Certification Program in Technical writing

Recently, I was interviewed by a Sr. Manager in Technical Writing. This interview was a bit different from my previous interview. The lady who took the interview was not very appreciative of the certification/training programs in the field of Technical Writing. She is in fact quite disappointed with this kind of teaching that takes place for this training programs. The reason she quoted is that the knowledge acquired will not be of much use in the real-time environment. So, what is certification/training program all about?

After doing a certification in Technical Writing, I have found that it surely helps a lot for those who are planning to enter into this field. In my personal opinion, a certification program will have the following benefits:

• You might be an expert in writing, but specialization in writing with respect to a particular field you want to enter into, is a must. So, you need to be trained for that specialization to understand how to structurize your writing skills.
• Technical Writing is a specialized learning,  a certification or training helps to tune your writing with technical writing before you enter into an organization.
• Every field in software industry has its own set of guidelines for different processes that take place in developing a software application. A certification/training program will give you an intial introduction surely enable you to get familiar with such guidelines
• You may not have an in-depth knowledge of the minutest details of the way documentation happens in a particular company, because it changes from organization to organization. But a certification program would surely minimize the time that would be taken by you to get familiar with the documentation procedure of that particular organization.
• The assignments and projects that you do during your certification program will surely make you feel like an experienced person when you enter the real-time environment and start working on a real project.
• Also, most importantly, the assessment, based on which the certificate is given, during the training program will reflect your aptitude for technical writing.

So, the above mentioned view points emphasize the importance of training programs for freshers in this field.
Regards,
Gayatri Kadiyala

Interview questions for Technical Writing

 For those who are attending written tests and interviews, it will be very useful to do the online english grammar tests on a regular basis. You can visit websites like www.english-learner.com, www.english-test.net, etc to do the tests. Secondly, be prepared to answer some commonly asked questions like:
1) What is difference between technical writing and online content writing?
2)Explain the phases of DLC
3)You will be asked to describe the features/components in a window of some application (an image of that window will be given).
4)User guide for some application
5)What are the questions that you need to ask in your first round of interaction with an SME (Subject Matter Expert) for creating online help for a particular product?
6)Why should I hire you?

All the best!!

Importance of Content

In the field of Technical Writing, content must be given highest priority. The toughest part is to have a good, readable, content. The easiest part is to paste that content into various publishing tools like Adobe Frame Maker, Robohelp etc.

When I thought of entering the Technical Writing field, I thought I am supposed to become an expert in understanding the software tools that are extensively used in the industry. So, I thought that I would become a good technical writer if I know how to use Help Authoring Tools, Image Editing Tools etc. Later, when I joined a technical writing institute, I was proved wrong.

So what is most important for a technical writer? Ability to create content that can be easily understood by your audience. What does audience need? Content that is presented in simple words, in a structured way, within the scope and most importantly answers his queries.

So there should be a continuous effort to come up with good content rather than  presenting content that is lacking in clarity even though incorporated into a good authoring tool.

Gayatri Kadiyala

My Favourite Blog

In my personal opinion, the one blog that gives a complete understanding on all aspects of technical writing is "I would rather be writing" by Tom Johnson.
When I, as a beginner, started looking for knowledge banks in this field, this blog proved to be of great help. Each and every key feature of technical writing can be found here. I personally recommend all the beginners to surely visit his blog at least once.

Copy editing vs Proofreading

Copy editing and Proofreading come into picture after you finish your document.
Once the documentation is finished:

• A copyeditor goes deep into the document. He or she is looking at completeness and quality of the writing, how it works, what it needs to polish it. It may be an easy edit, or it may possibly require extra in-depth rewriting.
• A copy editor will work with the author to bring it up to a publishable standard.
• The “five Cs” summarize the copy editor’s job. Make the copy clear, correct, concise, complete and consistent.
• Copy editor’s mandate also includes verifying the facts stated in the document.

But, sometimes, even the most skilled professional editor will occasionally miss something, and that’s where the proofreader comes in. A proofreader comes into picture after copy editing work is done.

• Unlike copy editor, proofreader is not concerned with improving the text or make stylistic changes.
• His job is to look for clear mistakes(typos, grammar, punctuations, headers, footers, TOCs)and ensure that they do not make into the final document.

Gayatri

Personal Branding-Part 1

Personal branding is the way how we market our skills, talent and our careers to the world. Creating a personal brand is a continuous process that is happening every day through our social networks/media. These networks help us to create a brand for ourselves.

So, the first step in this process would be to start blogging. Blogging creates a network. The topics that we select for our blogs should create a strong and reliable brand and also increase our visibility.Blogs that are highly networked with others come up high on google searches.

Gayatri