How to Grow in the Technical Communication Profession
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How to Grow in the Technical Communication Profession: Slides from Larry Kunz’s webinar on January 10, 2013 for technical communication professionals in China. Topics covered: The Technical Communication profession Growing in the profession How to grow: Build a network Keep up with the profession Handle problems at work Gain experience How to get started
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How to Grow in the Technical Communication Profession
- 1. How to Grow in the Technical Communication Profession January 2013 Larry Kunz lkunz@sdicorp.com
- 2. About SDI • Est: 1978 • US-based Europe Branch Offices • Staff ca. 400 •Technology clients Hungary: Finland: • Information • Established February 2008 • Established September 2009 Desgin, Training, Consultin g services US Branch Offices Asia Branch Offices New Hampshire China: • Established in 2011 Indiana • Offices in Beijing and Shanghai Arkansas North Carolina India: • Established May Maryland 2009 SDI Corporate Headquarters • Offices in Hyderabad and SDI Government Solutions Bangalore South Plainfield, New Jersey
- 3. About SDI China • Established in 2011 • Offices in Beijing and Shanghai • Business focus: Telco and manufacturing • Full range of services for China-based clients • Strong focus on DITA / XML based authoring • Training and growth opportunities for staff • No compromise in quality
- 4. My Background • More than 30 years in Tech Comm – Software documentation – Marketing – Project management – Consulting • Fellow, Society for Technical Communication (STC)
- 5. What We’ll Cover Today • The Tech Comm profession • Growing in the profession • Ways to grow • Getting started • Questions & answers stock.xchng / manjides
- 6. The Tech Comm Profession • Exciting • Changing fast • Many opportunities • Attracts people who are: – Beginning their careers – Changing careers
- 7. Why Grow? • Gain skills you need • Develop a reputation • Understand opportunities available to you
- 8. What Opportunities Exist? • Writing • Editing • Information architecture • Managing projects • Others
- 9. How to Grow • Build a network • Keep up with the profession • Handle problems at work • Gain experience
- 10. How to Grow Build a network • Join a professional society • Become active in it • Attend events • Go online; use social media stock.xchng / fakhar
- 11. How to Grow Keep up with the profession • Read articles and blogs • Subscribe to email lists • Participate in webinars (most are no-cost)
- 12. How to Grow Join LinkedIn groups (at www.linkedin.com) • DITA Awareness Group • Information Design • Society for Technical Communication • Technical Communicator Shanghai • Technical Writer • Technical Writing Professionals • The Content Wrangler Community
- 13. How to Grow Handle problems at work • Learning a new tool, process, or domain • People who are unhappy or disruptive • Working without a designer or editor • Ethical issues
- 14. How to Grow Tips for handling problems at work • Use your professional society – People are happy to answer questions – Magazines, journals, social media (MySTC) • SDI China is part of a worldwide company: – People – Expertise
- 15. How to Grow Gain experience • If you get a good offer, take it – Don't wait for the perfect job – Improve your qualifications • Look for opportunities outside the business world – Help write open-source documentation Examples: dita.xml.org and www.gnu.org – Assisting with research projects – Volunteering in your professional society
- 16. How Do I Start? • Start with one or two easy things • Then make a plan: – In what areas do I need to grow most? – What steps can I take in those areas? – Do I need help? – Do I know where to go when I have problems at work? • Make sure that your plan is yours – tailored to your needs and interests
- 17. Resources Contact me: • lkunz@sdicorp.com http://www.sdicorp.com Other resources: • STC: http://www.stc.org • Good blogs: http://www.sdicorp.com/Resources/TechnicalCommunicationBlogs.aspx • bbs.giltworld.com: Technical Writing section • LinkedIn groups: http://www.linkedin.com/search-fe/group_search (Requires LinkedIn membership, which is free)
- 18. Next SDI Webinar Working with Subject-Matter Experts Wednesday 20 February 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. CST Register at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/300048526
Editor's Notes
- Welcome
- SDI ChinaEstablished in 2011- Offices in Beijing and Shanghai - Business focus on telecommunications and manufacturing - We provide a full range of services for local clientsWe provide a full range of servicesNot “offshoring,” order fulfillment, or back-office functions- Strong focus on DITA / XML based authoring- Continuous training and possibility for our staff to enhance skills and get exposed to latest authoring technologies- Strong emphasis on quality – “second-to-none”
- More than 30 years in Tech CommSoftware documentationMarketingProject managementConsultingFellow, Society for Technical Communication (STC)
- Today we’ll coverAn overview of the Tech Comm professionWhy would you want to grow as a professional?Ways you can grow in this professionIf I’ve convinced you, you’ll want to know how to get started
- The Tech Comm professionExcitingNot a word people often think of!If you enjoy helping people do their jobs more easilyIf you enjoy the explaining something useful, or communicating important infoThen it is excitingThere are many opportunitiesSupporting different industriesDifferent kinds of information needsIf you’re in the profession, all of these opportunities are very excitingTech Comm is changing rapidlyProcesses, such as agileMobile and other formatsInternational opportunities – which you are part ofHow people enter the industry:Beginning their careers-- Majors in English-- Majors in technical subjects-- Some have taken courses in Tech CommChanging careers(for example, from localization/translation)If you’re beginning your careerGet tech comm experience wherever you can – even if it’s not your dream jobFind out how things workGain experience solving day-to-day problemsIf you’re changing careersChances are you’ve been connected with tech writersWorking as a translator, for exampleOr as a software developer, where you were the subject-matter expertTry to talk with tech writers when you come into contact with themAgain, get experience where you can find it
- Before I tell you how to grow as a technical communicator….….I should answer the question “Why should you grow?”By growing in the profession:1. You gain skills you need to get, and hold, good jobsYou gain skills in tools, in good writing, etc….…and also “soft skills” like how to work on teams or how to negotiate with subject-matter experts2. You develop a reputationPeople know who you areIf you apply for a job, people know youPeople who might hire youPeople who can recommend you3. You know the landscape betterBecause of that you can better understand the opportunities available to you[some of those are listed on the next slide]
- Tech Comm is diverse enough that you can pick out the things that interest you the most….and build a career from themSome combination of:Writing – creating the contentEditingInformation architecture -designing how the content will look - selecting the best output formats - setting up tools and processes to support the design and the output formatManaging projectsOthersGraphic artistsMarketing specialistsWeb designersEtc.
