On the Write Road

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No. Not if you are hiring him just because he’s a friend. He has to be able to do the job.

How do you discover this? You have to go through the same process you would an unknown job candidate. Carefully review his resume before calling him in for an interview. And, check references. Check his last employer and gather as much information as you can. Discovery may be in the little things. A pause, cough, before answering the question: “Would you hire Fred back again”?

Steps for Hiring the Right Person

Martha Stewart, in her book The Martha Rules, has a chapter called “Build an A Team.” In this chapter, she outlines the following steps to take to ensure you hire the right person:

1. Create options by considering several candidates.

2. Check those references!

3. Make sure all involved employees meet the candidate.

I have had the good fortune of being hired by friends, so I thought it would work to hire a friend. Not always. What I forgot was that I was hired by friends from the East Bay Society for Technical Communication. I had been an active member of this organization from newsletter editor to president, and these friends had seen my work. Also, every one of these friends went through the entire hiring process before bringing me on. I got no free passes.

So, what do you do when a friend screws up? I won’t go there. I will say that early on Adrienne Tange, my business partner, and I had the “friend” discussion. We decided whether our business, Write on Time Solutions, flourished or not, we would remain friends. We remind ourselves of this occasionally. And, we keep ourselves to our individual high standards in all our work.

Would You Hire a Friend?

Would you hire a friend? I’d love to hear your experiences. You can write me at mbrumis@writeontimesolutions.com.

One friend I asked about hiring a friend said, “You must make sure they have the same standards for work as you do.” Another said, “Hire, yes; roommates, no!”

To lure prospective customers to your business and away from competitors you must offer a unique selling proposition. This proposition must differentiate your company from others and offer a marketable benefit for your customer. Melody and I have chosen to set our business apart from others by becoming a certified women-owned business. What does this mean? A certified woman-owned business is one that has gone through a certification process that proves they are truly at least 51% owned and controlled by a woman or group of women. The certifier uses the applicant’s legal and financial documentation to determine if the applying company is 51% owned and controlled by a woman or group of women

Why Certify?

Obtaining certification is an important business development strategy for two reasons.  First, most city, state, and national government purchasing agencies track and/or have programs for doing business with women business owners. Second, many publicly-held corporations, as well as larger private corporations, also track and have programs for doing business with women-owned vendor companies. To prove to these potential clients that we truly are a women-owned business, we must  go through the certification process. The reason for the certification process is because some companies to win bids will lie about their status. This process ensures the contracting businesses are legitimately women-owned.

The Certification Process

There are two private national women’s business organizations that certify qualified women-owned businesses: The National Women’s Business Owners Corporation (NWBOC) and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Melody and I have chosen the WBENC, the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States, to certify us. 

To begin the process, we are gathering all required supporting documentation. This supporting documentation includes resumes, tax returns, financial statements, and legal structure documents. We then will submit all this information to WBENC as well as fill out an online application and pay a processing fee. This application asks for all records on your business and proof of your 51% or greater ownership and control. Once WBENC receives the application and all required documents, a trained Certification Committee reviews this information and also performs an onsite visit.

Conclusion

We know certification is no guarantee for success but we are hoping that it will allow us to break into new markets. If you are interested in becoming a WBE, go to the WBENC website.

The barn where I board my horse is located in Sunol, which is about 30 minutes away from the heart of Silicon Valley. Because of this many boarders at the barn are professionals–engineers, graphic artists, technical writers. Unfortunately, because of the poor economy here in California, a number of them have been laid off from their jobs. There is one woman whom I chat with a lot who is using this “in-between-jobs time” well. She rides her horse daily, works on consulting projects, writes in her blog she just created, constantly networks, and plans to create a local  professional group. She does all this along with going to job interviews. Instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for herself, she is busy doing other things. Because of this, she remains positive and upbeat. 

My friend got me thinking about other things you can do when you are unemployed. Here are ten ideas I have on what to do with your time while you are looking for a job or contract:

1. Look for free webinars to learn about a new trend.

For example, I found a free webinar offered by the Gilbane Group called DITA: Promise and Reality. The webinar was well done and informative.

 2. Learn about wikis.

Curious about wikis? There are many that offer free use. Melody and I use nokahuna as a place to share and store our marketing tasks. 

3. Learn to use a new authoring tool.

There are a lot of tools on the web that are free. If you want to learn how to use, for example, InDesign you can download a free trial copy to use for 30 days.

4. Create a blog/website to advertise and market your skills.

You can create a free one on www.wordpress.com or on www.blogger.com.

