Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter
February/March 2009
| Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter February/March 2009 |
The current recession continues, and it is impacting many STC members and their families. Analysts' predictions indicate that the economy may continue to get worse before a recovery occurs. The Bay Area is still losing jobs at a high rate. So, what are you going to do in this economic climate? You need to ride it out. If you are looking for work, or if you know that you will be looking for work in the near future, you should be networking as much as possible. If fact, start networking now!
In addition to networking, update your resume and always carry a few copies of it with you. Be ready to give a copy of it to your colleagues, friends, and fellow STC members. Take it with you to your monthly STC meetings. In fact, we plan to set aside some table space for people to display their resumes and business cards. Just remember that you never stop networking. It is an ongoing activity. Pick up the telephone and call former coworkers and bosses. Follow up with telephone calls to the people that they recommend.
This is also the time to "think out of the box" regarding your profession. Where else can you use your writing skills? What other industries are hiring writers? Do some research and see if there is a fit for you in another industry. Make some telephone calls to schedule informational interviews. Remember to network, network, network.
I am very happy to announce that two STC San Francisco chapter members have each been awarded the level of Associate Fellow. I want to publicly thank Susan Becker and Dr. Louise (Lu) Rehling for their years of dedication and service to the Society for Technical Communication, to the San Francisco chapter, and to the technical writing profession. Susan and Lu will receive their Associate Fellow plaques at an awards banquet held during the Technical Communication Summit: STC's 56th annual conference. This conference will take place in Atlanta, Georgia from Sunday, May 3 until Wednesday, May 6, 2009. I hope to see some of you at this conference.