Training for the Future

Contributions to Qualifications

My internship has contributed to my qualifications as a technical/professional writer by providing various genres of writing for me to write and edit. I have done something as simple as condensing a questionnaire to one page, to writing most of an annual report. This has contributed to my qualifications by letting me attach a well-known and respected organization to my resume and experience.

The skills and abilities I may need to develop include practice working in a business setting on a team endeavor, and perhaps learning to write content that includes a lot of statistics and facts. One additional skill I may need to develop is learning to understand the informal structures of a corporation or non-profit organization. According to Sherry Southard, informal structure develops “from the interactions of the specific employees working in a specific corporation at a specific time; these structures may also reflect changes in management policy not accompanied by a restructuring of official definitions of organizational patterns” (Southard, 81). These structures are always changing according to the varied interactions of employees. This structure is a subtle feel of who is in power despite formal organization, who generally takes control of which tasks, and will certainly affect the flow of information from person to person depending on individual relationships (Southard, 81).  Although these informal structures change from organization to organization, with practice, it becomes easier to pick up on these subtle threads. If I had spent more time within SEK-CAP’s offices, I would have had experience working within these informal structures, which are actually very important to understand and vital to the functioning of an organization.

Job #1

The first job I researched was for a position as a communications writer for NARAL Pro-Choice in New York. This company works to “promote reproductive rights and expand access to reproductive health care through bold advocacy, creative education campaigns, and high-impact partnerships,” according to the job advertisement. In this position, the primary responsibilities would be to write the content for the website, brochures and other marketing materials, writing the annual reports, board materials, policy materials, memos, and other relevant materials. Other responsibilities would include communication of the organization’s programs and goals and developing concepts and copy for social media campaigns. The basic qualifications include having 3-5 years’ experience writing for nonprofit, the ability to translate complicated legislative and organizational lingo into interesting and easy language for the public, knowledge about reproductive rights and legislation, and an ability to work in a fast-paced environment.

Training Unit

The training unit for this job would include a variety of resources on reproductive rights and legislation. The first is a website covering the latest news regarding reproductive rights and legislation. The second is a book on a woman’s reproductive rights called Reproductive Rights and the State by Melissa Haussman. Another book that may help the job seeker understand the issues that this job deals with is called Reproductive Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know by Rickie Solinger. An even better resource would be NARAL’s own webpage. There, they have a specific page on what the laws say about reproductive issues in New York, which is the very information that the job advertisement expects applicant to know. Because the job expects the applicant to know how to edit technical materials, the book  Technical Editing, fifth edition by Carolyn D Rude would greatly come in handy. Finally, because the job advertisement lists social media as one of the job responsibilities, the slideshow Social Media for Social Good by Julia Campbell should be given a look-through.

Job #2

The second job position I researched was a position as the technical writer for Pathfinder International. According to the job advertisement, this company is a “global leader in sexual and reproductive health.” They “place reproductive health care at the center of all that [they] do—believing that it is not only a fundamental human right, but is critical for expanding life opportunities for women, families, communities, and nations, and paving the way for transformations in environmental stewardship, decreases in population pressures, and innovations in poverty reduction.”

The job responsibilities for this position (as copied from the original job advertisement) include:

• ·         Write original content for publications highlighting implementation experience, challenges, and accomplishments.
• ·         Work with project leads and country teams to capture critical concepts for articulation to external audiences.
• ·         Under guidance of other technical advisors within TSU, develop skills of Pathfinder field staff in production of technical publications.
• ·         Advise on targeted dissemination strategies to ensure technical publications reach priority audiences.
• ·         Edit Pathfinder technical documents (e.g., conference abstracts, presentations).
• ·         Work with Technical Advisors, Program Directors, and Communications staff to prioritize products to be developed and their corresponding timelines.
• ·         Participate in development and monitoring of publications timelines to ensure deadlines are met.
• ·         Work closely with editor and graphic designer to produce and finalize products.
• ·         Prepare summaries to announce products on project website and via social media channels.

