This month’s Tech Comm Café brought together individuals from a wide range of professional fields, including biology, bioenergy, digital media, engineering, education, health and safety, and more. Despite the diversity in professional fields among those who attended the Café, the discussion was rich with shared experiences in the technical communication industry.
The group included students as well as experienced writers looking for new positions, so the job search process was a popular topic. Many have found a balance of remote and hybrid job postings recently. A couple of people cautioned the group about scam postings: so-called employers ask for a writing sample on a particular topic, then fail to respond, leaving the puzzled, well-intentioned writer to assume that their work has been taken and used without permission or payment.
LinkedIn continues to be a key aspect of the job search process, in making connections, accessing a job board, and using recruiters. Some people have found that the analytical and messaging features in a LinkedIn Premium account are useful in landing new connections. This led to an interesting discussion on the recruiters that live on LinkedIn; some individuals appreciate working with recruiters who remove the burden of self-promotion and job hunting, though others appreciate the benefits of finding work independently so they can collect the full pay rate without giving a percentage to the recruiter.
Someone suggested that a working knowledge of various tools, especially tools asked for in job ads, is highly beneficial for job prospects and can usually be acquired quickly and easily through demos and tutorials from the tool’s developer. Others use LinkedIn Learning or attend courses at a university or college. In general, the group spoke highly of gaining additional skills and knowledge to future-proof one’s career.
We also discussed the challenges of maintaining modern and up-to-date written procedures and in-house procedure manuals. Many companies find that this type of work is revenue-neutral and aren’t willing to pay for it, though one person suggested that this is exactly where technical writers can shine. Others provided personal anecdotes about pushing for this in their own workplace, with varied levels of success.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is always a popular topic. Some have found it to be incredibly helpful in their professional and personal lives, though others are wary about its accuracy. We agreed that AI can be an excellent tool when used alongside the technical communication skills that we already possess.
The Tech Comm Café provides networking opportunities, job leads, answers to work-related dilemmas, and a burst of professional energy to keep you motivated. We discuss technical writing tools and techniques, career planning, portfolios, and anything else related to working as a technical communicator.
We welcome anyone who’s interested in technical communication — contractor, in-house, student, long-time tech writer, STC member, non-member, career-changer, or recruiter. We hope to see you at the next meeting!
Next Meeting: On January 29, 2025, the Society for Technical Communication (STC) announced that they have “approved a motion to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. … Effective immediately, STC will permanently close its doors and cease all activities.” Sadly, this means that the January 15 meeting was the last. We thank all of you who have made the TCC a popular and productive networking event over the years.
Kendra Henkel is pursuing her passion for writing at Simon Fraser University. She has a background in architecture/engineering, and hopes to blend writing, architecture, and engineering together in a technical writing career.