Thank you all for coming out on this busy weekend for our last brunch social of the year! Our feature guest was unable to attend due to catching the flu that has been circling around, but Natalya Lohnes will be making her entrance in January 2019!
STC Toronto will not be holding events during December, for it is the time for family, friends, parties, and of course, Holiday wishes! STC Toronto wishes you all a nice and warm holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you next year and bringing you a jam packed agenda for 2019!
We had the pleasure of welcoming Ray Gallon to Toronto this evening and speaking with him about the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Information 4.0 and new roles and responsibilities for Technical Communicators. This highly experienced international expert is the president and co-founder of The Transformation Society, a consulting and training company dedicated to understanding and dealing with complexity and digital transformation. Ray has over 20 years’ experience in the technical content industries, including major companies such as IBM, Alcatel, and General Electric Health Care.
Ray is president of The Information 4.0 consortium, a former international board member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and past president of STC France. He is a frequent speaker on communications topics at conferences and seminars around the world, and currently teaches in the University of Barcelona’s Master of Sound Art programme, and University of Strasbourg’s online Master of Technical Communication and Localization.
Wednesday, November 7th, 2018, Pamela Paterson, BJ, MS, the bestselling author of “Get the Job: Optimize Your Resume for the Online Job Search” and the founder of the Pamela Jean Paterson bursary, gave a compelling webinar at a deeply discounted rate for student and STC members. The webinar was graced with positive engagement, interaction and questions, and all attendees gained valuable, personal advice and insight into Pamela’s unique methodology.
About Pamela Paterson’s Job Market Conquering Methodology
Using business analysis techniques, Pamela analyzed the HR system to create a unique step-by-step methodology for conquering the job market. She has been teaching this methodology to HR professionals and job seekers across Canada and the U.S. for over 15 years. Pamela claims a 90% success rate in helping her clients find jobs through her innovative methods that have been reported in the national media. Pamela is a long-time mentor and supporter of people who strive for positive change in their lives.
Thanks to everyone who attended STC Toronto’s Annual General Meeting!
Meeting summary
Reviewed our finances, accomplishments, and challenges from the past year.
Shared our approaches, goals, and priorities for the year ahead.
Shared the results of our salary survey.
These will be distributed to the rest of our chapter members in the future.
Welcomed new community council members.
More details to come; we’ll be featuring our new members at future brunches.
Thanks to Beth Agnew for her keynote presentation! Beth shared her personal journey through tech comm and offered advice to fellow technical communicators, “the Swiss Army knife” of employees. Some of her key takeaways are summarized below.
Advice for Technical Communicators
Align your interests and actions with those you enjoyed as a child.
Be malleable—adapt to the company you work for.
Be confident—you have somewhat of a sense of even the most unfamiliar things (and can learn the rest through research).
When selling yourself, remember that you possess valuable skills and abilities. Never underestimate the value of understanding users. Good user experiences lead to satisfaction, loyalty, and sales. The ability to increase sales is valued by all employers.
Thanks to everyone who came out to our networking brunch! We enjoyed the company of STC Toronto’s current president Rob Cundari and past presidents Vic Bhai and Rob Hanna.
Discussion topics this month included:
Evaluating your company’s needs, the scope of your role as a tech writer, and related roles your company should consider hiring for.
Learning from common challenges tech writers face while developing documentation.
Promoting positive change and mitigating resistance from internal teams.
It wasn’t all business though. We also shared the personal interests and backgrounds that led us to tech comm and this event!
We always look forward to getting to know our members over brunch. These casual gatherings allow local technical communicators to connect, get advice, and share experiences with like-minded professionals.
Join us next month at Moxie’s Yorkdale. Saturday, April 28th at 11 AM. Non-members welcome. We look forward to seeing you!