Basic requirements for this position include (as copied from the original job advertisement):

• ·         Required Bachelor's degree in Public Health, Public Administration or related field.
• ·         Minimum of four years progressively responsible work related to Public Health, Health Education, International Relations, Development Studies, Women's Studies, Communications, or related field (two years' experience will be acceptable if candidate has a Master's degree in Public Health related field).
• ·         Excellent writing skills, with an ability to write technical content clearly, concisely, and in an engaging manner, drawing from a variety of data sources under tight timelines;
• ·         Familiarity with sexual and reproductive health topics, terminology, and programming;
• ·         Professional experience in dissemination of written products in a variety of forums, ideally in development or relevant field;
• ·         Familiarity with design of visual representations of data, including diagrams, charts, and graphs;
• ·         Qualitative and quantitative data analysis skills;
• ·         Excellent organizational skills with an emphasis on being thorough and very detail-oriented, with ability to multi-task;
• ·         Ability to work effectively in a highly collaborative team;
• ·         Excellent computer skills to include proficiency with Microsoft Office products;
• ·         Fluent in written and spoken English;
• ·         Ability to travel internationally up to 30%;
• ·         Commitment to the mission, vision, and values of Pathfinder International.

The preferred qualifications for this positions (as copied from the original job advertisement) include:

• ·         Master's degree in related field strongly preferred;
• ·         Previous experience studying or working in a developing country or countries;
• ·         Editing experience a plus;
• ·         Fluency in French, Portuguese, or other language;
• ·         Familiarity with Adobe InDesign a plus.

Training Unit

The training unit for this job application include many books and references on learning language, editing, social media, and other software, as well as information on sexual and reproductive health topics and information. First, there is a guide to abortion laws and rights published by the Guttmacher Institute. This guide breaks down the laws in every state and area that could affect a woman’s rights to safe reproductive care and would be valuable information for a potential applicant to study. In the same thread, there is a peer sex educator named Laci Green who does video logs detailing the various aspects of sex education and information that the public should know. This information falls right in line with the information that the employee would deal with in the position; thus, this would be excellent information for an applicant to know. Because the applicant would be designing charts and diagrams, the books Designer’s Guide to Creating Charts and Diagrams by Nigel Holmes and Designing Infographics by Erik K Meyer would make excellent references for learning this information. Also, because the job applicant would need to know plenty about Microsoft Office, a good reference to learn all about this software would be the book Microsoft Office 2010 Volume 1. No matter which version the company uses, a general knowledge of any version of the software would help exponentially.  Another method of learning this same information would be the training files on Microsoft.com. These would make good resources because they are free and they are done by the company itself, and thus are sure to be full of a few good hints and shortcuts that could come in handy on the job. Because the job would require knowing social media for nonprofit, being “in the know” about a live and updating resource for new and changing hints and tips may help win the case for hire. This resource would be the website Social Media for Nonprofits. Another excellent suggestion would be finding a local nonprofit organization needing help with their social media pages and volunteering to run them. Finally, because the company would prefer the applicant to know more than one language, being willing to learn one of their recommended languages would put the applicant in good standing. One popular method of learning a new language is Rosetta Stone.

Job #3

The third and final job advertisement I researched was a position as a copywriter for the Lee marketing team. The Lee Marketing Group is an advertising and marketing business working out of Merriam, KS. They do logos and branding, print, audio and video, web design, signage, and apparel and promotional products. They need a copywriter for “writing editing and proofreading content for a diverse range of projects including product brochures, ticketing, direct mail, press kits, on-line marketing, & retail store needs. Additionally the copy writer will support Lee.com by writing content, video editorial marketing and product promotional copy, product descriptions optimized for SEO and all Digital Marketing.” The education and experience they would like new hires to have include 3-5 years of professional experience, a BA/BS degree in English, Journalism, Communications, Advertising, or another related field. They also would prefer it if the applicant had creative writing experience in the apparel industry. They would also like the applicant to have a minimum of two years’ experience writing for the web, retail, or business. The skills they would like the applicant to have include being able to write copy for catalogs or online stores, an attention to detail and an eye for proofreading, organizational and time management skills, the ability to self-manage and meet deadlines, and to be a team player. More specifically, they would like new hires to be proficient in Word, Excel, Acrobat, and Powerpoint on a PC. They also want someone who can multitask.

Training Unit

The training unit for this job includes a tutorial for using PowerPoint, Acrobat, and all Microsoft Office programs, including Excel. Because the company does a lot of marketing for other businesses, taking a few courses in marketing would only help a prospective employee. A good resource for finding online marketing courses would be the University of Kansas’s online courses website. Another excellent resource for a prospective applicant would be a book on proofreading to brush up on basic proofreading skills. A good book to purchase for this would be Developing Proofreading and Editing Skills by Sue C Camp. Interestingly enough, there is even a textbook on writing catalog copy. How to Write Powerful Catalog Copy by Lewis, Herschell Gordon would be a good book to pick up to learn about what writing works well for catalogs.