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Meeting Report: January 2005

by Greg Thompson
EBSTC Member

“Cool Careers for Technical Communicators”

Because of the job down-turn of the last few years, a common phrase many of us have unfortunately had to become familiar with is “transferable skills.” At the January EBSTC meeting, “Cool Careers for Technical Communicators,” we were able to learn how some technical communicators, who had worked in more traditional jobs, were able to leverage their skills and add additional technical and domain expertise to work in less traditional jobs.

The best thing about the meeting was the format. Instead of having each panel participant come up to the front and address the group as a whole, each got their own table and we rotated to them, seven or eight of us at a time. This small-group format made the meeting more intimate and informative for all of the audience.

The panel members included:

• Nan Breedlove – Grant writing
• Mel Cox – Graphic communications
• Judith Herr – Instructional design and training
• Beau Cain – Marketing communications
• Mimi Wessling – Medical writing
• Janet Bran – Web design

Organize! Organize! Organize!

This is Nan Breedlove’s mantra. The ability to organize one’s work tasks is the real skill that a good technical communicator can bring to working in a non-profit environment. In addition to organization, the writing and research skills that Nan developed as a technical writer help her to develop grants and other written materials for non-profits. Her handouts listed non-profit resources like the Foundation Center, where writers for non-profits can go to get information on grant writing and newsletter formats.

Graphics for All Sorts

Mel Cox doesn’t just work for computer companies. A variety of different industries have used his graphic design skills, including manufacturing and plumbing. Mel brought samples of his work to share with the audience and show the variety of projects on which he has worked.

Tech Writing Skills = Training Development Skills?

If you were a tech writer, can you be a trainer? Judith Herr seems to think so. Her handout entitled “An Encouraging Exercise: Match Technical Communicator abilities to anticipated activities in training material development/delivery,” listed twenty-five different skills that a technical writer and a trainer/instructional designer have in common. Judith has made this successful transition in projects like designing materials and curriculum for training 6,000 personnel and vendors worldwide for a garment manufacturer.

If You Can Document, Can You Market?

Many recruiters for marketing communication jobs don’t seem to think so. I have seen many online ads for marketing communicators that have included the phrase “tech writers need not apply.” Beau Cain thinks this restriction is nonsense. He has taught a college course called “Writing White Papers” that shows tech writers how to insinuate their skills into the product development and sales process. His handout listed each type of marketing communication document, its function, and where it belonged in the sales cycle.

Calling Dr. Wessling, Calling Dr. Wessling

Mimi Wessling is a linguistic physician for those in the medical world who don’t like to write. Combining an academic background (a B.A. and M.A. in physical chemistry) with a certificate in technical communication, Mimi writes manuals for instrumentation at a UCSC laboratory.

A Picture and a Thousand Words

As technical communicators, some of us focus on putting words on paper while others do the same with images. Some, like Janet Bran, have learned to do both. Janet took classes at the Academy of Web Design San Francisco (AWDSF) and now considers herself both a web designer and a technical communicator.

References

This meeting was very informative for the audience. And, people seemed to enjoy it, as they lingered for a long time after the meeting ended. You can download the presenters’ handouts from the chapter meeting page.

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