Technical communicators face many of the same challenges that confront information professionals when it comes to staying Future Ready in a profession that changes constantly. We reached out to a group of prominent movers and shakers in the profession and asked how they manage their careers, and these are their stories.

Copyright © 2001 by John V. Hedtke

One of the great advantages of the STC—indeed, of any professional organization—is that you can network with other people. Fame—being well-known and nothing more—can make networking easier and extend your own networking reach. Fortunately, it’s not hard to become famous and it’s a lot of fun. Here’s how:

1. Go to things!

Don’t sit home alone watching TV. Go to conferences. Go to meetings. Go to lunches and picnics. Participate in group activities. You don’t need to volunteer for hard jobs—indeed, that’s the harder way to be famous; besides, you’ll be asked plenty about volunteering as time goes by and your fame increases—but do pitch in for things.

2. Meet people.

Fame is largely a function of who knows you. Get out and meet as many people in your profession as you can. As your network grows, you’ll discover that people know you that you don’t know and you don’t even know the people that they say they heard about you from. You don’t need to be the life of the party, but be interesting.

3. Listen.

Good listeners are hard to find and will make themselves welcome almost anywhere. Men in particular have a cultural tendency to interrupt. If you make a point of listening to whatever the other person in a conversation is saying until they’re all done and then replying, you will differentiate yourself from 99% of the rest of the world. (Hot tip for men: being a good listener will do you worlds of good in your relationships, too.)

4. Remember peoples’ names.

Everyone likes to think they’re special and they’ve made an impression on someone else. Try to remember as many names as you can. When you do the business card swap with people, be sure to make notes on business cards about who the person is, when you met, or what you talked about as a trigger to memory, too.

5. Speak at events.

Fame is largely a function of who knows you. Being a speaker at events is one excellent way of getting people to know who you are and what you think about things. Don’t forget to answer questions and talk to as many people afterwards as you can.

6. Publish articles.

Articles get your name out to a wider range of people than doing public speaking. It’s also a different audience, too: the folks that hear you speak are the ones who, like you, like going to conferences. The people who read articles are going to be the ones who stay at home (and the ones who go to the conferences and enjoy learning everything they can about the profession).

7. Have some opinions.

Having opinions is part of being human. You don’t have to tailor your opinions to what is popular, but you should be willing to discuss your point of view with other people.

8. Be ready to disagree with people appropriately.

Having opinions is part of what makes other people human, too. Your opinions are guaranteed to brush up against someone else’s opinions. It will broaden your horizons to hear that someone disagrees with you keenly on some fundamental issue (even if you’re sure in your heart that they’re a jerk for doing so <G>). Be professional in your disagreements and try to accept the people that disagree with you. As Hedtke’s Law says, a person who doesn’t offend somebody couldn’t possibly interest anybody.

9. Make connections between people.

One of the values of being known by a number of people is that you can make connections between people and increase the networking. For example, as your own circle grows, people will often ask you questions like “How can I get started in this business?” or “Who do you recommend I talk to for a job?” Knowing a lot of people allows you to introduce people in your network to each other, making them happy and increasing your own prestige in the process.

10. Have fun.

Being famous is really all about extending your reach. It’s great for hearing about that next job or finding someone with hard-to-get technical information. Fame even lets you get a free drink or lunch occasionally, but it’s not a substitute for having a life of your own. Relax and have fun with it.

Summary

Fame is not a zero-sum game. Everyone can be well-known if they want to be. Because of this, never make the mistake of assuming that because you’re famous you’re entitled to more than anyone else. And remember that it’s not enough to be famous just for being famous; you need to be famous because you actually have something that you do reasonably well. If you forget to do things for yourself, you will soon discover that you don’t have anything new to offer… and you’ll become a parody of what you once were.

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John Hedtke runs JVH Communications (http://hedtke.com), a technical communications and consulting company, and Double Tall Press (http://doubletallpress.com), a nonfiction publishing company. He also runs “Hey, kids! Become an author at home in your spare time and earn big bucks!” (http://tradebookauthor.com), a blog for nonfiction authors. John has written 26 books.

