Recipe
for Technical Communications Career Longevity
By Walter
Hanig, President
I've formally been a technical communicator a little over 10 years. That alone does not qualify me to offer advice on staying employed. However, in that 10-year span, I've had to find a new job four times, not counting mergers and acquisitions and sales. So, I think I can at least speak from personal experience.
Ingredients
1 part attitude,
positive
1 part support
2 parts networking
2 parts initiative
1 part professionalism
1 part luck
Preparation
Attitude: you cannot affect that you were laid off, if you were. You do own your attitude. Positive helps. Who wants to hire someone with a negative attitude?
Support: your family and friends will tell you that everything will work out OK. Don't come up with reasons that they're wrong. Just believe them.
Networking: stay in touch with former colleagues, even if they're not technical communicators. Participate in one or more professional associations like STC or San Diego Professional Editors Network.
Initiative: volunteer for new tasks at work, such as testing software or hardware, writing or editing marketing literature, helping with the intranet, and working with your professional organization. Demonstrated initiative makes a great story in interviews.
Professionalism: meet or exceed your commitments every day at work and in volunteer situations. Your reputation has as much influence on future employment as your documented skills.
Luck is sometimes no more that communicating your availability and skills and interest to everyone you know. Many times you'll be told about openings at companies you didn't even know existed!
Add other ingredients to your taste.
Serves 1
