Posted by John Hewitt on 8/31/2008 under 30 Poems in 30 Days, Creativity, Featured, Jobs, March Writing Blog Madness, Poetry, Writing | 
30 Poems in 30 Days is an Internet writing project. It is an attempt by myself, and anyone who wants to play along, to write thirty poems in a month. As part of the project, I will be posting an article about poetry every day. At the end of the article there will be a poetry writing prompt. The prompt is there to help. There is no requirement that you follow the prompt. I may not even follow it myself. The goal is simply to write poetry. This project is similar in some ways to National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO). In fact, this year I have adopted a clever acronym - PD30 (pee-dee-three-oh).
How does PD30 work?
Every day in September I (or a guest writer) will post a short article about a poetic concept, a poem, a poetry form, the poetry world or a poet / group of poets. I will follow that with a poetry writing prompt. The prompt may be related to the subject of the article, but it may not be. As a participant, I would like you to either post a poem or at least post a note saying that you wrote a poem and perhaps include a line or two from the poem. It is also nice to comment on the poems that other participants have written. Additionally, because some writers do not want to post their poems publicly (for a variety of reasons) but still want to participate, I have created a private workshop. To get an idea of how this works, you may want to look as last year’s project.
Do I have to write a poem every day?
No. The goal is 30 Poems in 30 Days. Some people write in batches, other people write every day. As the moderator, I prefer daily postings because it keeps the conversation moving, but I understand that different people have different styles of working.
Do I have to do them all in September?
No. Once the posts are up, they’ll be there for the foreseeable future. You can start and end at any time. Do not expect, however, to have very much feedback after September because most people will have moved on.
I really, really, want feedback. I need to know if I’m any good. Will I get lots of feedback?
First, stop worrying about how good you are and just try to enjoy the assignments. Second, like any group project, the way the project develops depends on the group. If there are people who love to comment, that will be very helpful. I can’t guarantee feedback though, and I can tell you that begging for feedback rarely helps. It tends to annoy people.
How can I access the private workshop?
You can use my contact form to send me a note asking to take part in the PD30 private forum. I will then send you further instructions.
Is the private workshop better than the public posting?
I really have no idea. It is a new experiment this year. It may turn out to be where all the action is or it may be as dead as the careers of VH1 reality show participants. A forum is really only as good as the people who participate in it. There are a few tools in the forum that are nicer than comment tools. There is also less risk of your poem getting caught in the spam filter. Participation is really what will make the difference though.
Can I join the private forum but still post my poems in the comments at poewar.com?
Of course! I would be thrilled to see people participating in both places.
Posted by John Hewitt on 8/30/2008 under Jobs |
Today’s Writing Job Roll
Car Bloggers $11 per post
Freelance Writer – Virtual
Freelance Article Writers — Telecommute
Freelance Web Writer — Princeton, NJ
Freelance Web Editor — Seattle, WA
Bodybuilding Blogger — Telecommute
Entertainment Blogger — Telecommute
Freelance Cleaning Writer/Blogger — Telecommute
Biggest Loser Fan Diet Blogger — Telecommute
Film Blogger — Telecommute
Copywriter — Fort Lauderdale, FL
Copywriter — Raleigh, NC
Copywriter — Hoover, AL
Copywriter — New York, NY
Editor– Jacksonville, FL
Today’s Job and Writing Links
When a Client Doesn’t Like Your Work: If it ever happens, I’ll know how to deal with it.
Why Marketing Freelance Writing Services on Price is a Big No-No: Because you don’t make much money. There’s other reasons, but none of those matter as much.
30 Ways to Increase Your Creativity: “Come up with your own version of reality.” Check.
The 10 Worst Job Tips Ever: I agree with the money advice. If a company is put off by you discussing money, they’ll never pay you a decent amount anyway. I’m not taking the job for fun, I’m there to earn a living.
Random Thought of the Day
Worst Endings Ever: For Better or For Worse ended today. I can confidently say, it ended on “Worse”. I wish I could say that the comic itself was ending, but apparently Lynn Johnston is going to start the whole story over from the beginning. Lets hope she doesn’t just spend the next 20 years repeating herself.
Posted by John Hewitt on 8/28/2008 under 30 Poems in 30 Days, Featured, Jobs, Poetry, Writing |
Nominate me!
Michael Stelzner of Writing White Papers is launching his annual best writing blog contest. At this point, Men With Pens and Freelance Writing Jobs are the clear frontrunners when it comes to nominations. That’s understandable. They both have terrific blogs and vocal communities. I personally nominated Daily Writing Tips, which is a great blog that hadn’t gotten any love yet. I won’t lie to you. I’d love to see my site mentioned a few times, but even if you don’t nominate me, check out the comments. You might find a few good blogs you haven’t heard of yet.
Go comment at WWP
Write Poems with Me!
30 Poems in 30 Days is just around the corner (September 1sr). Some people have expressed an interest in having a more private location to post their poems and play along, so I have created one. It is so private that you are going to need to contact me in order to get the location. Just fill out the contact information and say that you want to be included in the 30 Poems in 30 Days secret site. I will email you the link and further instructions as soon as it is ready to roll.
Send me your information
Employ Me!
OK, I don’t actually need a job. I just wanted to keep with the “me” theme. What I want is feedback about the job pages on this site. You can find the links in the right sidebar under Jobs. I recently converted them to an Indeed.com feed, and I am not entirely pleased with the results. I get the feeling that some you aren’t too pleased either. Tell me in the comments what you think of them and how they can be improved. I can’t guarantee I can make changes, but the more feedback I can show them, the greater the chances that I can convince them to improve.
