Re: Trends for Technical Communicators?

[rjl -at- BOSTECH -dot- COM]

Kent Newton said:

>I think the core skills of a technical writer (curiosity, researching,
>organization, writing, designing) are applicable in any job -- regardless
>of the product being documented or the medium in which that documentation
>is being produced.

I agree.

Now the question is "How do we get more hiring managers to also agree with
this philosophy?" Although I'm currently working at a company that shares
Kent's view, it was tough getting here. There have been many times where
I've sat in a job interview (and I'm sure others on this list share the
same experience) and used words similar to Kent's as my pitch...and lost out
because I didn't know the current tool that was being used at that company.

And part of the reason why I made the decision to send an application to
-this- company is because I know that the information/technology here is
transferable to other locations.

Or, to put it another way: I hate cold weather, we're winding up another
brutal Boston winter (looks like we just might break that record for snowfall
before the season's over), and today I learned that Pratt & Whitney down in
West Palm Beach (Florida) is looking for tech writers. With the three and
a half years I've got on jet engine manuals, I'd be a strong contender for
a job down there. Am I sending a resume? No way, because I don't want to
trap myself by appearing to be a "jet engine hardware" writer.

Rick Lippincott
Boston Technology
Wakefield, MA
rjl -at- bostech -dot- com