Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter
April/May 2008
| Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter April/May 2008 |
A panel discussion, The Pulse of Today's Job Market: 3 Inside Perspectives, was February’s topic for the San Francisco Chapter STC. The presenters were Mira Wooten, Andrew Davis, and Tim Bombosch. Susan Becker, Past President of the Chapter, moderated.
Mira Wooten, Director of Business Development at Oak Hill Corporation, began the discussion by noting that the market has shifted last few months. Budgets and staffing have been cut, deals are harder to make, and offshoring, particularly to Bangalore, India, and Ireland, continues. Cisco has moved all of its engineers and writers offshore. More writers on the market push rates downwards. The most technically savvy writers Mira places earn about $85K, but few make more than that because engineers typically make only $90K, and employers are loath to pay writers more than engineers. She also sees an increase in jobs involving training and a decrease in those involving writing.
Hiring managers are looking for the tool technology experience of candidates and which companies they have worked for. The average résumé is viewed for only 20 seconds. Coding experience in C, C++, and Java are particularly in demand, but content management expertise, and experience with Wiki systems, Captivate or Articulate Quizmaker are also desirable. Mira also suggests that you can help establish your credentials in a subject by posting an Avid edited video on YouTube.
Résumés should have:
Andrew Davis, President/Recruiter at Synergistech Communications, states that he talks to lots of writers and hiring managers all the time and that his perspective is that the market is contracting dramatically. Well-known companies are freezing hiring across the board, senior writers are losing their jobs and not finding others, former contract writers are now seeking steady jobs, and hiring is taking a lot longer as companies harvest résumés to fill their databases.
All functions not pivotal to product design are being moved offshore while marketing and design remain in US. However, intellectual property typically cannot go offshore because of lax copyright law enforcement, and government work has to remain here, as does work involving personal identifiable information.
CFOs and engineers set hiring standards, and they trust those with similar instincts. They hire those who have written for their audiences and whose references they can verify. You should create original, relevant validated content that can be independently checked. An interest in relational databases and Wiki systems is appreciated, as are DITA structured authoring and Linux.
Show the hiring managers your value and quantify your contribution.
How many tech support calls has your documentation saved? That’s the
kind of money you can cite: $1-2K per day. Can you show that you saved
on cost of translation? Quantify that as well: any number on the
résumé stops the eye. Finally, find out what the
company’s corporate strategy is and how you can support it.
Tim Bombosch, technical communications consultant and Project Management Professional for Lasselle-Ramsay Information Development Services, disagrees with Andrew about the state of the market. He sees $30-80K jobs decreasing, but higher paying jobs increasing. Offshoring to India now looks expensive because of the weakness of the dollar. Regulated industries, such as medical and financial, are hiring and less stressful than product producing companies. Since system adminstrators are easy to replace, they should geek up or get out of generalist positions.
Where the jobs are:
Hirers aren’t looking at a particular skill, but are more interested in:
How do we add value to a company?
As Andrew previously pointed out, anytime you can quantify the value you added, do so.
Moderator Susan Becker asked Tim what people look at in writing samples:
Recruiters use writing samples a lot and they are absolutely necessary before the interview. Applicants should annotate their writing samples with the circumstances of their composition where relevant, e.g., I never had a chance to edit this, I wrote this in three weeks, this is the portion I wrote, etc. Mira adds that nothing irritates companies more than the attitude that I’m not going to give you samples or references until I know there’s a job there.
All three panelists agree that both networking and keeping your skill set relevant are vital. Mira says, "I’m an extreme advocate for networking. You should be having lunch with someone everyday even if it’s in the park." Get business cards, use Linked In, Plaxo Pulse, Spacebook, Jigsaw, Spock, Monster, and Careerbuilder. Pursue training in skills in demand, such as Wiki and DITA structured authoring, join the STC and attend its meetings.
Tim suggests you ask yourself two questions: 1) If your company needs you as much as you need it, then you’re in a good situation; 2) If you company doesn’t need your skill set, get ready to meet either new needs or find another job. He estimates that his passivity in a former job caused him to be laid off and lose approximately $120K in wages while he searched for another job.