Posted by John Hewitt on under Jobs |
Today’s Writing Job Roll
Freelance Health and Medical Writer — New York, NY
Freelance Stock Writer — Telecommute
Online Editor — Hollywood, CA
Editor — Seattle, WA
Editor — Greensboro, NC
Editor — Palo Alto, CA
Editor/Senior Editor — Chicago, IL
Technical Writer/Editor — New York, NY
Writer — Rome, GA
Sr. Web Content Creative Writer — San Antonio, TX
Managing Editor — San Diego, CA
Consumer Electronics Writer — Phoenix, AZ
Copy Proofreader / Editor — Phoenix, AZ
Technical Writer/Editor — San Diego, CA
Proposal Writer — Rancho Cordova, CA
Technical Writer/Editor — Sterling, VA
Sr. Technical Writer — Cranston, RI
Technical Writer/Editor — Orlando, CA
Today’s Job and Writing Links
Freelancers and Credit Cards – Making a Tough Relationship Work: Freelancers and credit cards go hand-in-hand. Break the cycle.
How I Get Freelance Writing Gigs From My Blog: Blogs can bring you money in many different ways.
How to Create an Analogy: If you aren’t reading Basic Instructions, you should be.
Random Thought of the Day
Just finished watching the last season or Entourage. Those guys sure do know how to have a good time.
Posted by John Hewitt on 8/27/2008 under Jobs |
Today’s Writing Job Roll
Freelance Writer/Blogger — San Francisco, CA
Book Production Manager — Tucson, AZ
Managing Editor — Chicago, IL
Editor — Rockville, MD
Publishing Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief — New York, NY
Senior Editor, Movie Analysis — California
Technical Writer — Millington, TN
Technical Writer — Long Beach, CA
Television Writer / Blogger — Virtual
Web Editor — Seattle, WA
Reporter — Salem, OR
Technical Writer — Columbia, SC
Content Writers, $10 per article — Submissions
Today’s Job and Writing Links
Taking the Plunge: Becoming a Freelancer: A few thoughts from a budding freelancer / blogger.
What Makes Someone a Professional Blogger?: It has some nice guidelines for considering yourself a “professional” blogger. Unfortunately, I adhere to the original definition, which means that you aren’t a professional unless you pass some sort of certification process. Lawyers, Doctors and Real Estate Agents are professionals. Blogging might be a career or a business, but I’m not sure that it is a profession.
Random Thought of the Day
I got a new TV today. It’s 46 inches across and I can use it as a monitor. These letters are currently four inches tall.
Posted by John Hewitt on under Featured, Technical Writing, Writing |
If you want help creating documentation, get to know the trainers. I am frequently amazed at how little communication some companies have between the training and the documentation departments. In many cases, the training departments develop their own materials - existing as a completely separate unit. This can be an enormous waste of time and money. More than once I have sweated over creating a procedure, only to find out later that it was already in the training materials.
Trainers not only get to know the company’s products, they get to know the customers. For many (shortsighted) companies, the trainers are the closest thing you have to a usability team. They walk through the product in front of the clients, who inevitably have questions about the process or come up with scenarios that point out the limitations of the product. On the flip side, documentation people frequently have information that trainers can use. I am often in the position of telling a trainer that a change in the product is coming. For those trainers who do create their own materials, I always try to provide any editing or formatting assistance they may need.
I attend as many training sessions as I can fit in my schedule. I rarely turn down an opportunity, even if I have been to the training before. When possible, I record the trainings so that I can listen to them later. In some cases, company rules prevent this, but if you can record a training session, do it. One of the benefits of this is that you capture knowledge that could easily disappear if that trainer leaves the company.
Tips for attending trainings:
- Trainings can be dull. Bring a caffeinated beverage or energy drink, just in case you start to drift off.
- Make sure you keep whatever training materials are given out, and get electronic copies if possible.
- Invest in a digital audio recorder. You can then download audio files of training sessions directly into your computer.
- Know your role. In some training sessions, especially client training sessions, you may need to be a silent observer. In other training sessions you will be able to ask any question you want. Check with the trainer beforehand.
- Some trainers are willing to schedule one-on-one training sessions that you can use to take notes and ask documentation-related questions that might otherwise be distracting in a classroom. This also allows the trainer to practice in a lower-stress environment.
- Share your own information with the trainer. Cooperation will help both groups.
Does anyone else have tips that they would like to add?
Part Four of a Series:
Posted by John Hewitt on 8/26/2008 under Featured, Technical Writing, Writing |
Getting to know a product is one of the keys to documenting that product. You “walk through” the various features and procedures and document them as you go. In some cases this is easy and in other cases it is difficult. Sometimes the product you are documenting does things that are outside of your level of experience or are based on complex sets of data and configurations.
For example, documenting a word processor gives you plenty of opportunities to explore. You can wotk with all of the standard features. Some of the more complex features may require specific information or applications, but every feature and is available (or should be). Additionally, because you are a writer, a word processor has you as one of its target users. Most of the features are ones that you would want to access and understand as an end user and that the applications designers would want you to access and understand.
