Training for the Future

Over the course of the semester, you will submit 600 – 800 word contributions to the Pitt State Technical / Professional Writing Internship site (pittstatetechwritinginterns.blogspot.com) using the Blogger online publishing tool.  The site will serve as a resource for future interns, other technical / professional writers at large, and students contemplating technical / professional writing as a major as well as as preparation for you as you enter the job market.  Keep these audiences in mind as you complete your contributions.  Each contribution focuses on one of four goals:  defining technical / professional writing for yourself and for others outside the field (future coworkers in other departments, for example); exploring how genre works in technical / professional contexts; understanding the workplace; and preparing for the job market.  If you have questions about these assignments, contact me, Jamie McDaniel, not your internship supervisor.

1)      Training for the Future

Readings

Johndan Johnson-Eilola, “Relocating the Value of Work:  Technical Communication in a Post-Industrial Age”

Sherry G. Southard, “Interacting Successfully in Corporate Culture”

Emily Soplinsky, “Survival Skills for Communicators within Organizations”

Assignment

Now that you are close to completing your internship experience, the Director of Technical / Professional Writing has asked you to explore how it has contributed to your qualifications as a technical / professional writer and what skills and abilities you may still need to develop. 

To that end, find at least three job advertisements / descriptions for technical / professional writing positions for which you would apply.  Research these positions and companies.  Given your research, you will create a “training unit” for the positions you have found.  This training unit should consist of resources that will increase the likelihood of your employment in the kind of position you have researched as well as a rationale for the resources you include.  What resources and experiences from your internship will help you get the kind of job that you want, and what resources and experiences do you still need to gain? 

This training unit might include additional readings, websites, videos, suggested coursework, online courses (such as those offered through Lynda.com or through Adobe), or any other resources that will help prepare you.  For example, if the job advertisements request experience with Adobe Production Premium, then you might include links to YouTube videos that discuss the ways to use Adobe Production Premium or links to the appropriate AdobeTV videos.  Additionally, if the job advertisements request experience with social media, you might include links to resources on blogging.  You could also include other suggestions about gaining this kind of experience, such as managing a website or Facebook page for a local non-profit organization.  These suggestions are only a few ways in which you can increase your marketability.

In order to increase the persuasiveness of your contribution, the Director of Technical / Professional Writing has asked you to include appropriate research from specialists in the field.  You will also want to include any resources you find, whether a PDF, a web link, a video, or another kind of resource.