Technical communicators face many of the same challenges that confront information professionals when it comes to staying Future Ready in a profession that changes constantly. We reached out to a group of prominent movers and shakers in the profession and asked how they manage their careers, and these are their stories.

by Ben Moore, Senior Technical Writer/Project Lead (and part time comic book writer)

I’m lucky to have a stable job and a stable career. But stability can also equal stagnant.

Usually my eye toward the future is focused on keeping that stability. My life at home is exciting enough with kids activities, neighborhood picnics and the occasional evening out with my wife. But this was the year I needed a shakeup.

Juggling work, dad, husband, volunteer and coaching duties is not a problem. I’ve worked to become better at each of those activities. The problem is, I don’t spend much time stepping out of the box and improving me.

This year I wanted to check off an adventure in my bucket list so I’d at least not regret that I didn’t try – writing and publishing my own comic book.

Writing is what I do for a living, although it usually involves a bunch of 1’s and 0’s or a whole lot of strange phrases like “flip chip ball grid array.” In order to rejuvenate work life and my sense of fulfillment, I needed to write something creative.

They say when you want to lose weight, you should tell a friend because they’ll keep you honest. Without thinking, I casually told a friend that I wanted to write a comic book. He said “Great! Now go write it. You have until the end of the month.” I instantly had a fan and an editor all rolled into one.

Writing my first comic also turned out to be a valuable experience for my day job. All I wanted to do was tell a story, but I ended up making new business contacts, improving my writing ability, and thrilling my boss with some new technical documentation that was more exciting than the usual plain white bread we publish.

Coincidentally, during the time I started writing, my favorite comic book writer was teaching a new class at PSU, AND our division GM said we need to start taking one day a quarter to “follow our passion” to improve creativity in our work.  It was an open door to do anything I wanted, and out came a comic strip about how to log in to our project tracking system.

The GM loved it and wanted more. My company paid for me to take the PSU class. I ended up meeting two other aspiring Technical Writers. One of them ended up being a wonderful intern for me. And for the first time in my life, school was fun.

I used my newfound skills (and free time provided by said handy intern) to self-publish three comics within six months. Financially, only one of those comics broke even, but I’m still making adjustments. And I still have three issues to go, so who knows, maybe next year you’ll see my characters showing up on your child’s lunchbox.

Ben Moore has been a Technical Writer and a Technical Communication Project Leader at Intel for the past 8 years. After graduating from Pacific Lutheran University with a degree in Communications, Ben began his career as a sports reporter but later shifted toward careers with normal working hours. Now Ben spends his free time playing with his kids, coaching kids sports, bicycling, and reading comic books.

Technical communicators face many of the same challenges that confront information professionals when it comes to staying Future Ready in a profession that changes constantly. We reached out to a group of prominent movers and shakers in the profession and asked how they manage their careers, and these are their stories.

by Kurt Stewart, Kuala Kangsar, Malaysia

In December 2010, I knew beyond any lingering doubts that I was ready for a change. My wife and I had just sold our business of 20 plus years, an English nursery school and language institute we had set up in the Atlantic seaboard town of Porto, Portugal. And now the future was staring me right in the eyes. At the tender age of 55, I was in that scary but exciting place where I could dare to ask: now what?

I grew up in Oakland, California, and went to high school outside Portland, Oregon. I’d spent most of my adult life working as a trainer and teacher, first in Paris (my glory years), then later, in Porto with my Portuguese wife (the “mature years”). Along the way, I’d put together a skill set that gave me a few options in the education field.

In other words, all along the way, I’d kept myself Future Ready. Looking back, it seems like I had a plan all along. At the time, some of those moves smacked of fear and desperation. I worked as a consultant in Paris helping companies create language training packages for their employees. I earned further qualifications in “Teaching English as a Foreign Language” (TEFL) by obtaining the Royal Society of Arts diploma, and later, I got a job teaching writing at a private university in Porto.