Some products aren’t as easy to play with. For example, let’s say that you are documenting a program that links merchants, independent sales organizations (ISOs “eyesos”) and banks to a credit card processing system. Because you are a technical writer and thus are not a merchant, ISO, or a bank, this is not a program that has you as a target user. This means that the processes and features are not aimed at your skill set or goals. Much of the information you need to complete the tasks may not be readily available or easily replicated
If an application like this were being used to board an actual merchant, that merchant would have at least one merchant point-of-sale (POS) terminal to add to the system. There are dozens of different POS terminals that a merchant may choose from, and each has different data sets to be loaded. Some users may only be using the system for authorization and capture (front-end processing) while others may also use the program for clearing and settlement (back-end processing). For an extra, added level of difficulty, assume that the merchants, the ISOs and the banks all see a different version of the program, and that each may have any of 31 different configuration options that could change what they see on the screen. Also assume that you cannot use live data because that would give you access to sensitive information about a company’s finances as well as thousands of user’s credit card numbers. All of this, of course, assumes that the program is complete and operational when you are documenting it. Often features only become fully operational a week or two before the product rollout - which is about the time that the documentation is supposed to be available.
As you can see, while using the product is a key way to document the program, it can be difficult. Sometimes you have to use “dummy” or “scrubbed” data that has been designed to simulate the information you might actually use in the program. The problem with this is that dummy information is not real and it is not flexible. It can make accounting for every scenario difficult. In many cases, this is why you see documentation that is general and does not address all of your problems as a user. Often there are just too many scenarios and possible results to document.
Here are some tips to help you walk through a product:
- Get as much information beforehand as possible. You can often access functional designs or testing scripts that provide the process steps for you to work with.
- Consider the different types of users a product has and the different needs those users have.
- Try to simulate the actual user’s experiences and data as closely as possible.
- It is often good to walk through the program with other users or SMEs so that people with the appropriate knowledge or goals are on hand.
- Make mistakes. It is good to know what will happen if the user doesn’t do what they are expected to do.
- Take screen shots of applications while you work with them. You may or may not be able to use them in your documentation, but at minimum you can refer to them at times when you do not have access to the product.
- If something doesn’t function as designed, let the appropriate people know. Different companies have different processes for this, but sharing that information is vital to making the product work.
- Try out similar products if you have access to them. It is good to see how other products work with a user’s needs.
Does anyone else have any tips to add?
Part Three of a Series:
Part One: How Technical Writers Gather Information: Attending / Holding Meetings
Part Two: How Technical Writers Gather Information: Interviewing the SMEs
Posted by John Hewitt on 8/25/2008 under Featured, Technical Writing, Writing |
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs / Smees) are resources who have expertise in the product / subject you are documenting. Many people within a company become SMEs for various reasons. Business analysts, program analysts, engineers and designers are often the people who create the design for a product or request the changes that will be made to a product, so they become SMEs. Programmers write the code that makes a product run, so they become SMEs. Trainers teach people how to use the products, so they become SMEs. Testers make sure the product operates properly, so they become SMEs. Technical support works with people to solve their problems using the product, so they become SMEs. If you spend enough time documenting the same product you may also eventually become a SME.
Most SMEs are technical people, but many of them are not skilled at explaining how things work. That is one of the reasons why technical writers get hired in the first place. Technical writers explain things that other people either haven’t got the skills to explain, or haven’t got the time to explain. That means the technical writer has to talk to these people and get the information out of them. This isn’t always easy, but it is generally necessary.
In many cases, SMEs are very busy. Getting a second meeting with them may be difficult, so prepare as much as possible for the first meeting by getting to know the subject, figuring out what questions to ask and having any necessary materials ready. Here are a few more hints to help you get the most out of a SME.
- Bring an audio recorder. This doesn’t eliminate the need to take notes, but it does give you a backup. Most people speak far faster than most people write, so having the recorder makes it easier to go back and get information.
- Ask questions that get the SME to address your needs as a technical writer. Here are a few starters:
- What does a first time user need to know about this?
- What does an experienced user need to know about this?
- What is the process for completing the task?
- What happens if the user makes a mistake?
- Are there any other parts of the product/documentation that will need to change because of this?
- Be courteous even if the SME is not. An angry SME is a real pain in the neck.
- Bring snacks / bribes.
- Follow up with an email that restates the information that the SME gave you so that they have a chance to make changes and so that they will not be able to claim they were misunderstood.
Does anyone else have any tips to add?
Part Two of a Series:
Part One: How Technical Writers Gather Information: Attending / Holding Meetings
Posted by John Hewitt on under Jobs |
Today’s Writing Job Roll
Freelance Writer / Analyst — Alexandria, VA
Freelance Writers — Telecoimmute
Freelance Web Content Writer — Houston, TX
Freelance Horticulture Copywriter — Illinois
Copywriter — Milwaukee, WI
Copywriter — Portland, ME
Marketing Copywriter — Ohio
Technical Editor — Tucson, AZ
Assistant Editor — Washington, DC
Editor — Rockville, MD
Senior Editor — Mountain View, CA
Editor, Technical — Washington, DC
Writer — Portsmouth, NH
Assistant Professor of English (Specialist in Fiction Writing) — Oneonta, NY
Publications Assistant — Chantilly, VA
Technical Writer / Editor — Sterling, VA
Web Editor — Cambridge, MA
Technical Writer — Frederick, MD
Technical Writer — Alviso, CA
Technical Writer — San Antonio, TX
Today’s Job and Writing Links
People are our most important asset!: And assets are there to be spent. This is a great example of management by ultimatum.
How to Feel Consistently Confident About Your Writing: James and Harry are looking for you to give and receive link love. Comment on your favorite bloggers.
