Member
Zigs and Zags to
Writing Career
By Michael
Abrams
According
to geometry, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
That's math, not people. When it comes to them, a few zigs and zags are
great. How else to explain Faye Rivkin?
A lover of
science and technology and a chemist by training, Faye was bitten hard
and early by the word bug, and that's what's driven her down the circuitous
path to where she is today. While studying her chemistry texts at the
University of Delaware, Faye couldn't resist rewriting friends' term papers.
They got better grades, and she got a taste of what her future would bring.
After graduating,
Faye found work as an agricultural researcher in Princeton, New Jersey.
The laboratory environment was interesting, she says, but the routine
became repetitive. So she thought she'd try something with more human
interaction. She moved to another chemical corporation and into inside
sales and technical support. From there she became a recruiter of scientists,
eventually working for a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
Next she
was hired to set up an employee call center for BOC Gases, an old British-based
company that sold oxygen for hospitals, acetylene for welders, and other
vaporous matter. When BOC became a takeover target, Faye coordinated the
implementation of an HR call center while writing informational materials
about benefits, severance, and other HR matters in print and on the company
intranet. This was Faye's career turning point because she loved the writing.
"Mostly
on a whim," Faye says, she came to San Diego in March 2000, soon
landing at a small wireless startup in Sorrento Valley. She enjoyed her
interactions with the scientists and engineers and found the work mix
was what she was looking for. She wrote user guides for customers and
other materials, including several company Web sites, marketing brochures,
and white papers. Then came the great telecom crash.
Rather than
become another layoff statistic, Faye went where the work was, not waiting
for it to come to her. She's found plenty of work as a contractor, writing
Web content, marketing materials, and policies and procedures for companies
in a number of different industries. Recently we saw her making a hiring
announcement at an STC San Diego Chapter meeting. While
the contractor's hat seems to suit Faye's energy and optimism, she would
definitely consider becoming an employee again if the right position comes
along.
Asked how
she finds her clients, she said: "I know it's corny, but network,
network, network." She adds, though, that it's also important to
realize things will come your way in due time. "I'm very much of
a mind-set that everyone will find out what they want to do and that you
shouldn't just take a job just to have a job or take a promotion just
because it's a step up."
Lateral moves are sometimes better if they bring knowledge and skills. In other words, it's okay to move in circles, which is about where we started and not a bad place to end.
