- Brief Introduction
- Beginning of Class Writing Assignment
- Click on the title of this blog post, “Week 14,” scroll down to the comment area, and write at least 250 words in response to this week’s readings. You can summarize the readings, you can relate the readings to your own experience or something else you have read or learned about, etc. Any writing of 250 words or more that are related to the readings are fair game for this weekly assignment at the beginning of class.
- Post your comment after 15 minutes even if you don’t reach the 250 word minimum threshold.
- Why we are doing this: It helps you organize your thoughts before discussion and it gives you regular writing practice.
- Discuss the readings assigned for Week 13 and Week 14.
- Discuss internships
- How are they going?
- Discuss what’s due next week: Send a brief, professional email to Prof. Ellis that includes a link to your Professional Portfolio (Shared Google Doc or OpenLab ePortfolio–make sure it is viewable by someone who is not you!) and a link or attached file for your Weekly Logbook.
- Professional Portfolio
- Your resume and a generic cover letter can also be a part of your portfolio.
- Include links to other places where you are visible online, such as LinkedIn and other social media networks.
- Weekly Log
- Remember to add an entry to your logbook for each week until the end of the semester and keep all of your logs in a single file (Google Doc, Word docx, OpenOffice odf, etc.). Include the first date of a given week for each entry at the top of the page. Write at least 250 words about your current or past experience as appropriate. For example, if you are currently in an internship, your logs should record your experiences, thoughts, challenges, solutions, etc. that you find significant each week. Or, if you have completed your internship, your logs can be about experiences, projects, interactions with people in the workplace, challenges, solutions, etc. based on your past experience. And, if you are continuing in a new internship for additional experience, you can write about that, too. The point is to write at least 250 words per entry with one entry per week about your experience in the internship.
- Why we are doing this: It helps you articulate your work experience so that you may better reflect on, consider, remember, and act on those experiences as you transition into the workplace. Additionally, it gives you extra writing practice, which research shows will automatically improve your writing ability.
- Professional Portfolio
- Review readings and homework for next week.
From this weeks two readings, I found both to be very interesting. Being a minority, I have faced my own set of challenges in the work space and out in public. I never put much thought behind the injustices and adversities Women of color face. The NYT article by Ruchika Tulshyan shed light on negative work places. She wrote about Sasha Thompson’s experience in an environment where she does not feel valued and appreciated. She mentioned the first initial months feeling like a honeymoon stage, where laughter and happiness are at its highest, and also felt as if her manager “had her back,” well she was wrong. She went on to feel “invisible” and of no value. The NYT article also mentioned how healthy work enviorment involve employees being okay with speaking up when they feel something is wrong, and an enviorment where you can take risk.
In the second scholarly article, Rainey, Turner, and Dayton summarized the data they collected regarding which competencies most managers seek in Technical Communication jobs and programs. The survey was based on the analysis from the 10 largest undergraduate Technical Communication programs. Rainey, Turner, and Dayton write about their findings, described their methodology, and concluded by looking at emerging trends and managerial expectations in the profession. Three of the most important competencies mentioned were: skills collaborating, ability to write clearly for all audiences, ability to use and learn new technological advancements, and the ability to take initiative.
The first article on technical communication competencies was a lot to read, but I think it applied to me in my internship. I saw a lot of the staff had these qualities and I saw that I needed these qualities. I saw that the part about languages being acknowledged in the writing center and they even had a mother language day. What surprised me in the article was that the lowest-ranked skills are some of the things that I learned as a PTW student, and even more skills that I didn’t think were low-ranking.
The second article on women of color in the workplace was alarming, especially because I am a woman of color. I wasn’t expecting that in this day and age, that people would shut out woman in the workplace. What was more surprising was that the woman in the article was someone who had already proven to be an asset to the company. That makes me wonder what it will take for someone like me, a novice to the workplace, to feel like I belong.
Do Curricula Correspond to Managerial Expectations? Core Competencies for Technical Communicators is an article detailing what skills managers and people who are hiring are looking for. Competencies have three categories which are personal skills, personal qualities, and technical skills. To be successful, you need to be able to work well with others, have some basic understanding, and be willing and able top learn. People are willing to teach if you don’t have all the skills but you should have some skills for them to say yes to hiring you. Data shows what schools should be teaching and what managers want.
Why Is It So Hard to Speak Up at Work? is an article talking about why people feel they can’t speak up at work, how people feel like they are not safe or valued, and talks about real experiences that are examples. Sacha Thompson tells about her experience. She landed a job and the first few months was a “honeymoon”. The manager encouraged her to share her ideas and she felt her manager had her back. Then trouble began. Then she heard through the grapevine that an executive who was sponsoring her program was criticizing her work. She didn’t know how she could ask for feedback because she couldn’t go straight to the source. At the annual conference, she didn’t feel comfortable and was starting to feel invisible. She is a black woman and she felt her ideas weren’t being heard. Her first manager left the company and the new one put Sacha on probation without telling her. She started shutting up and shutting down. After the “honeymoon” and three years, she did not feel valued, welcome or safe and was losing her hair and had stomach issues. “It was time to go.” Psychological safety is important. We should be able to talk and take risks without facing ridicule or retaliation. Employees need to feel safe and be able to learn from mistakes. High performing teams feel safe and are safe. It is women, especially women of color, that do not feel safe in their workplaces. If you are a minority or different, you are going to feel pressure. We need to make people feel safe and included.
The first article was about the core competencies for Technical Communicators. The findings in the study indicate the important competencies for technical communicators which consists of collaborating, writing for targeted audiences with clarity, using technologies, and being able to take initiative. The secondary competencies include skills in using technologies and tertiary include usability testing. Companies in response to the qualities they sought out in new technical communicators grouped personal skills, personal qualities and technical skills into the competencies they would like to see. This goes to show the different aspects the interviewers are asked to look for in new hires. I felt as though this article provided an insight on the inner workings of how a company or business thinks.
The second article in the New York Times was about being able to speak up at work. I believe that since it can be overwhelming when beginning it may be hard to speak up right away but as time goes on and you accustom yourself you may find the voice to speak up – it is more common for individuals to suppress this. It should be a safe environment where workers can feel as though they have a voice and can be comfortable. Women would like to speak up and how to keep up with the new environment. There are many times that people do not rise to follow what they think. There needs to be a place which helps situate the inner conflicts and mediate with confidentiality. However, as the article mentions how people want to contribute and challenge these ongoings but there is a hurdle when they weren’t feeling included to begin with. There are many different approaches but the situation must first be recognized. As a Professional Technical Writer it is important to bring these issues to people’s attention through words to contribute to the actions that should follow.