20 Things You Need To Do Before You’re Free To Blog: A testament to diminishing expectations and bloggers.
Random Thought of the Day
Joe Biden? Seriously? There was no one better than Joe Biden available?
Posted by John Hewitt on 8/22/2008 under Jobs |
Today’s Writing Job Roll
Freelance Lifestyle Bloggers — $15 per post
Freelance Sports Writers — Colorado
Health Care Freelance Writer — Telecommute
Freelance Food Editor (Fluent in French) — New York, NY
Technical Writer — Marlborough, VA
Technical Writer — Middletown, RI
Technical Writer — Saint Petersburg, FL
Technical Writer — Lincoln, NE
Technical Writer — Redwood City, CA
Technical Writer — Sunnyvale, CA
Technical Writer — Carlsbad, CA
Technical Writer- Avionics — Tucson, AZ
Technical Writer — Chandler, AZ
Technical Writer — Palo Alto, CA
Proofreader — Johns Island, SC
Today’s Job and Writing Links
The Fortune 500 4-Hour Workweek: Multiplying Output in Groups (Plus: Downloadable Checklists): Tim Ferriss applies his lifestyle design rules to corporations. You have to love a guy who hates busywork this much. BYW Tim, your diet just has me packing on muscles instead of actually losing weight. PoeWar SMASH!
Getting a Job: Networking 101: The basics of using contacts to get a job. It is a little heavy on the high-finance angle. In the tech geek world, nobody has ever mentioned the Wall Street Journal in conversation. Try Lifehacker instead.
Random Thought of the Day
Last night I stayed up till 11:30 and watched four episodes of Entourage. Thats right everybody, I have today off! Party time!
Posted by John Hewitt on 8/21/2008 under 30 Poems in 30 Days, Featured, Poetry, Writing |
I have been giving the 30 Poems in 30 Days concept a lot of thought. I’ve have had a moderate number of people say that they are interested, and that is encouraging, but as several people have pointed out, writing form poetry isn’t easy, and to pull off 30 forms in a month is too much to expect from just about anyone.
I have also had a number of people indicate that they would be comfortable following along “at home”, but they aren’t comfortable posting their poetry in a public forum, either because they aren’t confident in their poetry or because they are afraid of theft. I am unafraid of theft or public embarrassment (I sing karaoke) but I can sympathize with those of you who are.
For those reasons, I have decided to go with a more simple structure. I, or a guest writer, will discuss a poetry topic every day. That topic could be a form, a concept, an author or an experience. At the end of the post I will include a writing prompt. The prompt will not be binding. You can choose to follow the prompt or follow a whim. The prompt is just there to help you along.
All I ask is that you do one (or more) of the following in the comments:
- Post to say that you wrote a poem (or didn’t) and perhaps give your opinion of how you did
- Post an excerpt from the poem you wrote (just a few lines to show your approach) so that people can get an impression of your work
- Post your poem in its entirety (for the especially brave)
- Comment on either the topic or on other people’s poems (respectfully)
The point is that this project only works if people participate. Writing 30 poems in 30 days (or writing about poetry for 30 days) isn’t an easy task. I have to accomplish BOTH of those tasks. People (including me) need encouragement. No one expects every poem to be great. The important thing is to try to stretch your abilities as a writer.
So, I will move forward with the project. I hope that people will give it a try. Don’t quit if you get behind, just pick up the next assignment and run with it.
Final Note: For those of you who have volunteered to write a guest post. I am interested, even if I haven’t gotten back to you personally. I will do my best to contact you soon.
Posted by John Hewitt on under Jobs |
Today’s Writing Job Roll
Technical Writer — Phoenix, AZ
Technical Writer — Tucson, AZ
Health Care Freelance Writer — Telecommute
Freelance Copywriter — Richmond, VA
Two Freelance Bilingual Copywriters — Los Angeles, CA
Freelance Assignment Editor — Glendale, CA
Freelance Assistant Editor (Lifetime Channel) — Los Angeles, CA
Children’s Manuscript Editor — Boston, MA
Literary Publicist — New York, NY
Multi-Media Reporter/Producer — San Diego, CA
Newsperson/Airlines and Transportation Reporter — Washington, DC
Writer/Blogger — Scottsdale, AZ
Cell Phone/Mobile Blogger — Telecommute
Content Editor, eHow — Santa Monica, CA
Today’s Job and Writing Links
How Writing Contests Can Kill Your Freelance Writing Career: I was amazed at how few people entered my contest. I wonder which rule I violated.
Why does a girl have to be so silly to catch a client? It’s all about the shoes.
Why Write? I write because I’m sitting down. It’s good to see you posting again Bob.
Interview Tip: Leave the salary out of it. On the one hand I agree, it can hurt you in some interviews. On the other hand, what the hell are you there for if not money? Does anybody really think you are there for the “challenge”?
How to Find Time to Write While You’re Still A Wage Slave: Step one, sit down. Step two, write.
7 People to Avoid Like Hell in the Office: I don’t quite fit into any category. Does snarky conspiracy theorist need a place on the list?
Deb Ng’s Live and Let Live Guide to Blogging: I think Live and Let Blog would have been a better title. Still, it is good advice.
Random Thought of the Day
My Guide to Essay and Paper Writing is suddenly in my site’s top ten pages viewed list again. Welcome back to school kids!
Posted by John Hewitt on 8/20/2008 under Featured, Technical Writing, Writing, Writing Business |
Bullet Points
- Third-party personnel recruiters work with companies that are searching for one or more employees.
