How to Make Yourself More Marketable in a Small Company  

In a time when corporate downsizing is the norm rather than the exception, technical writers must constantly increase and market their skill sets to make themselves more valuable to employers. Based on our experiences as technical writers in a small company, we will define why and how to market yourself:

Holman, Peter M., Susan Gonzalez and Jennifer Privette. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Writing>Marketing>Technical Writing

How to Manage Agile Development  

This whitepaper provides an Agile development overview full of techniques, best practices and educational materials.

Leffingwell, Dean. Rally Software Development (2005). Careers>Management>Agile

How to Manage Clients

For many technical writing companies the issue of how to manage all the associated 'non-writing' costs can be a sensitive area. Do I charge for every email? Every phone call? Where do you draw the line? What do you charge for, besides the document you produced?

Klariti. Careers>Consulting>Writing>Technical Writing

How to Manage Smart People

What follows is some advice for managers on how to manager people, especially talented people. I worked for nine years at Microsoft, sometimes managing projects, sometimes managing people, but always with a manager above me. I think I’m smart, but many of the people who have worked for me definitely were. Over the years I’ve experienced many mistakes and successes in both how I was managed, and how I managed others. There's no one way to manage people, but there are some approaches that I think most good managers share.

Berkun, Scott. ScottBerkun.com (2006). Careers>Management>Collaboration

How to Organize a Portfolio

You have collected the pieces you would like to include in your portfolio. You have sorted through your collection and selected your best work. You have made entry cards for each piece to provide a good introduction for each sample. And you are ready to place your work, introduction page, entry cards, section dividers, and give-aways into your new leather portfolio. Where do you start?

Burnett, Rebecca E. Thomson. Careers>Portfolios>Information Design>Card Sorting

How to Promote Technical Communication Services in Your Organization  

Successfully promoting technical communication services in organizations requires more than just the right brochure, the right slogan, or the right Web page. A technical communication team must first make strategic decisions about how it can most effectively contribute to the success of the overall enterprise. In this paper, I describe how our team successfully improved the perception of our value to the rest of our organization by adopting an attitude of service toward our internal customers.

Pollak, Bill. STC Proceedings (1999). Careers>TC>Workplace

How to Survive a Bad Manager

The best advice for having a bad manager is to seek other employment. Don’t undervalue your happiness: it’s impossible to be happy if you work directly for someone you can’t stand. It may be difficult to find another job, but if you are willing to make compromises in other areas (salary, position, project, location, etc.) it will certainly be possible. Being happy and underpaid is a much better way to spend a life than unhappy and anything else.

Berkun, Scott. ScottBerkun.com (2006). Careers>Workplace>Management

How to Work as an Off-Site Technical Writer

Not all technical writers get in their car and drive to work every day. Some only work in the office a couple of days a week. Others don’t ever go into the company they work for. These technical writers work entirely from a home office, or in other words, 'off-site.' I’m one of those writers. However, I wasn’t always an off-site writer. For the most part, companies are still reluctant to let employees telecommute. Nevertheless, as more positions are outsourced, consulting is becoming the 'in' position.

Taylor, Vicki M. Suite101. Careers>TC

How to Write a Tender  

For practical purposes, we may say that a tender is 'an offer to do work.' This article discusses quotations for work, standard terms and conditions and letters of agreement. The article is written within the context of UK legislation. It originally appeared in Communicator 7:1, Spring 2001.

Unwalla, Mike. TechScribe (2001). Careers>Writing>Business Communication>Contracts

How to Write Your Own Contract  

This workshop is designed to help independent contractors write their own contracts.

Costanzo, Louis C., Terry S. Dick and Richard H. Weiss. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Consulting>Contracts

How To Write Your Own Contract  

This workshop is designed to help independent contractors write their own contracts. Before attending the workshop, think about your current approach to the topics listed in the Workshop Outline.

Costanzo, Louis C. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Advice

How to Write Your Own Contract  

This presentation is designed to help independent contractors write their own contracts. Before attending the presentation think about your current approach to using contracts in your business.

Costanzo, Louis C., Richard H. Weiss and Joanne Smestad Claussen. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Freelance>Contracts

How Usability-Focused Companies Think

In our consulting work, we’ve noticed that some companies build usable products through the heroic efforts of one or two individuals. Although the end result is desirable, the products suffer when those individuals leave the company. Other clients have established strict processes that are supposed to promote usability. However, because the company has imposed these processes on developers, individuals follow them in letter but not in spirit — they just don’t buy into them.

