Re: Job Market: More Openings for Marcom than Tech-Writing?

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>]

quills -at- airmail -dot- net wrote:

> Gee, sounds like a sure fire disaster to me. Tight deadlines on the
> Marcomm, tight deadlines for the techwriting. Guess which gets
> shorted?
>
> Combining two jobs under one title surely indicates that one is
> working for one of the duller tools in the shed.

Not really.

As I said in another message, at smaller companies, there's really not enough
work to hire two people for marcom and tech-writing. Besides, the deadlines tend
to fall at different times. When I've combined both, the cycle has been to
finish product documentation, then, as the product is being manufactured, start
moving towards the product sheet, the news releases, and so on. There's not much
overlap, and, having learned as much as possible about the product while writing
the documentation, I have no trouble with specs or with figuring out what to
emphasize in the marketing material. In fact, if a tech-writer has learned the
product thoroughly, he or she is probably the best-qualified person in the
company to write the marketing material (or at least to vet it). There is
nothing more embarrassing than marketing material written by someone who doesn't
know the product, believe me.

Combining the two types of writing isn't for everyone. But if, like me, you like
variety, it's pretty satisfying. Don't knock what you haven't tried.

--
Bruce Byfield bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604.421.7177

"Work and work, you won't get cold
Sleep in  your boots. don't get old
Stand on your own feet, ready or not
It's friendly fire...but you still get shot."
-OysterBand, "On the Edge



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