- Third-party recruiters work on a commission basis, with the commission typically amounting to about 20 to 25 percent of the employee’s first-year salary.
- Third party recruiters are put in the delicate position of having to reconcile two sets of interests, those of the company and those of the candidate. In most cases, the interests of the company win out because the company is the one that pays the recruiter.
- Third party recruiters often have specialties, such as finding executives or technical employees. They may even specialize in very specific niches such as finding C++ programmers or engineers with government security clearances.
- Never work with an employment agency that charges you a fee.
- The song Amanda, by the band Boston, was their biggest hit. It reached number one on the singles chart in 1986.
The feeling takes so long to grow
After the contract with the megacorporation ended, the job market hit a short-term slump, at least locally. I had only one real suitor for a new position. It was a start-up out of Silicon Valley called eStamp. We had a slow courtship. I heard from them about every two weeks. The first call was from a recruiter, Amanda. Amanda was enthusiastic. She made the job sound fantastic and my chances sound great. The company she represented specialized in online stamp / mailing label sales. They needed a lead technical writer with strong web skills. Amanda liked my resume and my web site, so she decided that I was the perfect fit. The job paid a lot of money, $87,000 a year plus 1000 shares of stock per year for four years. I understood that the Bay Area housing market was pricy, but this seemed like enough money for me to live comfortably on and I liked the idea of moving to the nerve center of the geek universe. I also liked the idea of having a full-time job rather than a contract.
About two weeks passed before I had my first phone interview and another two weeks after that the company called for a follow-up interview. Both interviews went well, so they decided to fly me out to meet the crew for one final round of interviews. The trip took about two weeks to set up, of course. When I got there, everyone seemed enthusiastic and I came away feeling good. After the xenophobic atmosphere of the megacorporation, this little startup seemed downright friendly.
I’m gonna take you by surprise
Once I got home, however, another two weeks passed before I heard from them. Eventually, Amanda called to let me know that they wanted to hire me, but they were dropping their offer to $77,000. They wanted me to prove myself before they made me lead technical writer. It was a bit of a slap in the face. I had never had anyone cut their offer before.
If there had been any other opportunities brewing, I might have turned their offer down, but I needed work. I didn’t have any money left in my account. I told them that if they were going to drop my pay, then I needed a relocation allowance get me out there. At first they didn’t want to give it to me. They didn’t like the idea of laying out any money in advance. The company eventually agreed to give me $2000, but they wanted to put restrictions on it. The main sticking point was that they wanted the money back if I didn’t last at least six months. I was perfectly willing to give the money back if I quit, but I would not agree to repay them if they fired me or if I was laid off. Amanda was unsympathetic. She accused me of plotting to use eStamp to get to California where I could get a better-paying job. I explained to her that I was happy to repay them if I quit, but not if they decided to get rid of me. They were two separate issues. She told me she didn’t see the difference, but she would take my demand to them anyway. It was frustrating, and the days kept passing.
Tomorrow may be too late
I was about to cave in. I needed the job. I began to pack my stuff and I even signed the contract, but I left it on my desk rather than fax it to them. Amanda was supposed to give me eStamp’s final word on my request by the end of the day. I had decided that, no matter what their final offer was, I was going to take it and give the job my best shot.
At about two o’clock that afternoon, I got a phone call from a different recruiter - a local recruiter. This recruiter said she represented a major computer company that needed a new writer by Monday. I told her that was great, but if they wanted me, I needed an answer within three hours because I had another offer I was planning to take. Within ten minutes I was on the phone with the computer company’s technical communications manager and one of their writers. Within an hour my fax machine was spitting out a contract for a brand new job. Instead of heading blindly to Silicon Valley, I would be driving twenty minutes to a research park on the southeast side of Tucson. It was a contract job, and it paid less money, but I wouldn’t have to move.
I don’t wanna lose you
Amanda called at about four o’clock that afternoon. She was abrupt and irritated. She had decided to take a hard line with me. “They aren’t going to give in on this, so I need your answer now, yes or no.”
I took a breath. “I guess this isn’t going to work out then. Thank you for trying.”
“WHAT?”
To say that Amanda was upset would be a gross understatement. Amanda screamed. Amanda pouted. Amanda argued. It got even worse when she realized I was taking a position that paid less than their offer. I explained to her that this job didn’t require me to move. I could keep paying my dirt-cheap Tucson rent, so financially I would be better off. At some point Amanda started to cry. She accused me of leading her on. She called me a liar. She begged me to change my mind.
I stayed calm. I reminded her that eStamp had dragged their feet for almost two months. They had even dropped their offer. Once Amanda realized I wasn’t going to change my mind, she demanded that I call the manager at eStamp myself to tell her I wasn’t taking the job. This is not the sort of thing recruiters make applicants do, ever, but I agreed to do it just to get her off the phone.
There’s something I just have to say
I called the manager and let her know I was taking another job. The manager took it in stride. “This is the Silicon Valley,” the manager said, “it happens all the time. I don’t know why she was so upset.” The manager wished me luck in my new position and that was that. It was a strange day. I was thrilled to have a new job (and a local one at that) but I was also emotionally drained. I had never had a recruiter go through a meltdown before.
I was once again a gainfully employed technical writer. I had gone from a megacorporation to an even larger company. It was a company that had once been fabled for both its size and its culture. Even after ten years of layoffs, it was still one of the largest companies in the world. They were the stuff of legends. The glory days had since passed, but I was still going to be working for The Big Mothership. We’ll call it TBM. Now, the adventure was truly about to begin…
Further Reading
A Boston Technical Recruiters Blog: Even recruiters blog. There is some good advice here.
