Month: May 2017

My husband, who is not a native English speaker (although he reads, writes, and speaks English better than some native speakers), always likes to poke fun at the English language every chance he can get. I suppose it’s because he still makes the occasional mistake now and then, and he knows I’ll correct him. 😉

Today, he sent me this little video.  Enjoy.

Job security is a thing of the past, and we are all entrepreneurs now whether we work for ourselves or someone else. Are you ready to navigate the new-millennium working world? Here are ten ways to get there!

Source: Job Security Is Disappearing — What Does It Mean For You?

This is an important article to read, especially as a technical communicator. I know that for me, the idea of a long term position and job security was gone by the time I got out of college almost thirty years ago.  Just as this article says, the idea of working in the same place for a long time is almost unheard of. I’ve never worked anywhere full-time for more than three years. (The next longest gig, that wasn’t a volunteer one, was two and a half years with a three month break, and then brought back on part-time for a couple hours here and there for the past year and a half. Not quite the same.)  I have been looking for a full-time technical communications position for MANY years. I have never known job security, so when I am unemployed or “between jobs”, I truly get restless and feel freaked out, because I know that you have to be able to grab whatever you can get in a fleeting moment. Full-time, employee positions are very rare, especially where I live. If you find a tech comm-related job, it’s practically a guarantee that it’s going to be some sort of contract job for short-term or long-term (long-term being a year or more). I’m aware of companies that have contractor policies that contractors can’t stay more than 18 months, so they’ll hire a person for 18 months, give the person a three month break, then rehire them–rinse, lather, repeat. The longest corporate limitation I’ve heard is three years.  On rare occasions, you do hear of contractors who have gone “temp to perm”, being hired as full employees. I’ve rarely seen that happen. I almost experienced it, but instead the company had layoffs just as they were about to bring me on full-time, and laid me off instead.

The point is that with tech comm work these days, a lot of it ends up being contract work, and unfortunately, most companies still haven’t figured out that tech comm people aren’t expendable. We are always needed for something. Just like the remote working issues, undercutting workers without some sort of job security is just…difficult.  This article talks in depth gives a few pointers on how to put it all in perspective.

What do you think? Do you think there’s still job security in tech comm? Include your comments below.

–TechCommGeekMom

IBM has told its employees that they can’t work from home. The end of Big Blue is nigh.

Source: IBM Just Committed Cultural and Creative Suicide | Inc.com

Thanks to Larry Kunz for finding this appropriate follow-up to my last post about IBM discontinuing its practice of allowing remote work.  The author of this article sums it up much better than I could. Read this; all I have to respond to it is, “AMEN! EXACTLY!”

Yahoo and IBM have now set a bad precedence, and it has already started to affect Yahoo, as there is a current business rumor that both Yahoo and AOL are going to be acquired by Verizon.  Could it be that due to all the reasons listed in this article, Yahoo continued to decline? You be the judge.

What do you think of this article’s points? Include your comments below.

–TechCommGeekMom

While selling benefits of “telework” to others, IBM forces relocation in stealth layoff.

Source: IBM tells thousands of remote employees to come back to office or find new jobs | Ars Technica

Thanks to Cheri Mullins for posting this article on Facebook.

Reading this makes me angry. How is it that, first, Yahoo sets a precedence of not allowing employees to work remotely, and yet, it’s an internet service! Now, IBM, one of the oldest, largest, and most established companies in the world is now pulling the same crazy move? It’s a nasty move (I’m trying to avoid using profanity here), because there are probably a lot of really good workers who can’t find a job other than something like this in their areas.  I read the very last line of this article, and said, “Yeah, that’s me!” I’m one of those people who actually lives closer to New York City where SO many jobs are, but it’s a two-hour commute! And yes, with a family settled here and special education needs here in New Jersey, I cannot afford to move closer to New York. Even Northern New Jersey is much more expensive than where I live, and I live in a pricier area of New Jersey (Princeton Metro area).  Yet, New York City is where all the jobs are. We all can’t move to NYC or Silicon Valley, or some of the other major metropolises.

This is unfair to anyone who doesn’t live in a major city. There are LOTS of capable people who can do the job remotely, and there are lots of jobs that really can be done remotely. Need I remind people again that there’s email, telephones, instant messaging, and other connectivity programs like Skype, WebEx, GoToMeeting, Jabber…shall I go on? It’s OLD thinking that all work needs to be in an office. I hate working in an office. I get more done at home, I can concentrate better at home (cubicles and open office space are the worst), and I can connect to the world exactly the same ways globally as if I were in the office.

Major companies really, really, really need to get with the program. The future is now, and you need to learn how to work with it. Don’t go backwards.

What do you think? Include your comments below.

–TechCommGeekMom

I considered everyone else in my field the competition early in my career. I had to fight them for jobs; they were the enemy. I didn’t really get the value of professional memberships or conferences. I didn’t join STC, the Society for Technical Communication, until I was laid off from my first job, after 12 … Continue reading From competitors to colleagues: STC as community →

Source: From competitors to colleagues: STC as community – Ed Marsh

I was thinking of writing a similar post about my general experience and thoughts about attending the 2017 STC Summit, but my good buddy Ed pretty much did it for me, so I defer to his words and sentiments in his post. If he feels isolated in his big company and small team, imagine me who is usually a lone writer/consultant, and far from others in my immediate area who do the same! Joining has made a big difference to me, and I echo Ed’s sentiment that it really is a community more than anything else. Once you are able to attend–either in person or virtually–to an STC event, you start to become to other people who “get it”. STC members are generally very warm, friendly, smart people with a wicked sense of humor.  Hanging around them recharges you. You get support. You get validated. You get advice. I joined up about 6.5 years ago, but didn’t really become active until 5 years ago, and I’ve been building up my contributions ever since, and continue to do so. Becoming more active is starting to seriously pay off with my connections in my mind, both professionally and personally. Many have become friends as well as colleagues.

Read Ed’s article.  If you went to the Summit, include your comments and feedback below. Or, even if you didn’t go to the Summit, include your comments below.

–TechCommGeekMom