We want to add some talent to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune investigative team. Every serious candidate should have a proven track record of conceiving, reporting and writing stellar investigative pieces that provoke change. However, our ideal candidate has also cursed out an editor, had spokespeople hang up on them in anger and threatened to resign at least once because some fool wanted to screw around with their perfect lede.

We do a mix of quick hit investigative work when events call for it and mini-projects that might run for a few days. But every year we like to put together a project way too ambitious for a paper our size because we dream that one day Walt Bogdanich will have to say: “I can’t believe the Sarasota Whatever-Tribune cost me my 20^th Pulitzer.” As many of you already know, those kinds of projects can be hellish, soul-sucking, doubt-inducing affairs. But if you’re the type of sicko who likes holing up in a tiny, closed  office with reporters of questionable hygiene to build databases from scratch by hand-entering thousands of pages of documents to take on powerful people and institutions that wish you were dead, all for the glorious reward of having readers pick up the paper and glance at your potential prize-winning epic as they flip their way to the Jumble… well, if that sounds like journalism Heaven, then you’re our kind of sicko.

For those unaware of Florida’s reputation, it’s arguably the best news state in the country and not just because of the great public records laws. We have all kinds of corruption, violence and scumbaggery. The 9/11 terrorists trained here. Bush read My Pet Goat here. Our elections are colossal clusterfucks. Our new governor once ran a health care company that got hit with a record fine because of rampant Medicare fraud. We have hurricanes, wildfires, tar balls, bedbugs, diseased citrus trees and an entire town overrun by giant roaches (only one of those things is made up). And we have Disney World and beaches, so bring the whole family.

Send questions, or a resume/cover letter/links to clips to my email address below. If you already have your dream job, please pass this along to someone whose skills you covet. Thanks.

Matthew Doig

Sarasota Herald-Tribune
1741 Main St.
Sarasota FL, 34236
(941) 361-4903
matthew.doig@heraldtribune.com

Source: A few tasteful snaps ]]> http://wordbit.freehostia.com/hilarious-job-ad/feed/ 0 http://wordbit.freehostia.com/two-years-is-a-long-time/ http://wordbit.freehostia.com/two-years-is-a-long-time/#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:32:53 +0000 http://wordbit.freehostia.com/two-years-is-a-long-time/ To be working on a project that is. At least it feels that way considering most writing projects I’ve been involved in are over after a hair-pulling night of throwing words onto a page or two. Project timelines are a bit more distended in the technical writing world. But, anyway, enough kerfuffle. What I’d like to present to you is the best business phone ever.

Yes, it’s the phone system I’ve been writing those 400-page Internal Product Specifications for. Synapse is basically a VoIP-based telephony network that integrates into an existing LAN network. What this means is that you don’t have to buy fifty phone lines because it runs over the internet. I won’t bore you with the details, so why don’t you take a look at a promo video cooked up by the AT&T marketing guys (Quicktime). BTW, I also worked on the text in the User Interface (the display) and I can honestly say that this is the most user-friendly business phone you’ll ever use.

Local writer and social media consultant Monica Hamburg talks about how to tap into the hidden job market online in her excellent blog post. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Java programmer or a hairdresser – creating an online presence and fostering a network can benefit you. If nothing else, it’s way more fun than cold calling!

Well, I’d like to wrap up 2008 on a personal note and let you know what’s been going on in my life – besides from recently getting engaged, which I’m really excited about.

On the work side of things, I recently extended my contract at Vtech by another 6 months. I asked for more money, which they were happy to give me. It’s been a great experience no matter what happens. I’ve been working primarily on a business phone system, but have also helped out with the Internal Product Specification (IPS) for an internet radio, which I quite enjoyed. This product recently made its debut at CES and was reviewed on Engadget. It’s nice to be able to finally talk about this stuff! I have one at my desk and really enjoy it – I can totally recommend this nifty little device. The guys put a lot of love into this one.

I can see this site being really useful to young Millennials who care a great deal about the softer aspects of job satisfaction and are in a process of self-discovery. However, this sort of thing (“eHarmony for jobs” as one user put it) might be a bit touchy-feely for boomers. But hey, if you’re unemployed you probably have time to slog through the 100+ questions and spend some pleasant self-actualization time finding out you should have been working for Tim Hortons this whole time.

