TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:So...ya wanna be noticed, huh? From:John Posada <JPosada -at- book -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 4 Dec 2002 16:14:41 -0500
Tech writers are often commenting that they aren't noticed, aren't
respected, aren't appreciated. Wanna turn that around?
Recent story, about an hour ago:
Since I came here in August, I've been documenting an Enterprise Integration
Application...a big one. I've been giving them what they asked for and
getting compliments from my group. However, one thing that's been nagging
at the back of my mind was that there was no "big picture" documentation
that told them the application's impact on other systems.
So, without asking for permission or asking anyone if it was OK, I started
building a Visio flowchart representation of the flow of information through
the application. I started it about a week before Thanksgiving, finished it
last night, and this afternoon, push-pinned it to the wall of one of our
local conference rooms. I just left it there...no big fanfare.
Understand....this thing is huge...the biggest printer output we have here
is 11X17 and this took 70 pages, which I taped together...I think it is
about 10 feet across and 7 feet high.
Well...the comments just keep coming
Mgr of Help Support..."So THIS is what you do...I had no idea!"
CTO comment to my boss who passed it on..."I showed the big diagram you
created in the room M to our CTO. He thought it was ingenious."
Operations Engineer..."I've been asking for this for over a year..."
The best one...from the Manager of Network Operations Center, who hired
me...."Stop sending out your resume for Feb...you have work to do here."
What's my point?
Do something obvious. Do something on a big scale that will get attention
from outside your immediate group. Don't wait to be asked or told, and don't
ask if it is OK. Identify a need, do it and get it out there. Who knows...is
may be just what someone else in the company, who normally doesn't know who
you are, is looking for.
John Posada
Senior Technical Writer
Barnes&Noble.com
jposada -at- book -dot- com
212-414-6656
"Be accurate...the 4am wakeup call you prevent could be your manager's"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Check out SnagIt - The Screen Capture Standard!
Download a free 30-day trial from http://www.techsmith.com/rdr/txt/twr
Find out what all the other tech writers, including Dan, already know!
Order RoboHelp X3 in December and receive $100 mail in rebate, FREE WebHelp
Merge Module and the new RoboPDF - add powerful PDF output functionality
to RoboHelp X3. Order online today at http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
