TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Mentoring writers in the workplace From:"Amanda M. Jervis" <amandaj -at- ZOATECHMEDIA -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 23 Apr 1997 13:06:40 -0600
Greetings!
Nice to finally be saying hello after lurking for a while. I have found the
information on this list extremely valuable--both for myself and the writers
I support.
I was particularly impressed by the thread on essential tech comm resources
and like many of you have added several books to my library. Thanks to
everyone who contributed valued opinions.
Continuing in that vein, I am seeking resources on how to mentor writers on
the job. A little context: Zoa Techmedia is a documentation services firm.
We develop print documentation, online help, training, and Web/Intranet
sites for companies around the Colorado Front Range. Our employees are
salaried rather than subcontractors. Part of my job as a project manager is
to provide training/mentoring/coaching/support to our "troops" in the field.
Consequently, I am developing a formal mentoring program for all employees,
but particularly those either new to the working world (i.e. recent college
grads) or new to technical communication (i.e. people changing careers).
In a thread a month or so ago, Elna Tymes described a mentoring program for
interns. This sounded excellent. My questions to the list are:
Will those of you who have mentoring programs in place please share your
ideas and successes and failures?
What resources are available (web, books, etc.) on mentoring writers?
Among the myriad books available in mentoring in general (a search at Amazon
turned up 100+ books), which are truly useful and informative?
You can email me directly at amandaj -at- zoatechmedia -dot- com, and I will post a
summary of my findings for the entire list.
Thanks much. I look forward to your responses.
Do good things,
amanda
Amanda M. Jervis
Project Manager
Zoa Techmedia, Inc.
Denver, Colorado
Ph: 303/771-0222
Fx: 303/771-9998
amandaj -at- zoatechmedia -dot- com
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html