Interesting times, interesting measures

by Rahel Bailie

We've been living in interesting times, as the saying goes -- and many of us feel that we've had about as much interest as we can tolerate, thank you very much. Chapter meeting attendance has been low, and the popularity of technical presentations has decreased while the popularity of career management days has increased. In any conversation between three technical communicators, at least one is unemployed, about to be unemployed, or thinking about a career change.

After attending the first STC board meeting of 2003, however, I've returned with renewed hope about the employment scene, and have chosen to pass along a little good news. Between meeting sessions, we board members from the various corners of North America greet one another with the usual gambit of "Hi, how have you been? How's business?" We trade notes on the health of our local chapters, the chapters in our region, and the status of our own employment situations. My conclusion is that things are getting better.

My optimism is cautious. Companies are staying battened down, and their willingness to spend on technical communication is a tenuous commitment at best. Some companies are outsourcing their work. Others are looking for writers to work for bargain-basement salaries. A number of companies are looking outside of North America for their technical communication needs. Yet, despite these trends, I hear encouraging stories. A writer mentions that her temporary contract is rolling over to regular employee status. A contractor has lined up work for the first time in months. Someone else mentions that their company is stabilizing and may add a new person during the coming year. Demand seems to be on the rise.

The job market won't be the same as the heyday of the 90s. In fact, the job market may never look the same again. How we cope with these changes will determine our success. Are we willing to look beyond our core skills to our extended skill sets? Can we determine how we fit new trends? If we've let our skills fall behind, are we ready to catch up? Can we make the switch to being free agents? Do we have a personal "brand" that identifies us? Are we broadening our horizons in what we read, in where we look for contacts, with whom we network? In other words, do we know how to re-invent ourselves for this new market?

This column is far too short to set out a roadmap for participating in the recovering economy. Besides, there are a vast number of existing resources available for the taking: Fast Company at www.fastcompany.com, Career Lab at www.careerlab.com, and Career Intelligence at www.career-intelligence.com are just a few of the online resources that turn up in a simple Google search. The idea is to study the new landscape, and determine where you want to go and how you're going to get there. The rest, they say, is a matter of interest.