Deceptive Recruiting: HR’s Last Stand? A discussion of recruiter ethics
Questions
What experiences have you had with recruiters?
What is the longest period you’ve ever had to wait between an interview and a job offer?
Have you ever had to personally turn down an employer?
Posted by John Hewitt on under Jobs |
Today’s Writing Job Roll
Personal Development Bloggers — Anywhere
Freelance Writers — Missouri
Freelance Construction Writer — Southeast US
Freelance Proofreader — New jersey
Tech Blogger for Digital Photo Gadgets — Telecommute
Gadget Bloggers — Telecommute
Medical Blog Writer — Telecommute
Freelance Expat blog posts — Telecommute
Forex Blog Writing — Telecommute
Copywriter — Wisconsin
Copywriter — New Jersey
Copywriter — Kentucky
Copywriter — Mobile, AL
Editor — Chicago, IL
Professor and Chair of Creative Writing (Fiction) — Austin, TX
Assistant Professor of Composition & Humanities — Fort Washington, PA
Corporate Web Editor / Writer — Princeton, NJ
Writer / Editor — Arlington, VA
Proofreader — Minnesota
Technical Writer — Tucson, AZ
Harley-Davidson Technical Writer — Wisconsin
Today’s Job and Writing Links
Freelance Writing Success: Your Way or Mine? Amy Derby blogs about using personal satisfaction as a freelance goal. She also has a spiffy new web design. Check it out.
Will You Become A Corporate Blog Whore? I knew I wanted to post this article as soon as I saw the title, but then I saw that Cath even mentioned me in the article. As for whether or not I would be, all I can say is, not for the prices they’re paying right now.
Invest in Your Writing Career and Build a Richer Future: I asked Fonzie, and he told me there’s nothing cooler than diversified residual income streams. Then he jumped is bike over 14 blogs.
The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: A Review: They liked it. They really, really liked it.
Five Reasons Why Blogging Leads to Writing Jobs: Basically it is about free marketing, portfolio building, expanding your knowledge.
Random Thought of the Day
Mary Worth characters should not have sexual thoughts — ever!
Posted by John Hewitt on 8/18/2008 under Featured, Technical Writing, Writing, Writing Business |
Bullet Points
- Megacorporation is a term popularized by the cyberpunk novels of William Gibson. It denotes a multi-national corporation that has become so large that in many cases it is its own customer or even its own government. Megacorporations often come complete with their own military. These companies are considered to be fictional, but the company I worked at had a U.S. Army base in its parking lot, so I will let you be the judge.
- Cubicle farm is a term popularized by Scott Adams of Dilbert fame. It describes an enormous room partitioned off by low fabric walls that separate workers (but not sound). These cubicles are approximately the same size and dimensions as the stalls that farms use to house large animals. Another farm-related term for a cubicle is veal-fattening pen which was popularized by Douglas Adams in the book Generation X.
- A disaster recovery plan is a plan for resuming key business functions (such as payroll and accounting) after a catastrophic disruption in operations. Such a plan presumes that no specific team member can be reached or contribute to the recovery, so all processes must be independently executable.
- An extended stay hotel caters to business travelers who are in need of short to long-term housing. The rooms tend to come with kitchens, free local phone service, weekly or twice-weekly maid service, and on-site laundry facilities. The better hotels have full cable television, concierge service, a pool and free continental breakfast. I wasn’t at one of the better ones.
- Phoenix, Arizona regularly reaches temperatures above 110 degrees in the summer.
Welcome to the Machine
The branch of the megacorporation that I worked at was housed in a low-slung building that stretched on for at least a quarter-mile. My cubicle was in a warehouse-sized room that seemed to never end. At least 400 of us worked in this vast cubicle farm. My stall was located across the aisle from a flock of customer support personnel who serviced the Asian branches of the company. At any time during the day, I could hear a cacophony of languages that I didn’t understand a word of.
Their customer service work had nothing to do with my job, and not a single person in my row greeted me when I arrived or said anything beyond hello at any point during my stay. The only time I ever heard from any of them was when one of their herd sent an e-mail asking me to stop snapping my gum. I was chewing ginseng gum at the time in an effort to curb hunger pains as part of my most recent ridiculous diet. Apparently none of them were willing to ask me to stop directly. That would have required speaking to me. I was greatly amused to discover that my noise distracted them as much as their noise distracted me. I didn’t stop chewing the gum but I did try to back off on the snapping - a little.
Fly Casual
It turned out that writing service level agreements wasn’t as boring as I thought it was. It was geometrically more boring than I thought it was. I wasn’t even writing the materials. A friendly but bland middle manager wrote them up. All I had to do was read through the documents and fix the grammar, usage and formatting. I then sent the documents back to the friendly but bland middle manager and if he had any questions, he emailed them back to me. We rarely saw each other.
The work itself would have made for a dreadfully dull job, but the real problem was that he only produced something for me to edit about every three weeks. The remaining days were spent trying to look busy without using the Internet. If I didn’t look busy or if people saw me use the Internet, people complained. They didn’t complain to me. They didn’t talk to me at all. They complained to my friendly but bland middle-manager. This would result in an email from him. The friendly but bland middle manager sympathized with my lack of work, and he never seemed angry, but he made it clear that I could only use the Internet “during lunch”. To cope with my boredom, I brought in books on web development and FrameMaker. I also read whatever SAP guides they had lying around. It helped me to look busy, and I did learn a few things, but the days just dragged by.
