by Lynn Selhat, Independent Consultant
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Originally published in News & Views May, 1996 issue.
Copyright 1996 STC-Philadelphia Metro Chapter. For permission to reprint
this article, contact the Managing Editor.
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A lot can change in four years. I was still using a MacPlus in 1992, surfing the net had not yet become our national obsession, and Apple was still looking like a contender.
But good ideas have a way of defying time. This is true of Bill Moffett's article, "Boundary-Spanning Individuals," which appeared in the November 1992 issue of News & Views. Then president of STC, Moffett was on target in his assertion that technical writers have a broad set of skills (see diagram) that can "span not only audience boundaries but also professional and discipline boundaries." Even more remarkable, the original idea of boundary-spanning individuals was introduced by a Columbia University professor in 1977, long before downsizing, rightsizing and mass layoffs made adaptability one of the most effective survival skills in corporate America.
I chose to interview boundary-spanners for an article on career development as a way of showing the vast diversity and promise within the field of technical communication. Not surprisingly, many of these STC members have moved, chameleon-like, through several related careers, a talent we will all need as we face a changing, unknown future. But I discovered something else about these highly successful people: boundary-spanning is just one part of a two-part equation. Each brings an additional skill--it could be entrepreneurship, business savvy or networking savvy--that somehow jump-starts the advantage they hold as boundary-spanners. I call it the "spark."
Below are several ways to get that spark in your career. In the accompanying profiles (below), you'll read about these boundary-spanners and the spark they used to get them where they are.
Volunteer. "I can't get a job because I have no experience; I can't get experience if no one will give me a job!" Once the mantra of recent college graduates, this is now a dilemma most people face throughout their careers. If the statistics are right, most of us will change jobs and careers several times in our lifetime. Against this backdrop, relevant experience is key to survival. And volunteering is one way to get it.
STC member John Zuchero (see profile) volunteered to help with his church's 300th anniversary celebration. He is tinkering with software programs like Action, Astound, and PowerPoint as part of the publicity committee, and he plans to develop a multimedia press release, skills that can only help his career in computer-based training at Unisys.
In a more direct way, Alan Selsor (see profile) approached the Rosenbach Museum (a neighbor of his) about developing their Web page. The result? Rosenbach has a fabulous page they could not have otherwise afforded, and Selsor, a freelance marketing/communications writer, has a fabulous addition to his portfolio.
- Intern. Interning is similar to volunteering, but is generally done for a longer period and is more formalized. And it's not just for students.
Years ago, while working in Drexel University's in-house marketing department, I became fascinated with radio and thought I might want to make a career shift in that direction. I contacted Philadelphia's public radio station, which, to my surprise, had interns of all ages. Two nights a week I worked at the radio station. A producer would stay late and show me the ins and outs of editing. In return, I would research future guests and develop interview questions for her talk show.
After several months, radio lost its luster (my techno-dyslexia kept rearing its ugly head). But this was time well spent. I learned something about what I didn't want to do, and ended up working on my research and interviewing skills, something I rely on almost daily as a marketing communications writer.
- Freelance. If you already have a skill that you can apply on a part-time basis, try freelancing. Many writers who hold full-time jobs freelance on the side. Some do it because it allows them the freedom to hand-select clients who offer creative challenges different from the ones they find in their full-time jobs. Others do it to build a client base in anticipation of starting their own business. Still others do it for the added income and experience.
- Teach. Moffett suggested this back in a 1993 News & Views article entitled "Developing Yourself as a Professional." He points to adult night schools and community colleges as ideal locations since most students are out in the work world. "For the major assignment, ask each student to solve a communication problem derived from his or her own work life," advises Moffett. "From you, they will get professional guidance on a real-life problem. From them, you will get a rich smorgasbord of communication problems to consider."
- Explore your own interests. This is another of Moffett's suggestions on how to grow as a professional after college. Go after those things that aren't obviously related to what you do, he says. "If someone asks you how this pursuit is related to your career and you say, 'I'm sure it is, but I can't say how,' then you're probably on the right track," says Moffett.
D. L. Henderson:
Taking Chances and Building New Skills
This document team leader for Dun & Bradstreet Software knows a lot of technical writers who feel stagnant in their jobs. "I think it has do to with self-esteem and not feeling that you are an important part of the team," says Henderson, who will present her thinking on how to "Expand Your Career Plan" at the STC annual conference this spring.
"I will ask people to evaluate their skills and then identify how those skills can be leveraged across a team."
Obviously Henderson has gone through this exercise herself. When her team needed someone to take on the added responsibilities of developing beta, or test, sites for new software, she volunteered herself for the job, a task normally reserved for technical staff. Henderson's team leader didn't quite see the connection and turned her down. The next morning Henderson found a note on her desk; her team leader had reconsidered.
"This job really required communication skills--pulling together the right people and the right information, contacting customers, and developing and streamlining procedures," says Henderson. It just took an extra push to show that her skills could be applied to many different tasks.
