By Jack Molisani | Fellow
I’ve been saying for years that technical communicators (as a group) have a wide range of professional skills, skills that can make you successful in not only tech comm, but also in a myriad of related fields. I’ve also coached audiences that, to survive the rough times (and there will always be rough times), you should have multiple income streams, a career fallback plan, and finally a future plan to where you want your career to go in the long term.
So when I was asked to write about my job in the month’s issue, I thought, “Time to see if I practice what I preach!”
- Technical writer: I started my technical writing career well over 20 years ago. I still create my website copy, organize my conference program, and occasionally help a prior client with small jobs here and there.
- Salesperson: At one point I decided I no longer wanted to work 40 hours a week for other companies, so I started my own outsourced technical writing company. At first I found gigs and did the writing myself; later I concentrated on the business development end and brought on a business partner to create and deliver the projects.
- Recruiter: When clients started asking to help them find qualified candidates, I started a staffing division of the company specializing in programmers, project managers, and technical writers. Since I’ve done those jobs, I really understand what clients are looking for when hiring.
- Conference producer: In 2000 I helped organize the STC Region 7/8 Pan-Pacific Conference in Honolulu. At the end everyone was saying, “I can’t wait until the next one!” There were no plans to do another Region 7/8 event, and I also didn’t want to waste two years of hard-won meeting planning experience, so I decided to start my own commercial conference. Since part of the success of the first conference was having it in Hawaii, I decided to have my conference in Hawaii, too (hence the name “LavaCon”).
- Public speaker: While I had been speaking at my local chapters soon after I joined STC, I starting to speak at chapters across the United States (and a few teleclasses abroad) as a way of promoting both my companies. What most chapters wanted to hear about was career advice from a professional recruiter, so that was the area I would speak about: the top 10 mistakes writers make when looking for work, how to ace an interview using a portfolio, and other job-hunting secrets I learned from years of being in the business.
- Published author: I’ve lost count of how many times people who attended my sessions and workshops said they applied what I taught and immediately got a new or better job. Ditto when these same people said, “You should put this in a book!” Last Fall I ran across a publisher at a networking event who asked me what I do (try answering that question in a sentence!). She was intrigued and eventually offered me a book deal. So I took all the lessons I learned in life, in my job as a recruiter, and in my job as a conference producer, and wrote, Be the Captain of Your Career: A New Approach to Career Planning and Advancement (now shipping from Amazon.com).
- Full circle: I marvel sometimes at how all the various jobs I’ve had in my career have given me skills that (at the time) seemed a bit esoteric or dead-end, they have also given me the core competencies to do what I do for a living. I help candidates who need or want a new job and companies needing good talent. I produce educational conferences in fun places that give attendees the skills they need to save their companies money, generate revenue, and advance their own career in the process. I get to travel for public-speaking roles and had my book published, both of which continue to change people’s lives for the better. And I’ve done all of this from the core competencies of technical communication.
Over the years I have specifically chosen jobs I can do remotely, as I knew that someday my parents would need some help in their golden years. So greetings from Jacksonville Beach, FL. As soon as I email this to my editor, I’m running over to see the folks. Since many of you have met them working the LavaCon registration desk, I’ll let them know you say hello. I’m sure they’d want me to say hi in return!
