Market Tips from Someone "In the Know"

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking with my favourite Technical Recruiter. The reason for my call was two-fold. First, I simply enjoy checking in with Mark, because despite our having last worked together in 2007, I would welcome an opportunity to do so again. Secondly, not only is Mark a gentleman AND personable- which makes him a rarity in his field- but he always has his pulse on what's coming down the pipe. And since I'm currently determining how to proceed in my career, why not tap him for his typically excellent, dead-on advice? So I rang him, and he graciously took time out of his day to catch up.

As expected, he provided great insight into not only the state of the US tech market in general, but also where tech writing is headed. Here are the highlights from our conversation, in case anyone needs a refresher in how tech trends are affecting tech writing:

The Good News
Across the country, tech companies are demonstrating increased confidence by starting to open positions.

The Bad News
Or good news, depending on your willingness to adapt to changes in technology. As anyone involved in tech writing has already witnessed, the trend is to move documentation online and render it interactive. To remain marketable, ensure you keep up with web/UI prototyping, content management systems, and reusable objects. In the very near future, documentation will be available exclusively online and in a format that provides users with a means to manipulate data themselves.

A General Reminder
Ah, the 5-Year Rule. I happen to loathe this one, as much of my experience involving visuals/multimedia dates back to the '90s. But as Mark reminded me, recruiters only care about what you have done recently, aka within the last 5 years. If you haven't demonstrated your applicable skills in recent memory, find a way to do so. Common methods for procuring relevant experience include volunteering/interning or initiating a personal project.

That's the round-up. Now the hard part- putting that useful information to work for me (and you). Thankfully, I love a challenge, and if you chose tech writing, I'm sure you do as well.

Happy job searching!