The first meeting of the new year welcomed old and new faces to our chat, including a manatee and a tauntaun in the Zoom backgrounds. We started with announcements:
- It’s not too late to register for the chapter’s Instructional Videos webinar on Feb. 3.
- The chapter is looking for volunteers. The positions of Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-President, Membership Manager, and Information Interview Coordinator are open now or will be open on June 1 when the current incumbents’ terms end.
The discussion then turned to corporate culture. In a big corporation you might feel constrained by a rigid hierarchy and formal procedures; a smaller company usually offers more freedom to do things your own way. However, newer writers working in a big company often receive excellent on-the-job training from more experienced colleagues, and might prefer that to being forced to sink or swim as the lone writer in a smaller business.
We also discussed the pros and cons of locating all the writers together in a Documentation department, versus embedding writers individually with the group of subject matter experts they’re working with. Some felt that keeping writers together provides better training and peer support, whereas others preferred to gather useful information serendipitously from SMEs working nearby. If you’re working from home, the new reality for many of us, location doesn’t matter, as long as you have easy access to the people you need to talk to. Online meetings allow instant and informal contact with remote colleagues.
A question about recruiting agencies prompted pros, cons, and differences between American and Canadian practices. We noted that agencies merge, rebrand, disappear, or turn over staff quite frequently, and it’s hard to know which ones can find you a job and which just want to collect your résumé to boost their statistics. One writer at the meeting had been called by nine agencies for the same job in a single day, all of them eager to be the first to forward the winning candidate.
Finally, we discussed the value of the STC’s annual Summit conference. People who have attended past Summits agreed that it’s well worth the cost: a great opportunity to learn and to network with others in our field, even online. If the registration fee is a deterrent, use their boilerplate “convince your boss” letter to ask your employer to pay for it.
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: ONLINE on Wednesday, February 17, 2021
- Subscribe to receive email announcements of future meetings.
- If you plan to attend, please RSVP by 4 p.m. Wednesday, February 17, to receive login instructions.
Date: Wednesday, February 17
Time: 7:00-8:00 p.pm. Pacific Time
Location: Online via Zoom
Agenda
- Introductions. Take 60 seconds to introduce yourself, your background, current activities. A good chance to try out that new elevator speech.
- Announcements and job leads. If you know of an interesting event or a job opening, or you’re looking for work, share it with the group.
- Brainstorming Q&A. Ask about a work-related problem and discuss potential solutions.
- Speed networking. Meet new contacts and discuss your professional backgrounds and goals.
Heather Sommerville is a senior technical writer and editor with over 20 years of experience delivering clear, concise writing for business and technical audiences. She is an STC Associate Fellow and has served in many volunteer positions with the STC Canada West Coast chapter.