I also kept up some freelance writing for newspapers in the U.S. and a magazine in Paris. In 2005, I thought I’d add another odd-colored feather in my cap by becoming a certified professional coach. All of these skills had made me Future Ready, but back to a central question: now what? Was I really ready for the future?

At 55, I knew windows were closing fast in areas where some of my skills might still be required. I considered my experience in TEFL and began searching for teaching positions abroad. But not just anywhere–I wanted to realize a lifelong goal of mine–to live in Southeast Asia.

I patiently searched the web for positions in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and southern China, until one day, up popped The Perfect Job. WANTED: mentor/teacher/trainer in rural Malaysia; three-year project, sponsored by the Malaysian Ministry of Education, working with grammar school teachers of English to help them develop new teaching methods. Bingo!

So now, here we sit, while the blades of an overhead fan stir the hot, humid air of my little Malaysian terraced house located in a small town on the Sungai Perak. Every day, I drive through thick strips of verdant jungle, past coconut groves and rambutan trees, on my way to the five schools I oversee here. Everything is different, and everything is new.

You need to start by embracing change, but keep going. Go out and grab it. Plan for it, work for it, and stalk it like prey. Just think about what it is you really want from the rest of your time on this planet. Think long and hard if need be, because the sooner you can see it in your dreams, the sooner you can make it happen.

Kurt Stewart grew up in northern California and took his degree in Classical Languages at San Francisco State University. When he realized that there were few people he could speak dead languages with, he moved to Paris where he studied French. While there, he worked as a freelance writer for USA Today and wrote for Paris Passion Magazine. To help pad his income, he started teaching English in companies in France. He liked teaching so much that he obtained a diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and eventually started his own language training institute in Porto, Portugal. He became interested in coaching and mentoring, and in 2005 became a certified professional coach and member of the International Coach Federation. He started his own coaching business, and became a trainer for the International Coach Academy. He currently lives and works in Malaysia where he has the good fortune to apply his passion for teaching and coaching, training and mentoring English primary teachers in rural parts of the country.

Technical communicators face many of the same challenges that confront information professionals when it comes to staying Future Ready in a profession that changes constantly. We reached out to a group of prominent movers and shakers in the profession and asked how they manage their careers, and these are their stories.

by Rachel Houghton

Rachel Houghton is a senior information designer for Sage Business Solutions, a leading software supplier for the construction and real estate industry. She has parlayed her active volunteer activities with her professional organization to keep her career future ready.

My writing career has been a long, constant struggle to make myself future ready. I earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a writing career in mind, and I even dabbled in journalism by writing on the school paper. But I sensed early on that the jobs I was qualified for weren’t going to lead to a satisfying career, and I felt myself drawn to technology. Now, looking back on the last 15 years, I can see how one constant theme has dominated my quest to keep my career relevant — participation in a professional organization.

My first job entailed what we call a “lone writer.” Essentially, I was the entire writing department for a company that created computer chips. I wore a lot of hats there – editor, template designer, trainer, writer, and graphic artist – and I enjoyed those roles immensely. But other tasks – receptionist, scribe, and note-taker – weren’t really up to my professional standards. I tried to move laterally, but my resume wasn’t getting me any interviews. So I began to boost my participation with the local chapter of a professional organization devoted to technical writing. I moved rapidly up the ranks, and soon I won election as the president of the local chapter.

The role of president brought me new skills, including public speaking, managing budgets, directing others, and working with like-minded volunteers. I caught the attention of a few movers and shakers at the annual conference, and they recruited me to help with conference programs, websites, and more. I completed the assigned tasks on time, and suddenly one of my new friends convinced me to run for a position on the board. Along the way, I gained the confidence to start submitting proposals for sessions, and I have now participated as a presenter. I’ve gone from a wall-flower to behind the velvet rope, because I pushed myself to keep up and get ahead of the crowd on topics such as social networking. That professional participation has helped me at work lately, as I was named to a pair of committees the company formed to enhance its own online presence.

