Scary responsibility in job ad

[Mollye Barrett]

OK, can we agree that if we didn't want the responsibility we would not
apply for the job?
If we did want the responsibility, how would we meet the challenge?

I worked with a group of 50 engineers and 8 automotive technicians. I was
tasked with improving the content provided by engineers. This required
establishing relationships and and processes. To be sure, some engineers
were more willing than others. I created standards, provided examples and
worked with people one-on-one. The automotive  technicians all became
technical writers with their own area of automotive speciality.Years later,
they are all employed as technicians who write for auto manufacturers. Some
engineers improved greatly, some not at all. My performance reviews always
included a recognition of the improvements or how I would handle the
challenge. I was responsible for tracking individual improvements and shared
the progress with my supervisor. He developed a role for me as the
documentation approver. I could reject poor content if I made solid
recommendations for improvement.

This position was one of the best I've ever had and I learned a ton.
Did every engineer become a stellar technical writer? No.
Did most improve their writing? Yes.
Did the overall technical documentation improve? Based on usability scores
and user feedback, absolutely.

Call me Silly, but it would have been my loss if I had dismissed the
position because I thought it was hopeless. We make our won choices.


Mollye Barrett
ClearPath, LLC
414-331-1378  | mollye at clearpath.cc  |  www.clearpath.cc
http://www.linkedin.com/in/mollyebarrett | http://www.twitter.com/mollye
Skype: mollyebarrett

On Fri, Oct 7, 2011 at 6:20 AM, Writer <generic668 at yahoo.ca> wrote:

> What I object to is putting the burden and responsibility on the tech
> writer, rather than where it belongs...on the engineer. I've worked with
> very few engineers who wanted to improve their communication skills or who
> even cared. Richard, in your case, you were asked by people who were
> motivated to learn, and that's great; however, your experiences do not
> reflect mine. Most engineers I've worked with just want to do what they are
> told to do; they don't want to discuss it or describe it.
>
> IMHO, this requirement is setting the tech writer up for failure. Just
> because the company wants the engineers to communicate more effectively, it
> doesn't mean that the engineers want to, are motivated to, or would
> willingly cooperate with such "coaching".
>
> Nadine
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* "Combs, Richard" <richard.combs at Polycom.com>
> *To:* Writer <generic668 at yahoo.ca>; framers <framers at lists.frameusers.com>
> *Sent:* Thursday, October 6, 2011 6:52:17 PM
> *Subject:* RE: Scary responsibility in job ad
>
> Writer wrote:
>
> > A local company listed this as one of the responsibilities in a job ad
> > for a technical writer:
> >
> > "coach engineers to improve their writing skills"
> >
> > It makes me laugh and cringe in equal measures.
>
> I'm really surprised at the overwhelmingly negative reaction to this ad.
> Coaching engineers is cited as just one of the responsibilities; without
> seeing what the others are, I have no opinion of the ad as a whole, but this
> specific responsibility certainly doesn't make me laugh, cringe, fear for my
> future, or get defensive about my profession.
>
> I'm asked (yes, often by engineers) language/grammar/writing questions
> fairly frequently, and in the past when things weren't so busy, I did the
> occasional short presentation on some language/writing issue at the end of a
> team meeting. These were well received, and I often got follow-up questions.
>
>
> The engineers I know are intelligent people who understand the value of
> communicating clearly. They want to improve their writing skills in order to
> communicate more effectively with each other, managers, and other
> departments (sales, support, etc.), as well as with me.
>
> IMHO, sharing what I know with people who see the value of learning it
> makes me more valuable. And it's rewarding for me, not cringe-inducing.
>
>
> Richard G. Combs
> Senior Technical Writer
> Polycom, Inc.
> richard.combs at polycom.com
> 303-223-5111
> ------
> rgcombs at gmail.com
> 303-903-6372
> ------
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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