Category: Uncategorized

There’s little doubt that age bias exists in the job market, unfortunately. You can lessen the likelihood of it hindering your job hunt, though. Dig into life-tested tips from career coach Matt Youngquist.

Source: Combating Age Bias in Your Job Hunt – UW Professional & Continuing Education

I found this link through an email that was sent to me from the University of Washington Continuing Education program (they have some cool certificate programs I’ve looked at in the past, but can’t afford right now).

I thought this article was pretty interesting, and gave some good advice when it comes to trying to “combat” the age bias in resumes and the job hunt. I think the recommendation that I had difficulty with is the idea of letting go of any jobs older than 10 years back. Sure, it might shorten my resume, but some of my earliest experience is something I feel I need on my resume, especially to establish that I do have the experience and skills. What puts a kink in this is that there’s a huge gap in my resume from the years that I was a stay-at-home mom. I was doing the odd part-time jobs here and there when I could during that time, but nothing that’s directly relevant to what I’m trying to do now–just the pre-mom stuff is relevant. Add to that problem that it’s been difficult to find any full-time jobs or long-term assignments in the last ten years.  I think the longest assignment I had that was working full-time lasted two and a half years. That same assignment yielded a part-time gig later that’s been going on for about 3 year now, but it’s not the same thing.

So, while I can appreciate much of what this article says, I think in the gig economy that especially impacts the technical communication industry, I’m not sure how much of it applies. Sure, it’s easy to take out the outdated software references and skills and leave in the more current, hopefully more relevant skills, but with technology zooming faster than we can keep up with it, even for millenials, how can we stay afloat?

What do you think of these recommendations? Include your comments below.
–TechCommGeekMom

PS – Did you notice that the author of the article didn’t look that much older than about 35 years old? Or was that just me?

The content decisions we make as individuals, organizations, or a society—consciously or unconsciously, inherited or created from scratch—dictate our values.

Source: The Revolution Will Have Structured Content | Think Company

I am a fan of David Dylan Thomas.  I’ve seen him at several presentations, and just this past weekend, he presented as the keynote speaker at the conference I was running for the STC-Philadelphia Metro Chapter, CONDUIT 2018.

I always like Dave’s insights because they put a twist on things that we either take for granted or just know inherently.  This article is a great example of that point. When I read it, I realized that, “Huh, you know, he’s exactly right about that.”  In some ways, it feels like he’s talking about the evolution of our language, but really, it’s more about the evolution about how we use language and create content based on that evolved language.

Definitely take a look at this article. Let me know what you think in the comments.

–TechCommGeekMom

We know the number of freelancers is on the rise, but more than half (55%) of hiring managers agree that remote work among full-time permanent employees is becoming more common, too. Many of the 1,000 hiring managers surveyed said that they expect up to 38% of their full-time staff will be working remotely in the … Continue reading “Remote work is “the new normal””

Source: Remote work is “the new normal”

It’s interesting to read this, because I’m wondering who these companies are and what kind of positions they have for permanent employees that are remote! In the tech comm field, I’m starting to realize that part of the problem is that there are very few permanent positions anymore–or it seems, from my years of job searching, very rare. The majority of tech comm positions are some sort of temporary or contract position, and while some are remote (it’s improving just a tiny bit), most are on site. There still seems to be an expectation of contract workers going to great lengths to either move to a location or do long commutes just to be able to work.  If remote is the new normal, and remote working is rather conducive for many types of tech comm work, how come we aren’t seeing more of it? It still doesn’t feel like the “new normal” described in this article, although the article is encouraging.

What do you think? Include your comments below.

–TechCommGeekMom

Rahel A. Bailie on the similarities between content strategists and physicians.

Source: Why content strategists are the doctors of the content world » FH JOANNEUM

Let me tell you–when it comes to content strategy, Rahel Bailie knows her stuff! She is someone to listen to. She is someone I’d like to think is a friend of mine, as well as a mentor, too. I’ve gotten to know her not only by attending presentations of hers over the years and hanging out with a lot of the same people at conferences, but also getting to know her on social media too. I’ve learned a lot from her.

In this article, I like her analogy of a doctor to a content strategist. But I think it’s also interesting point she makes about content marketing strategists–they aren’t content strategists in the same vein.  I can verify that from my own job searches.  Job descriptions are always listed as content marketing strategist jobs or even content strategist jobs, but their focus is usually more on marketing than actual content strategy or understanding content management. Or worse, they’ll combine the two with the greater emphasis on the content marketing, and that’s just not what content strategists are. I don’t know how many recruiters have contacted me or how many job listings I’ve seen that confuse me with a content marketing person.  Now, I even earned a certificate in digital marketing to potentially bridge that gap, but in the end, it really wasn’t my thing. It helps to have an understanding, but I’m still a generalist in that respect. I try to look at the big picture, and figure out the symptoms to help determine what the best treatment is.

Do you agree with Rahel’s assessment of what content strategy is…or isn’t? Include your comments below.

–TechCommGeekMom

Veteran tech comm hiring manager Richard Rabil offers some tips on how to stand out from it the competition when applying for a technical communications role.

Source: How to Be an Amazing Tech Comm Job Applicant: Tips from a Tech Comm Hiring Manager | TechWhirl

This is an interesting article. I’m posting it so that I can not only share this with all of you, my techcomm colleagues, but also for myself. At some point, I need to renovate my e-portfolio, and I need to figure out how to raise my game in a smart way.  So, this is for my own reference, too.

What do you think of the recommendations in here? Include your comments below.

–TechCommGeekMom