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Subject:Re: A sobering encounter (So now what?) From:kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 2 Dec 2002 08:33:25 -0700
Steven asks:
> What are we or the STC doing about the situation? Is
> there a concerted effort to organize a public
> relations campaign to educate the IT and other
> industries about the value that we add?
I'm not looking to any organization to do this for us. To me, this is an
individual task.
And the people who are getting the jobs are already doing it.
You want a job? You need to show your prospective employer that YOU will
bring value to it. That's how you differentiate yourself from all the
others who are applying for the same job.
Employers don't want PR - they want results. Show them that you can solve
problems for them. Demonstrate your awareness of their needs - maybe point
out problems they didn't know they had.
But I really feel that it's up to each of us individually to do that.
Instead of an STC study showing the world how important FrameMaker is,
show a single company how YOU can add value. YOU - as a PERSON, not just
as a generic tech writer. You should present yourself - your brain, your
skills, your personality - as a valuable resource to your employer.
Frankly, there are plenty of tech writers out there who do NOT add value.
Sure, they know Frame. They own all the right Hackos books. But if they
aren't helping their company by showing an awareness what their company
DOES, and how they can help their company do it, they're just worker bees,
and the first ones invited to the (love this term) pink slip parties.
Tech writers who don't know how to look up from their style guides and see
the bigger picture are an endangered species. Get savvy, and figure out a
way to market what YOU do. The rules have changed, and the STC can't
change them back for you. Adapt. Survive.
Keith Cronin
coming to a theater near you: Dilbert Does Darwin
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