Technical Writing Tips
for Technical Writers

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Congratulations!

So you have landed your first Technical Writing job and tomorrow you start your first day of work. Perhaps you are up late at night searching around for anything that will help prepare you for what it might be like. Each job is unique but here are my 10 tips for things to try to do or not do on your first day before you begin doing any technical writing:

1. Ask to be introduced to the entire team you will be working with. Try to walk to each person's desk and introduce yourself personally so you can form a mental map of the layout of your office. Wear nice clothes and be prepared to have your picture taken for an identification card and for the local intranet.

2. Find out what standard software your company uses and make sure it is loaded on your computer. Check to see that you have network connectivity. Make sure your workstation is comfortable for you. Don't wait to create an ergonomic work environment (lighting, good mouse and keyboard, correct chair, desk and monitor height), you run the risk of becoming apathetic and there may not be set-up money left for your needs when your wrists start hurting because you are reaching for the mouse at a funny angle.

3. Find out  whether you will work on a shared drive and whether or not you are responsible for your own backups. Create shortcuts to all your folders and identify them correctly.

5. Find out when people eat lunch, where people usually eat and if the hours are fixed. This applies to dinner too if you are working in a High Tech company. Find out whether or not your company cares what time you come in and what time you leave. Try to find out if you are allowed to take work home and if so, find out if you'll need to be behind a FireWall.

6. Discover who does software and hardware support. Try and figure out who the "gurus" are in your office for your company product, FrameMaker and for your OS (Windows/Mac/Unix/Linux). 

7. Find out if online help is created for your product and if so, what product you use to create it. Find out what phase of development your product is in and whether it has an internal code name and an external product name:

• Alpha: a new product, usually tested internally

• Beta: still new but a few select customers are trying it out also called "beta testing"

• FCS or sometimes called Gamma: the product is about to be shipped with a wrapper and people will pay for it

7. Find out if your company uses style guides and templates.

8. Don't talk about how you did things in your last company no matter how much you believe it will make you look intelligent and don't try to improve anything but your workstation for at least a month.

9. Share something about yourself with your co-workers, remember you are new and they are checking you out. Be real with them. 

10. Don't make personal phone calls at all the first day. If you have children who need access to you 24 hours a day, try to get coverage for them during your first day. Don't leave your cell phone turned on.