By Kit Brown-Hoekstra | Fellow and Cindy Currie | Fellow
Ask a Tech Comm Manager is an advice column geared toward answering all those questions you have, but might be uncomfortable asking. We glean the questions from social media, forums, and most importantly, from you, dear reader. If we don’t know an answer, we will interview experts and get information for you. Send us your questions to kitbh.stc@gmail.com or tweet them to @kitcomgenesis or the hashtag #askTCmgr.
Dear TC Manager:
I’m looking for a new job in technical communication, and every job asks for a different tool, many of which I don’t know. Why is there such a tool focus and how should I handle it when applying for jobs?
—Searching for a Job
Dear Searching:
The tools are listed in the job ad because 1) it’s easy for human resources to check it off the list, and 2) we want you to know what tools we use. When hiring, your knowledge of the tool is usually not as critical as other criteria because we know that you can quickly learn the tool, especially if you know other tools in the same category.
At the same time, we are looking for self-starters. So, if you don’t know the tool, download the free trial version, take a tutorial (from the manufacturer, www.lynda.com, www.ed2go.com, or one of the many free online courses known as MOOCS), and consider creating a writing sample using that tool. Once you have played with the tool, you can honestly put “familiar with Tool X” on your résumé. If you are asked about your experience with the tool during the interview, talk about what you’ve learned in using it, and make the point that you want to learn more.
Dear TC Manager:
I have to interview a subject matter expert so that I can get the information I need to complete my project. The deadline is rapidly approaching and the SME keeps cancelling our meetings at the last minute, and when I send a draft, includes rude or unhelpful comments but doesn’t tell me how to fix the error. What should I do?
—Frustrated Interviewer
Dear Frustrated Interviewer:
This can be a challenging situation. Many SMEs are hired for their technical expertise and sometimes have less than stellar communication skills. Before talking to the project manager or escalating the situation to your manager, try the following:
- Make sure that you are prepared for the meeting with the SME. Do your research and clearly identify the questions that you need the SME to answer. Try to resolve as many of your questions without involving the SME. (Are there technical and functional specifications or other information you can use as reference material?) And, be sure to send a reminder to the SME that their input is needed to meet the project schedule (a key measure for all project team members!), and to ensure the technical accuracy and completeness of the information.
- Consider creating a checklist that the SME can fill out. Make it as easy as possible for the SME to help you.
- If you are co-located, walk over to the SME’s office and talk to them face to face. Explain to them what types of information you need from them. Set a boundary about the types of comments that are unacceptable (be professional about it). For example, if the SME just wrote “this sucks” on your work and didn’t explain what the issues were, point out to them that you need constructive feedback in order to do your job and that they are responsible for the technical accuracy, so it’s in their best interest to help you get it right.
If talking to them hasn’t helped the situation, you might need to approach the project manager or your manager. When talking to managers, stick to the facts, stay calm, tell them what you have tried, identify what you want as a resolution to the problem, and ask for advice. Then, do what they recommend. Also, start copying the appropriate management team members on the requests.
Dear TC Manager:
I really want to go to the STC annual conference in May. How do I approach my boss about this?
—STC Member
Dear STC Member:
We are delighted that you want to come to the conference! Be sure to look us up while you are there.
The best way to get your boss to pay for the conference is to show what is in it for them and for the rest of your team. You can create a business case to do this. You want to keep it to 1-2 pages, while providing the information your boss needs:
- Opportunity: Write 1-2 sentences explaining the conference and why you think it would be helpful to the team for you to go. Include the URL for the STC conference site.
- Benefits: List the benefits of going. Examples might include combining the trip with a client visit or user group meetup, doing brown bags for the team with the Virtual Summit recordings, identifying new skills and trends that your team can build on, networking, identifying potential new team members, and so on.
- Risk Assessment: How will this affect your work and deadlines? (Hint: present a plan for getting your work done while you are gone.)
- Dates/Location: When/where is the conference?
- Costs: Provide all the costs associated with it.
- Call to Action: Request the funds and time away from the office to attend.
Remember, this is a negotiation, so think about all the questions and objections your manager might have and be fully prepared to address them. What is your bottom line? Consider if you would be willing and able to fund part of the trip yourself. If yes, put this fact on the table during a discussion with your manager after they’ve read your business case and you have a good indication of whether approval is forthcoming or some serious negotiating needs to take place. By offering to contribute some of your own resources to the trip, you would be making an investment in yourself and your career, and it could sway a difficult discussion in your favor.
KATHERINE (KIT) BROWN-HOEKSTRA is an STC Fellow, the 2015–2016 Immediate Past President, and an active mentor. For her day job, she is principal of Comgenesis, LLC, a consulting company that works in the space between technical communication and localization to help clients build better processes and global-ready content so that they can reach their customers wherever they live and work.
CINDY CURRIE is an STC Fellow, STC Past President (2009–2010), and currently a member of the STC Nominating Committee. Cindy’s day job is as a senior program manager for Hewlett Packard Enterprise where she manages the releases of numerous projects in the HPE Virtual Private Cloud portfolio.
