Re: First day advice.

[Elna Tymes <etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM>]

Jonathan -

First off, congratulations on finishing your degree and starting a job
in this profession so close together.  Sometimes it takes months or even
years to get going in this business.

Second, John Posada (as usual) had some wonderful advice.  I won't
repeat it here, but I agree with his suggestions.

Third, take a deep breath and realize that you don't have to prove
yourself the first day, or even the first week.  Almost every
organization gives a newbie some slack at first, because there's a lot
about the particular company/group/application that has to be learned
before you can be expected to become productive.

Fourth, realize that your coworkers have learned a great deal about the
business and the group in which you work by trial and error, and that
they can be an extremely valuable source of information about processes,
politics, idiosyncracies, and personalities.  You don't have to fetch
them coffee or bagels (although that helps occasionally <g>) but asking
their opinion from time to time can prove useful.

A related point is that most tech writer organizations these days rely
heavily on teamwork, and that your teamwork skills are just as important
as your writing skills.

Good luck!

Elna Tymes
Los Trancos Systems


	http://www.documentation.com/, or http://www.dejanews.com/