Summer in the City
In addition to being bored at work, I was also bored when I got off work. I still considered Tucson to be my home, but I needed a place to stay in Phoenix. I rented a room by the week at an extended stay hotel. The room was decent, if ugly. It had a framed picture on the wall that I was sure contained a carpet remnant. It had a kitchen, but I never bothered to cook. I mainly lived off of Subway sandwiches (it worked for Jared) and Gatorade along with a refrigerator shelf full of the Kirkland brand diet drink. I had begun the job in the middle of July and the temperature rarely dipped under 100 degrees even in the middle of the night, so I never felt like going anywhere. For the most part I came home and watched baseball on the television or went for a swim. I scribbled some poetry in my journal then went to bed.
By late September I gave up on living in Phoenix and started driving up from Tucson every day. I did this mainly because it killed time and I could at least see my friends and family for an hour or two. I began listening to books on tape as I drove: A Brief History of Time, The Razor’s Edge, The Lord of the Rings trilogy (plus The Hobbit), the Interview with a Vampire series. Books on tape kept me going. All the driving was exhausting though. By late October the temperature had cooled somewhat, and I spent many of my lunch hours over the fall and winter months sleeping in my car. The office building was under the approach to Sky Harbor Airport. I watched the planes cruise in above me, one every thirty seconds, until I fell asleep. It was just like counting sheep.
Flirtin’ With Disaster
Because I had nothing to do, and therefore no good reason to say no, the bland but friendly middle manager started sending me to meetings to take notes for him. I considered this to be secretarial work, and told him so, but it was still more pleasant than sitting in my cubicle trying to look busy. Most of these meetings were the standard megacorporation time-wasters. A roomful of people would gather to argue over timelines, statuses and budgets.
One group managed to capture my interest — the Disaster Recovery Team (DRT). The DRT (pronounced dirt) met every week to work on a plan for what to do if the central SAP site was destroyed and everyone was either dead or missing. This was a megacorporation, and it had a worldwide organization to run whether we were at the bottom of a smoking crater or not. I volunteered to write the disaster recovery plan. They had set up collocations for the servers in Illinois and an archive storage facility in upstate New York. We put together a plan to reassemble this information if a disaster struck. We all agreed, quite rightly, that the priority would be the payroll department. The processes I documented were dry, but the meetings were fun because we got to spend a lot of time thinking of ways in which the site could be destroyed: earthquakes, fires, riots, chemical attacks, nuclear attacks, even disgruntled workers. We decided that a gun-toting employee did not rise to the level of disaster and was therefore outside of our scope. All of this speculation helped me to pass the days.
Goodbye Stranger
Beyond those moments, the job never did get interesting. After about eight months the friendly but bland middle manager called me in to let me know they were terminating my contract early. They didn’t have anything for me to do. He was nice enough to give me a month’s notice so I didn’t make waves about the “year contract” I had agreed to. Arizona is a right-to-work state, so I really didn’t have any recourse anyway. They could have let me go at any time.
I sent my resume out to the usual suspects, but the month passed without a nibble. To tell the truth, I wasn’t that disappointed. The daily drive and the boredom had left me exhausted and burnt out. I needed a break. The week after the job ended, my health caught up to me. I came down with a severe case of the flu and I barely got out of bed for almost a month. I laid in bed and read, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, about a dozen times. Getting lost in the woods of northern Maine seemed oddly similar to having a never-ending bout with the flu. It was quite a while before I felt like myself again, and by then I was in desperate need of another job. It was right about then that Silicon Valley called and asked me out on a date. Would it be a Love Connection?
Further Reading
Questions
- What experiences have you had with large corporations?
- Have you ever been housed in a cubicle farm?
- What is your ideal (realistic) corporate environment? Do you consider one to be possible?
- Would it be a good idea to create a personal disaster recovery plan?
Posted by John Hewitt on under Jobs |
Today’s Writing Job Roll
Political Blogger — Tucson, AZ
Copywriter — Greenville, Wi
Copywriter — Mobile, AL
Editor — Modesto, CA
Editor — New York, NY
Editor — Washington, DC
Technical Writer/Editor — Virginia
Junior Writer/Editor — Silver Springs, MD
Proofreader — Parsippany, NJ
Proofreader — Washington, DC
Technical Writer — Tucson, AZ
Technical Writer — San Jose, CA
Technical Writer — Beverly Hills, CA
Technical Writer — Ithaca, NY
Today’s Job and Writing Links
Forget the Details and Work On the Big Picture: Harry realized something about web design today. Work on the whole darn thing. I’m proud of him.
Does Your Website Smell? I was hoping this article was about Chronic CSS Halitosis, something I have been fighting for years, but it is about adding emotion to your copywriting.
25 Painless Ways to Free Up an Hour a Day for Your Goals: To which I will add, “screw it, just do it”.
Goodbye, Cubicle. I Quit My Job Today: I’ve modded my cubicle so much it would take two weeks notice to set the thing right again.
Tips for Staying Ahead of Your Freelance Writing Work: Can you mind map your way into more freelance work?
Posted by John Hewitt on 8/17/2008 under Featured, Technical Writing, Writing, Writing Business |
Bullet Points
- The more relaxed you are, the better a job interview tends to go
- Subject knowledge is great, but tools skills help you land jobs
- A service level agreement (SLA) is a document that describes the performance criteria a provider promises to meet while delivering a service.
