I would once again like to thank Nevin in Ireland for sending me a raft of thought-provoking questions. I believe today’s posting will cover the last of the lot. Nevin, I hope you and the rest of my readers have gotten some good use out of my answers. The last question he asked is about “Skills or attitudes which transcend trends and time but which can be useful for success in this field.” First, I’ll direct all of you to my post regarding skills for being a freelancer (go ahead, I’ll wait).
So, on the skill side, we have practical matters, such as:
- Customer service
- Technical proficiency
- Calendar management
- Budgeting
- Negotiating
- Invoicing
- Networking
- Marketing
Under behaviors and attitudes, the list runs something like this:
- Love what you do
- Willingness to accept risk and responsibility
- Self-starting and determination
- Reputation management (doing good work, refraining from self-sabotage)
- Optimism
- Politeness and manners
- Proper communication etiquette
- Develop a support network
Given all that, are there skills, behaviors, or attitudes that transcend the employee/freelancer divide? Certainly! Regardless of where you go, an effective technical communicator needs to be able to work well on his/her own and with teams. That requires a mix of soft skills, some of which I covered under a reply to a different Nevin question. There are also some personal attributes that translate well across multiple environments such as adaptability; a willingness to learn, and putting in the time to avoid bad writing; and learning the tools needed to do the job.
In short, because the writer is often such a singular contributor–or, sadly, considered easily dispensable because after all, “everyone can write, right?”–it’s worth taking the time to being the type of worker and person others want to have working with or for them. Are you pleasant? Productive? Helpful? Flexible? You will, of course, have your own way of doing things and demonstrating these attributes. You’re there to produce words that get the job done. How easily those words can be produced often depend on how well you work with others. And quite frankly, that sort of behavior transcends the workplace.
Be a good person. That’s the best “universal” advice I can offer.