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ROBERT R. SIDMAN
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1016 South Progress Avenue
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17111-1736
Telephone: 717-561-0285
AOL mail: Rsidman
Internet mail: Rsidman -at- aol -dot- com
Objective
^^^^^^^^^
I am seeking part-time contract technical writing/editing
assignments I can do from home. I want to write or edit
manuals for general or technical use and other technical
data processing documents and to convert present
documentation and manuals to more user-friendly publications.
Employment Experience
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Summary
-------
I have experience in advertising, (computer) analysis,
audiovisual, (computer and marketing) consulting, data
processing, defense, software development, writer and editor
of both news and technical copy, agent for both health and
life insurance, graphic design and layout, marketing and
marketing analysis, newspaper and news service, radio and
sales and sales management. I have also done planning and
scheduling, budgeting, presentations and proposal development.
Since 1957 I have written and edited advertising copy,
brochures, contracts, manuals, news copy for print and
broadcast, newsletters, policies and procedures, proposals,
scripts, speechs, style guides and technical material.
Data Processing
---------------
1979-present. GANCOM, Inc., Camp Hill, PA (1979-1981), and
U.S. government, Navy Fleet Material Support Office, Ships
Parts Control Center, Mechanicsburg, PA (1982-present).
With GANCOM, I helped develop a turnkey mini-computer system,
first doing all the preliminary analysis work as an
independent contractor. After joining GANCOM as the full-time
sales manager for the project, I had both technical and sales
duties. On the technical side, I helped define various inputs
and outputs, developed forms and helped write and edit the
user's manual. On the sales side, I wrote and edited sales
and advertising material, did sales training and sold.
I joined the U.S. Navy Supply Corps' ADP central design
agency as a mainframe computer programmer. Originally, I
trained to write COBOL for Burroughs, IBM and Tandem.
From mid-1990 to November 1992, I also supervised maintenance
of more than 100 megabytes of constantly changing documentation,
written to Department of Defense standards. Changes were
drafted by 20 programmers and analysts; I edited their work. The
documentation, and the 4,000 programs it supports, is my
agency's main product, used by the Fleet around the world.
Since October 1991, I have been a full-time technical writer
and editor. As such, I have written and edited original
documents, upgraded older documentation, made flowcharts harts
and converted older documentation to more user-friendly
publications. The documentation basically conformed to Department
of Defense standards, but some was freeform.
From November 1992, through February 1994, I helped write a
software support services contract, wrote the evaluation
procedures and led a 10-person technical evaluation team. I now
write formal directions for various projects, working with agency
and higher command management and the contractor.
Communication
-------------
1957-1979. Reading, PA, "Sunday Eagle" (1957-1958),
U.S. Army (1959- 1962), Boston, MA, "Herald" and
"Traveler" (1962-1964), Rochester, NY,
"Democrat and Chronicle" (1964), The Associated Press (1964-
1974); Radio Station WYEN FM, Des Plaines, IL (1974-1976),
"Movie Facts Magazine," Chicago (1976-1978),
Radio Stations WEPM AM/WESM FM, Martinsburg, WV (1979).
I was a sports reporter for the Reading "Sunday Eagle" and
Boston "Herald," and a general assignment reporter for the Boston
"Traveler" and Rochester "Democrat and Chronicle." In the Army, I
was a reporter, award-winning editor and a speech writer for a
major general. I also covered southwestern France for
"Stars and Stripes, Europe" and the American Forces Network,
Europe.
With The Associated Press, I was a reporter, editor, shift
supervisor, supervising editor and sales executive. As a
supervising editor, I was responsible for a staff of eight. I
wrote up to 16,000 words daily for newspapers and broadcast. I
also helped write and edit a style guide for broadcast writing
and was a member of several national editorial task forces.
For the radio stations and "Movie Facts Magazine" I was in sales
and sales management. Fomanagement. For my broadcast clients, and
other clients, I wrote and edited commercial scripts and
occasionally produced final versions of commercials. I also
designed print ads for "Movie Facts" clients. As a manager, I
hired and trained salespersons.
Personal Skills
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Computer Hardware, Software, Languages and Operating Systems
------------------------------------------------------------
I have used IBM PCs and clones with 8086, 80286, 80386 and 80486
processors. I have programmed for several mainframes: IBM,
Burroughs, Unisys and Tandem. The PC computer software I have
used includes: DB II-IV, MS Excel, Flow III, Harvard Graphics, MS
PowerPoint, MS Word, Norton Utilities, Professional Write,
Symphony and WordPerfect 5.1, 5.2. and 6.0 for DOS and
WordPerfect 5.2 for Windows.
As a mainframe programmer I worked in COBOL and Tandem COBOL. As
a writer now working solely with PCs now, I use both MS DOS and
MS Windows.
Hardware/Software Used
----------------------
I use a 386 SX PC and an Okidata OL400 laser printer. I use
Microsoft Word, WordPerfect 5.2 for Windows and Microsoft
Powerpoint. I use a fax/modem with OCR technology.
Education
^^^^^^^^^
Boston University, Boston, MA, B.S., Journalism, 1964.
Professional Membership
Member, Society for Technical Communication.