The Next Interview
I drove to Phoenix to interview for a contract at a company that specialized in providing computer services and training. This company was a major player in the services field, but the place was decidedly less fancy than the one that had flown me into Dallas. The corporate location doubled as a call center. Like most call centers, the walls were covered with motivational sayings and banners pushing sales level contests and company pride. I couldn’t help but think of my experiences with the Help Desk manager at PHPS who wanted me to be a high-energy technical writer with a big smile on my face. The manager at this company, however, was decidedly low-energy. He was overweight and unkempt — exactly the sort of geek I was comfortable working with.
We went over my experience and I showed him my newly improved portfolio. He seemed happy with it. He asked me the standard questions about past experience and work styles. He seemed to like my answers and I felt as if I was a good fit for what they were looking for. At the end of the interview he asked how soon I could be available if they decided they needed me. “Next week,” I told him. He nodded and shook my hand. I wasn’t sure if I had the job, but I felt better about this interview than I did about the interview in Dallas. When I got home, there was a message on my voice mail from the recruiter. She said that the manager had been very impressed. He had one more interview left to do, but I was the front-runner.
A few minutes later, I received a phone call from another Phoenix recruiter. This recruiter wanted to know if I was available for an interview today. I told her that I had just gotten back from Phoenix. I couldn’t handle driving back up there again that day, but I would be happy to come in the next day. She set up a meeting for eight the next morning.
Mega-Corporation
It was another contract position. This interview was with a mega-corporation that had more fingers in more pies than you can imagine. The first two companies I had interviewed with were in the Fortune 500, but this one was in the top ten. It not only had a substantial retail and manufacturing presence, it was also a major military contractor. The location I interviewed at came complete with its own little U.S. Army base.
I interviewed with two people, a manager and a writer. The writer had accepted another position, and they were looking for someone to replace her. Of my three interviews, this was the most relaxed. I was fairly sure that I had the other job and it showed. I sat back in my chair and listened to the two of them pitch the position. They told me that I would be writing supporting documentation for a major SAP (a finance and administration package for large companies) conversion project. Much of my work would be service level agreements and planning documents. It sounded like a dull job to me, but I didn’t say that in the interview. I stayed positive. My interviewers were mainly concerned with my Microsoft Word and FrameMaker skills. I told them I had once been a Microsoft Word trainer, and that everything in my portfolio was created in FrameMaker. That was what they wanted to hear. I walked out of the meeting feeling good.
An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse
That afternoon I got feedback on all three of my interviews. The interview in Dallas had been a bust, just as I suspected. They didn’t like my sample and they didn’t think I was a good fit for the company. The recruiter seemed slightly annoyed with me, and reminded me that my beach time would end with the next check. I was no longer their employee. Both Phoenix interviews, however, resulted in job offers. The computer services company offered me $25 per hour for a six-month contract that could extend “indefinitely”. The megacorporation offered me the same amount, but for a year contract. I told the recruiter and account manager for the megacorporation that I preferred the other contract. The duration was shorter, but the work sounded more interesting to me. I told them I didn’t want to spend the next year of life writing service level agreements and such.
The account manager asked if a higher offer might persuade me. I told her it might, but that I planned to accept the other offer as soon as I got off the phone. She asked me to wait a half hour. Forty-five minutes later, she called back. She upped the offer to $30 an hour plus a $240 a week tax-free mileage allowance for my travel expenses. I still wasn’t too thrilled with the work, but I needed the money (my debts were far from paid off) so I took the offer. Little did I know that I would soon be flirting with disaster…
Further Reading
Technical Writing – Finding Jobs Through Agencies by Ugur Akinci, Ph.D.: Additional information on what to consider when using a consulting agency in your technical writing job search.
Questions
- If you had to choose between a moderate paying job that sounded interesting or a much higher paying job that sounded dull, which would you choose?
- Would your answer change if you were deep in debt or completely out of debt?
Note: This post was originally a part of the last post in the series, Planes, Trainers and Automobiles but was separated because it ran too long. The two posts are really companion pieces.
Posted by John Hewitt on 8/16/2008 under Jobs |
Today’s Writing Job Roll
Freelance Political Writer — Telecommute
Food Blogger — San Francisco, CA
Chicken Soup for the Soul — Seeking submissions
Freelance Writer Author Work — Telecommute
Freelance Copywriter — New York, NY
Freelance News Writer — New York, NY
Freelance Writer — Washington, DC
Copywriter — Menlo Park, CA
Copywriter — Washington, DC
Editor — Garden City, NJ
Reward Credit Card Blogger — Telecommute
Proofreader — Chicago, IL
Sports Writer — Texas
Technical Writer — Burlington, MA
Today’s Job and Writing Links
Freelance Writing Jobs Accused of Scammery and Fraud: One of the best freelance writer blogs on the Internet is under fire. Is it fair criticism or vicious hit job? Decide for yourself.
Building a Freelance Business on the Side: Starting a freelance business isn’t easy, especially if you are also juggling a full-time Job. Patsi Krakoff gives a clear demonstration of the difficulties and rewards.
5 Signs That This Isn’t The Gig for You:Some jobs just aren’t right, espeically ones that raise ethical dilemmas.
10 Steps to the Perfect List Post: I used to do a lot of list posts, until I figured out that I preferred to just do a post for each item on the list instead.
Posted by John Hewitt on 8/15/2008 under Featured,