Tom Leibrandt:
Making Yourself Indispensable
Think of a surgery department and you probably picture surgeons, residents and nurses, but an editorial director? That's just what the current head of surgery at Abington Hospital requested when he joined the hospital. Initially brought in to help the surgeons get their work published, a requirement for accreditation and a status symbol among hospitals, Tom Leibrandt has made himself indispensable by working his way into several different aspects of the department.
Leibrandt is a trained scientific editor with five years of experience at Springhouse Corporation. Though focused on helping surgeons with their writing, Leibrandt recognized that the residents also needed help. "They need a lot of hand-holding," explains Leibrandt, who teaches these surgeons-in-training the principles of writing.
When he was asked to coordinate conferences for residents, he took that on and offered to help with the audio visuals and presentations. Leibrandt is such an integral part of the department that he now holds a coveted spot on the department's letterhead.
Whitney Quesenbery:
Generalizing Skills from One Career to Another
The abridged version of Whitney Quesenbery's career goes something like this: English major who anticipated a life in academia accepts a job in theater after college, works as a production manager/lighting assistant on off-off Broadway productions, at one point writes a database for the Apollo Theater's lighting system, teaches theater at Bard College, and then becomes a lead interface designer for Cognetics Corporation, an interface design company. The seemingly incongruous leap from the arts to computers is hardly a hop when you see it through Quesenbery's eyes.
"Well, for one, our deadlines are a lot like opening night, complete with all the stress and excitement. In theater, I worked for the producer--the one with all the money and all the control. This is pretty much the setup we have with clients." Quesenbery continues to tick off the similarities. "A production manager for a theater oversees a group of creatives--costume designers, set designers, and lighting experts. A project manager also oversees creatives--art directors, writers, and programmers." And it takes the same skills--leadership, team building, organization--to do both jobs, she points out.
This boundary-spanner continues to cross disciplines even within Cognetics, splitting her time between writing new-business proposals, managing projects, designing interfaces, and meeting with clients. She is most excited by evolving technology that allows the visual, navigational and organizational design of an interactive piece of software to completely merge in the eyes of the user.
Sounds a lot like great theater.
Gregg Reich:
Working for That Foot in the Door
Like other English majors, Gregg Reich was sure no one would hire him after college. "I had no clue and no experience," says Reich. Graduate school never looked so appealing.
"When Drexel's Science and Technical Communication brochure came in, I knew it was for me," says Reich. During school, he interned for a financial services firm, developing documentation for the firm's proprietary software.
After graduate school, Reich decided to stay in the computer area as a freelancer. His first client, Bluestone Corporation, a growing computer consulting and software firm, was a referral from the financial services firm. His second client was something of a stretch. "A friend was working at Thomas Jefferson University and had a small project he needed help with," says Reich. One project turned into two, and not long after he was offered a full-time job as a medical marketing writer.
Did his lack of medical experience hinder him? "If you're a technical writer you have the ability to walk in with no knowledge about something and grasp the concepts," says Reich. It didn't hurt, though, that he had volunteered for the American Heart Association during graduate school.
Alan Selsor:
Each Experience Builds on the Next
His resume may look scattered to the outside observer, but those who know Alan Selsor know that it follows a natural progression. After graduating with a degree in English, Selsor set off for the New York publishing scene, only to find it as treacherous as it is rumored to be. Selsor left publishing and joined Drexel University's in-house marketing department, where he headed the publications group, writing and managing an army of publications, including marketing pieces, the alumni magazine and the annual report. Selsor's decision to leave his job and study at Drexel's College of Information Studies temporarily put an end to his writing career.
"I wanted to get a master's degree to enhance my prospects as a writer," says Selsor, who thought he might end up writing about computers. He ended up as a programmer for Cigna Systems, where he spent four years. "At first I worked on decision support systems which require clear thinking, organization, and good communication skills--skills I had developed as a writer," says Selsor. But when the job became increasingly technical, Selsor felt the tug of writing. In the summer of 1995 he quit his job to start freelance writing.
"My two main clients are Drexel and the University of Pennsylvania," says Selsor, who, not surprisingly, went back to a familiar industry. Having worked in a for-profit, highly competitive corporation has heightened his awareness of business issues, says Selsor, who is often called on to explain new technology programs to prospective students. Selsor is even using his programming skills as he takes on Internet and Web publishing projects for his clients.
John Zuchero:
Riding the Entrepreneurial Wave
Entrepreneurship is one of the constants in Zuchero's career. His "Why not?" attitude has led to several career changes and to opportunities that most people never find. A former high school biology teacher, Zuchero parlayed an interest in communication into an instructional design position at Unisys Corporation. He later moved on to communications management within Unisys, where he headed a group of 15 technical writers. Finally, in the spring of 1995, he uncovered another opportunity at Unisys that involved computer based training (CBT), an area of interest to Zuchero. Now a training manager, he develops traditional training programs as well as multimedia computer-based training for customers of Unisys' distributed computing environment products.
Zuchero talks with great energy about the future for technical communicators. "Technical writers have so many great skills," says Zuchero. "They understand audience needs and they are task oriented. I'm always telling them how many career options are available to those who market themselves and their ideas."
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