Getting involved as an energized volunteer has paid dividends for my career over and over. I like to think I’ve survived layoffs, landed that key interview, been named to coveted committees, and got selected for enviable assignments because I’ve worked so hard to make myself future ready. The specific required skills have come and gone over the years, but one thing never changes — your energy and passion for keeping up with your profession are valuable things. Anything you can do to prove you aren’t afraid of change on a personal or professional level is good, because it shows you think about being Future Ready all the time. Employers like that.

Rachel Houghton is a Senior Information Designer at Sage, a company that specializes in leading-edge construction productivity and real estate solutions. She has more than 14 years of technical communication experience. Rachel is the Secretary for the Society for Technical Communication (STC), past program chair of the STC Technical Communication Summit, and is actively involved in the STC Willamette Valley community and reviews books for the STC journal, Technical Communication. She enjoys photography and Photoshop. Find her on Twitter @rjhoughton.

Technical communicators face many of the same challenges that confront information professionals when it comes to staying Future Ready in a profession that changes constantly. We reached out to a group of prominent movers and shakers in the profession and asked how they manage their careers, and these are their stories.

by Tracy Dillon

Information professionals aren’t the only knowledge workers concerned with keeping up and staying Future Ready. As a program director for a technical writing program at a major university, Dr. Tracy Dillon is constantly seeking new ways to make the next generation of students ready for the future. In this case, it means focusing on international markets…

As the director of the Technical and Professional Writing program at Portland State University, I am constantly challenged by students to keep the curriculum relevant. As the program has matured, we have balanced at least three conflicting vectors:

1. Less money, due to budget cuts from the state legislature
2. Rapidly changing technology, leading to student demand for updated offerings
3. Institutional tradition, requiring great effort to make minor changes

Emotionally, I am always drawn to keeping the students happy, as they can be vocal and persistent. But they are also energizing, and their passion is very motivating. In preparing this blog post for Cindy, I also suddenly realized that what the students are clamoring for is simple: they want to be Future Ready. So let me talk briefly about a new course offering we recently added that I think helps in that regard.

Going Global

It’s not news that globalization continues to drive cultural evolution and business applications. We want our undergraduate engineers and graduate technical writing students to thrive in the expanding transnational environment. Just conquering the rules of style and grammar isn’t enough anymore.  We needed a course to draw together all of the skill sets to address this growing challenge.

WR 410/510: International Technical Writing discusses the strategies for conducting effective transcultural exchanges, addresses the challenges of conveying technical information across regions, and familiarizes students with global communication strategies.

In contrast to the technical writers of yesteryear, who were hard-pressed to include simple graphics and illustrations in their text, today’s documentation is full of complex art. That means the words are even more important, and they are likely to be translated into a growing number of languages. Mistakes in context or phrasing can be magnified exponentially, and we knew that our students had to understand this.

The key message for success in international technical markets today and in the future is content localization. So our new offering, which is online and available to students around the world, focuses on ways to reach a global audience and the importance of adapting writing style, tone, and diction to match the specific cultural expectations of clients and end users. This is in contrast to “pan-” approaches that assume all markets in a given region are the same.  We get into the nuts and bolts and provide students with a solid grounding. And the bottom line is that our program is just a little more future ready. As much as that makes me smile, I already started making plans for more new courses next year. The train never seems to stop…!

If you are interested in reading about internationalization as a key component of making yourself “Future Ready,” check out Geert Hofstede’s Cultures and Organizations: Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival (McGraw Hill, 2005) and John R. Kohl’s The Global English Style Guide: Writing Clear, Translatable Documentation for a Global Market (SAS Press, 2008).

W. Tracy Dillon, PhD, is Professor of English and Director of Professional and Technical Writing at Portland State University in Oregon.