5. Volunteer your writing services.

Many organizations would love to have a writer volunteer their services. Some places I have volunteered for in the past are the Humane Society, Society for Technical Communicators (STC), and horse associations.

6. Begin an exercise program.

Exercise will make you feel better physically and mentally. If you are feeling a little down, walking, running, biking, or swimming are great mood elevators.

7. Plan lunch dates with people you would like to get to know.

This is a great way to stay in contact with business associates and update them with how your job hunt is going. Going to lunch also gets you out of the house and lets you socialize.

8. Write free articles for professional magazines.

Why not write an article for a professional magazine? This task helps you keep your skills up, allows you to get your name out in front of your peers, and gives you something to add to your resume.

9. Create LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.

Creating these social media accounts will allow you to keep in touch with colleagues online. Your LinkedIn account also acts as a resume where you can show others your skills and job history.

10. Volunteer for a position in your professional organization.

If you have free time, why not use it to help others? I think doing something to help another person makes you forget about your own problems and lifts your mood. Your local STC chapter will be very happy to have your volunteer your time.

So readers, what are your ideas? Send me email if you are shy or post a comment.

At the last Society for Technical Communication (STC) meeting, DJ Cline the President of the STC Silicon Valley chapter, asked those sitting at our table this question, “How many of you are using social networking tools, such as Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter?” Half of us at the table, raised our hands. Those who did not raise their hands did not use these tools because they didn’t feel they had any value. Are they right? Does social networking have any value for a technical writer? I think the answer is “yes” and “no”.

Social Networking is Growing

According to PRNewswire, more than 40 percent of consumers use online social networks. In addition,  their popularity spans across generations. Today, about 19 percent of those age 55 and over visit these sites, up from just 6 percent a year ago. This is important to know because those people could be your next client.

What is It?

So what is social networking? Most of us over the age of 40 when we hear the word “networking”, think of going to a meeting or conference, shaking hands, and passing out business cards. Social networking is doing the same thing but doing it online. Instead of physically driving to a meeting, you go to an online location to “meet” people to build business relationships. In these online locations, you can:

• advertise your skills and area of expertise for free
• meet with past collegeaues or professionals
• network for jobs or clients
• interact socially as well as professionally
• promote your website or blog

According to many news articles, social networking can translate to real benefits for your company. Online networks are helping companies market their services, hire people, and monitor customer feedback. Some of the networking tools used by businesses today are LinkedIn, FaceBook and Twitter.

A technical communicator who uses these tools to the max is Scott Abel. Scott, a content management strategist and social media choreographer, has not only created various social sites about himself but also a technical communicator community called the Content Wrangler Community. In addition, Scott uses Twitter on a daily basis to pass on interesting information he finds.

Social Networking Tools

Social networking can benefit you and your business in many ways. Here are three social networking tools I use:

LinkedIn–Linkedln is the world’s largest professional network with over 40 million members that allows you to network with past or present colleagues, discover connections, and interact with other experts in your field.

I use LinkedIn for three reasons: to promote my expertise and skills, network with others, and as a research tool.

Promoting

When you join you create a profile that summarizes your professional expertise and accomplishments.This page contains a summary of your skills, a list of past and present clients, and shows recommendations from past employers or clients. Here is an example of my LinkedIn Home page.

Networking

LinkedIn allows you to connect with colleagues you may have lost contact with. I use this tool to keep in touch with others.

Researching

Secondly, I use LinkedIn to research companies. My partner and I maintain a list of companies that we could possibly sell our services to some day. By using LinkedIn, we can see who is connected to these companies. This is useful since sometimes you may not find the information you need on the Internet.

Facebook–According to Wired many companies and organizations, such as the CIA, are now on Facebook, using the site’s interactive tools like chat, video and personal messaging to establish relationships with potential hires and clients. Many are finding this site is a good tool for peer-to-peer marketing since it is considered one of the most popular social networks with more than 200 million active users worldwide.

Twitter–Twitter is a quick way to get a short amount of information out quickly and to a large audience. So what could a business possibly use Twitter for? Surprisingly many things. You can use this tool for  marketing research, promotion, or business development. According to Gartner, an information technology research and advisory company, companies are using Twitter as a marketing or public relations channel and as a means of tracking what is being said about the company.

If you can’t think of what to twit about, read Chris Brogan’s post called 50 ideas on using Twitter for your business.

Caution!

Before you go on these sites, think about what message you want to convey. Be careful what you post!

So do you use social networking tools? If so, which ones? Do you Twitter? Is it working for you?