- Now I’ll cover 4 different ways to grow:Build a networkKeep up with the professionHandle problems at workGain experience
- Build a networkJoin a professional society – especially STCBecome activeI don’t mean that you have to become the presidentStart small – whatever is comfortable for youEvery organization needs volunteers for small jobs, many of them short-terme.g., Helping to organize or provide logistical support for a conference or similar eventWhy is this good?The other members get to know youYou get to know them – and you learn more about the organizationIf it goes well, you can increase your volunteer participationAttend events:You get good informationYou find out who the thought leaders are (they are the ones who are presenting)You meet other people who are like youYou meet people who might be potential employersUse social media:Search on Baidu for “technical communication,” “technical writing,” etc.LinkedIn to stay in touch with colleagues AND create your own profileWeibo microbloggingQQ for conversing and staying in touch with people you meet
- Articles/blogs:Many are on corporate sites, therefore available worldwideEmail lists:Again, on corporate sitesWebinars:Often publicized in LinkedIn groups, in email newsletters, on other social mediaUsually free of chargeMost are in U.S. daytime – but that need not be an obstacle….….You can either join at night, or register and then download the recording
- LinkedIn groupsMost are open to everyone (no approval needed to join)They engender good discussionsThis is a list of some of the best groups
- A great way to grow is to learn how to handle the day-to-day problems that arise on the jobDon’t shy away from these issuesYou’ll become known as someone who tackles problems head-onYou’ll also learn problem-solving skills you can use in any jobExamples:Learning a new tool, process, or domainBroadens the scope of your knowledgeExposes you to the latest technologies – for example, mobile platformsPeople who are unhappy or disruptiveYou learn how to get along with themYou don’t have to become their friendsBut you will have to work with people like these during your careerWorking without a designer or editorInformation architects and editors are a great help to youBut increasingly, these positions are not staffedYou have to learn design principlesYou might have to learn to edit your own work, or that of your peersThis is hard in the short run, but it develops skills that you’ll be able to call onEthical questions – what’s the right way to do business, and what isn’tQuestions about best practices (“how do I?”)
- When you encounter problems at workHere are some tips for handling themUse your professional societyIf you have a network, you don’t have to handle the problems by yourselfPeople are happy to answer questionsMagazines, journals, social media (MySTC)If you work for, or with SDI, call on its worldwide resourcesSDI China is part of a worldwide company: We have knowledgeable peopleWe’ve accumulated a great deal of experience and expertise
- Gain experienceIf you get a good offer, take itDon't wait for the perfect jobImprove your qualifications by learning new tools, industriesExample: Many tools, like Adobe FrameMaker, have free 30-day downloadsTalk to people in your network who work in other industries – find out what that’s like, what skills you’ll needLook for opportunities outside the business worldWriting for open source projectsThese are free, community-based software projectsProfessional volunteers collaborate to develop code AND documentationExamples: DITA (which you know) and GNU (a Unix-like operating system)Assisting with research projects – perhaps you know a professor or other researcherVolunteering in your professional society
- I’ve covered a lot of different thingsYou can’t do all of them at onceSo how can you get started?Look for one or two easy thingsThings you can do today, starting now – perhaps that you’ve been putting offFor example, learning a new tool at workOr taking on an editing job that no one has been able to fillDoing one or two of these things will feel good – you’ll be encouraged to do moreNext, develop a personalized, long-range planAsk yourself:In what areas do I need the most growth?What steps can I take, and when, in those areas?What do I need to get help with? Ask a friend to teach you a software tool Find money to attend a conference or join a professional societyYour plan should be unique to you – don’t just borrow someone else’s planTailor it to fit your needs and interests
- You can send me email if you have questions or ideasSTC is great for many resources – including MySTC, a social networkThe blog list represents some of the best of what people are saying about TechCommI believe that every item in the list is available in China; most of them are on corporate sitesLinkedIn groups contain discussions about topics of interest
- Next webinar: Working with SMEs Starts at 9:30 China Standard Time (same time as this webinar)Tips and techniques for working with the technical experts (SMEs) on whom you depend for informationSome topics:How to build working relationships with SMEsHow to prepare for meetingsHow to conduct reviews of the documentation