User Interface Engineering (1997). Careers>Usability

Human Factors: Consultant Search

HFES is pleased to provide this searchable directory of human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) consultants and expert witnesses as a free service to potential clients.

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Careers>Human Computer Interaction>Consulting

Human-Computer Interaction Job Bank

An international directory of listings for positions in HCI.

HCIRN. Careers>Usability

I Need to Know What?  

Every technical communicator must develop a set of management skills appropriate to the task in order to excel as the leader of the communication team. This calls for multiple skills including being part diplomat, part technical expert, part salesman, and part turtle.

Bailey, Elizabeth. STC Proceedings (2005). Careers>TC>Project Management

I'm Graduating, Now What? A Comparison of Work in Academics, Consulting, Government, Industrial Research, and Industrial Development  

A panel to familiarize students and faculty with what Human Factors professionals do in a variety of settings including academics and consulting.

Shapiro, Ronald G., Barry Beith, Joseph H. Goldberg, Joe Hale and John F. 'Jeff' Kelley. HFES (1994). Careers>Human Computer Interaction

IABC Job Centre

The IABC Job Centre is resource for the communication profession, serving job seekers and employers in all industries and communication functions.

IABC. Careers>Job Listings>Business Communication

Idea Watch: A New Approach for your Professional Development  

Our field is young, yet great books and great ideas by technical communication gurus abound. How many of us, though, are steeped in these works? How many of us can intelligently discuss the great ideas and latest research? If new STC members ask us which authors constitute the foundation of our field, can we tell them? If so, have we read them cover to cover? Can we discuss ideas more? This paper presents the professional development programs that two STC members began in the fall of 1999. After realizing that their programs might be of interest to others, they formed a SIG called Idea Watch. In addition, they have informally polled numerous gurus and drawn up a list of “essential books.” This list is presented at the conclusion of this paper.

Hansen, Heidi and Jennifer Square. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Education>Professionalism

The Ideal Resume: Thorough, But User-Friendly  

Smith, a former resume writer for a professional resume-writing franchise, demonstrates ways to improve the usability of resumes.

Smith, Gary M. Intercom (2002). Careers>Resumes

Imagination->Innovation->Communication  

As we face an uncertain tomorrow full of challenges for our profession and our world, we should consider what ways to identify opportunities, what emerging trends will affect global businesses, and what new skills must be learned to make us more effective in a brave new world set spiraling in response to technological breakthroughs. Our theme, 'Imagination, Innovation, Communication,' captures the essence of what we do: transform ideas and innovations into a myriad of communication possibilities from technical manuals to virtual Web sites. The theme suggests a successful process with you at the center as an information juggernaut who must make critical choices as you approach a new millennium.

Hawkes, Lory. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>TC>Planning

Implementing Strategic Plans  

Strategic planning is a process that enables organizations to determine where they intend to be and how to get there. Independent businesses must plan ahead to survive. Many internal organizations, threatened by corporate downsizing and outsourcing, must do the same. But what do you do after you've developed your strategic plan? Committing yourself and your organization to implementing your plan is a long-term challenge.

Hansen, Lauren Y., Mary C. Boyd and LeeAnne G. Kryder. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>Management

The Importance of the Quality Culture  

Cameron discusses the effects of three models of quality cultures in American and European corporations: error detection cultures, error prevention cultures, and creative quality cultures.

Smart, Karl L. Intercom (2001). Careers>Workplace>Quality

Improving Management of Your Business

All companies have business processes that can be improved. Most companies can benefit from automation or further automation of solutions.

Pires, Halstatt. Ezine Articles (2006). Careers>Management>Project Management>Workflow

Improving Managerial-Employee Communication: A Case Study  

Technical communicators can use their professional skills to help industry improve managerial-employee communication, an area that directly affects productivity. This case study investigates upward and downward communication at an aerospace company. Beginning with a survey that indicated a number of statistically significant differences between the attitudes of managers and other employees, the researcher then attended a randomly selected series of meetings. As she followed the flow of information within the company, she observed omissions and inaccuracies. The company devised a new process for information deployment as a result of this study.

Horowitz, Renee B. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Business Communication>Workplace