Technicalities

Meet Claire Schram, Senior Technical Writer and panelist at our September 2010 meeting.

How long have you been in the technical communication profession?
CS: Ten years.

How did you get your start as a technical communicator? If you made a career change, how did you go about it?
CS: I completed a Master’s degree in Technical Communication at University of Colorado, Denver (UCD) in September 2000 and was fortunate enough to find a job (through networking) in the IT department of a financial institution. This was a career change for me – previously, I had worked in sales.

Have you had other professional jobs outside the technical communication field? Did you learn anything from those jobs that has been useful for in your technical communication career?
CS: Yes. Experience in sales teaches you not to be discouraged by rejection, (i.e., failure). In IT, for example, it’s been my experience that approximately 30 percent of projects are canceled before they are ever completed. So, even if your project is one that “fails” and your work seems wasted, you have still used your skills and grown in the effort. This is also useful to know as a job seeker in today’s job market!

What is your favorite thing about being a technical communicator?
CS: The variety of deliverables you can create.

If you weren’t in the technical communication profession, what would you be?
CS: I’d probably be a conservation biologist. I’ve always been an advocate for the environment and for the conservation policies and practices we need to sustain the biological diversity of the planet.

Lynnette Reveling, Quality Specialist at OppenheimerFunds, began her career as a technical writer with her company in 1994. After converting all printed information to online resources (three conversions), she then helped move all documentation to a web-based intranet. Eight and a half years ago, she began her quality work with the company’s outgoing correspondence, editing and coaching writers. She will be presenting an overview of her company’s Go Green efforts to show how grass-roots, employees’ efforts can be implemented to help meet corporate economic goals. Ideas that may not have been economically feasible a few years ago are revisited today and found to be quite workable.

Lynnette has been active in the Rocky Mountain Chapter since 1997. She coordinated corporate sponsorships and hospitality (catering) for STC RMC competitions for four years, and worked on the Hospitality committee for the 1999 Region 7 conference. Lynnette was the STC RMC Seminars Manager from 1999-2001, and was awarded the chapter President’s Award of Service and Achievement in 2001 for planning and implementing successful and popular seminars for chapter members. She was chapter treasurer in 2001 and edited articles for the STC RMC newsletter, Technicalities. She received the Distinguished Chapter Service Award in 2008.

In addition to these responsibilities and accomplishments, Lynnette has written several newsletter articles and helped in volunteer recognition activities. Lynnette frequently attends meetings and mentors people along the way.