Lyndsey Amott, in an article on her website, stresses that industry knowledge should not be a primary deciding factor when mulling over suitable candidates. Her top three must-haves are:

1. design a document that looks good both on paper and on-line
2. design a document that can be updated easily
3. write instructions that are easy to understand

She goes on to say that the proof of a good writer lies in the way they organize their thoughts and that inexperienced writers shouldn’t necessarily be dismissed.

Technical writing consultant Jean Weber makes some good points in this article. She agrees that the writing is more important than the software or technical expertise. She advises companies to look for problem-solvers who keep digging until they find all the answers. But they should be somebody tactful, not abrasive.

Employers are always concerned with costs and staying on budget. If you can relay the value of creating relevant content in a specific context and to a specific audience, you’re on the right track. Remember that as a technical writer you’re the bridge between subject matter experts and the stakeholders, the marketers, and the end-users. Without you, knowledge could not be channeled into capital gain. 

So, if you find your head on the chopping block, start thinking like your employer and ask yourself why they should keep you around. The answer could just save your neck.

I thought I’d acknowledge some of my graduated colleagues who have websites online. The reason most of the sites on the list below are not on my blogroll is because they’re static pages. In other words, they’re not regularly updated – which is a little unfortunate in my opinion because I love to read what people are up to in the minutiae of their lives and enjoy reading the blogs of people I know. I almost never check in with static pages. Facebook’s great, but is more like a sophisticated telegraphing machine than a home you can personalize and make your own.

If you’re a Print Futures Grad and have a blog or regularly updated site that’s not on this list, please let me know  – I’d love to add you.

In no particular order:

Josie Padro: The Probe is Josie’s blog.
Current position: Freelance writer (alive, Vancouverplus).

Shawn Klemmer: You can find Shawn at Wildgrass Communications.
Current position: Public Relations Officer at the Xa:ytem Longhouse Interpretive Centre.

Pamela Findling: Pamela’s portfolio website.
Current position: Communications Coordinator at Science World (Telus World of Science).

James Lee: James’ portfolio website.
Current position: Procedures Analyst at Central 1 Credit Union.

Laura Kelsey: personal portfolio website.
Current position: Editor of 100 Mile House Free Press.

Nicole Skutelnik: personal portfolio website. 
Current position: Novelist (children’s lit).

Nissa Wells: personal portfolio website.
Current position: Online editor for Tactics Magazine.

Denis Orellana: You can find Denis at DMO Writing.
Current position: Editor of E.GO Magazine.

Kai Jansson: Personal site and blog.
Current position: Copy editor at Stockwatch.

These aren’t all the people I graduated with, but the others don’t have an online presence. Shockingly, there are people in this world who don’t spend all their time on the net!      

The goal is to provide the engineers with a base line so that they can move forward with the design process. This means I’m also creating screenshots of what the man-machine interface (MMI) will ideally look like. I’ve been doing these in Photoshop, but there is talk of moving to a program called Axure, which offers a much richer functionality and the ability to create master modules (so that you don’t have to re-generate a hundred screenshots every time a small change in the MMI is made).

All in all, it’s very interesting being involved at this stage of product development, although I was hoping to do some end-user documentation as well. At this point that looks doubtful as that’s the tech writer in Oregon’s baby.

Some of the work is a bit dry – for example, today I was determining how many characters to allocate a word for translation. The English interface has to be translated into French and Spanish, but there is a limited amount of pixels on the display screen on the phone, so I had to figure out how much wiggle room to allow the translators, in case their translation of “Answer”, for instance, turns out to be a five words long.

The company culture is quite rad – lots of barbeques and once a month there is a social with buckets of beer and an assortment of greasy food (no organic juice like at alive unfortunately). In the lunch room is a sweet gaming setup -two widescreen hi-def TVs – one hooked up to an XBOX 360 and the other hooked up to a Wii. On the table sits a couple of Guitar Hero axes and steering wheel controllers. There’s also a pool table, ping-pong table, and foosball. Basically a geek’s paradise! 

The company usually outsources their documentation to the States. Presently, however, they’re developing a completely new product line (sorry, I can’t say what it is) and need a writer in-house. This is a new position, so the challenge for me will be in ensuring that I get the information I need from the engineers without taking too much time away from their primary tasks. There are other challenges which I won’t get into, suffice to say I’ll be involved in some hardcore digital asset management and interface design…

If the position works out, I could get a permanent position down the road. Anyway, It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for, so I’m excited to start next week!