical

Hello, My Name is Doug and I'm a Workaholic

It's important to be able to distinguish between workaholics and people who are simply wrapped up in their work--either because they enjoy it so much or because, temporarily, they have decided to make it a priority to win a promotion or attain the kind of lifestyle that they want. For a workaholic, work is the end, not the means. While it may bring wealth or power, what matters most is simply working. Just as alcoholics drink because they must--not always because they enjoy it--so a workaholic is addicted to working even when there is no rational reason for doing so.

Davis, Doug. STC (2007). Careers>Workplace>Project Management

Hello?...The Art of the Telephone Interview  

Remember when interviewing meant dressing up, grabbing your best samples, and heading over to meet your potential employer face to face? Today the industry trend is to conduct most first interviews over the telephone. With the emergence of telecommuting and a global workforce, I don't see the trend toward telephone interviews going away any time soon.

Davis, Doug. STC (2007). Careers>Interviewing

Help Needed

Next to writing an enthusiastic thank you note for socks received as a birthday gift, the most difficult task for many writers is creating a help wanted ad that succinctly defines the requirements of the position while encouraging only perfect candidates to apply.

Boston Broadside (1992). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing

Helping New Writers Through Their First Year  

Von Haas examines techniques for helping new technical writers achieve success in the profession.

Von Haas, Elaina E. Intercom (2002). Careers>Collaboration>Mentoring

Helping Your Employees Manage Their Stress  

This progression provides an opportunity to discuss the stress-related challenges technical communicators face in today’s changing environment. The focus is on on coping and thriving.

Gillihan, Dana L. and Joy Lashley. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Management>Workplace

The Hidden Costs of Offshore Outsourcing

The current stampede toward offshore outsourcing should come as no surprise. For months now, the business press has been regurgitating claims from offshore vendors that IT work costing $100 an hour in the United States can be done for $20 an hour in Bangalore or Beijing. If those figures sound too good to be true, that's because they are.

Overby, Stephanie. CIO Magazine (2003). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Hiring a Technical Writer  

Hiring a technical writer can be tricky, even if you happen to be one. Where can you find a technical writer? What characteristics should you look for? How can you tell a good writer from a bad one?

Docsymmetry. Careers>Management>Interviewing

Hiring for Success  

Hiring writers and editors on “gut reaction” can be risky. To be sure that you are hiring the right people, identify specific criteria that candidates should meet, use these criteria to create a set of questions to use during interviews, and develop a consistent interview and assessment process.

Tatge, Pamela K., Sheryl A. Moore and Nancy S. Robinson. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Management

Hiring Guide: Hiring the Best Technical Communicator

Whether you sell widgets or wisdom, bicycles or bytes, a technical communicator makes sure that your best thinking is reflected on paper and online. Hiring a technical communicator is the same as hiring any qualified professional. This online guide offers some suggestions to help you find and select the best technical communicator for your job.

STC West Coast Canada (2003). Careers>Management>Interviewing

Hiring Right: Road to Success

Running a translation business is not easy. As small as the industry may be, we as business owners face a full set of business challenges: personnel management, sales and marketing, client relations, and the list goes on. Everyday, we go into work hoping to improve the business, to make it more successful. Sometimes we wonder, what is the killer factor? What makes some companies more successful than others?

Iler, Huiping. WTB Language Group (2005). Careers>Management>Interviewing

Hiring Technical Writers: Are We Looking for the Right Skills?  

Winsberg argues that the most valuable employees are those with a work ethic and analytical, organizational, and writing skills, rather than those with specific software experience.

Winsberg, Freya Y. Intercom (2000). Careers>Management

Ho-Hum, Not Another Meeting: A Delightful Experiment Changes the Way One Company Conducts Internal Meetings

Company meetings are often regarded as conservative and uninspired by those who must attend. We all know that meetings are necessary, but we also know that they can be wearisome. Not all meetings need be that way. In fact, meetings can inject some lighthearted fun into the day and stimulate the creative juices. This is a story about how a series of humdrum meetings at one consulting firm evolved into a creative expression that is as varied as the participants themselves.

Zvalo, Peter. Writer's Block (1998). Careers>Management>Workplace>Community

Home Office Advantage  

Working at home can be an option for you in the hectic atmosphere of the 90's. If you create an effective work environment, your work can be more productive while being in the comfort of your own home.

Hoffman, Sandi. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Telecommuting