Title: Technical Writer
General Job Purpose:
Maintain and ensure document integrity, readability and consistency, and provide information and challenge current systems to best utilize document/written communication technologies.
General Responsibilities:
1. Exercises a high degree of technical autonomy, while actively promoting and participating in cross-functional teamwork environments.
2. Performs analyses to develop document clarity, consistency, formatting and readability.
3. Takes a leading role in providing technical information concerning documents and document systems, and challenges current systems (advantages and limitations) to best utilize changes in document/written communication technologies.
4. Selects techniques to solve document and document system problems and makes sound recommendations.
5. Demonstrates and actively promotes high levels of professional technical writing discipline/rigor.
6. Technical influence is evident beyond departmental boundaries for matter of plant-wide interest.
7. Has significant expertise in associated quality and document requirements and is thoroughly familiar with the pertinent regulatory requirements.
8. Is a focal point for continuous improvement efforts and the pursuit of document excellence in the department.
9. Is an influential team member, fully motivated to achieve and demonstrate best practices in line with the department and site objectives.
10. Gives technical writing guidance to junior technical writers, engineers and technicians.
**Project Specific Responsibilities:
– Works with cross-functional areas to develop policies and procedures supporting the Quality System or other regulatory requirements.
– Facilitates meetings and keeps track of project deliverables and schedule as needed Serves as business analyst on business process improvement projects Develops documentation concepts/drafts and presents to stakeholders for review and approval.
– Provides guidance and consultation on best documentation practices
– Develops training material and conducts training sessions as needed.
Qualifications:
– Bachelor’s degree + 5 years of experience, or Master’s degree + 3 years of experience
– 5+ years of experience in a medical device or highly regulated industry.
– Experience with writing policies and procedures and Quality System documentation is preferred
– Strong leadership and communication skills, customer orientation and ability to work effectively in a team environment
**Interested candidates should email a resume in MS Word format**
I’d try to break this down but I can’t read for more than two bullet points before my eyes roll back in my head and my brain wants to explode. From what I can decipher they basically want you to be able to write, edit and show up on time. Why they needed 10 bullet points to say that is beyond my pay scale and probably why I don’t work in a cube anymore.
I need a masters degree just to understand the job listing. I don’t know who wrote this but I bet they are no fun at parties. Hopefully they will be allowed to remove the pole from up their ass once they leave the company.
What amuses me most about this job listing is the last line:
Strong leadership and communication skills, customer orientation and ability to work effectively in a team environment
Do you really think they are looking for strong leadership skills? Unless you are an officer in the corporation you are not allowed to lead at all. Team players are what they want – kiss ass, suck up, team players who do what they are told. Leaders need not apply.
This looks like it’s intended to be part of the screening process; they don’t want anybody who can’t make it through their verbal obsticle/endurance course!
Which is why I couldn’t get a job if I were looking for one.
I work with a group of Technical Writers. If you’ve ever met one, the ‘writing’ skill is actually a pretty loose requirement.
I don’t know how you could write after figuring out what they are asking for, if you ever could. What I remember about working for a software company in the 90s was that I spent a great deal of time kissing my boss’s ass and his boss’s ass. They had to kiss the asses of the bosses above them. I didn’t actually do a whole lot of ‘work’ there as the software they made didn’t work. I did spend a lot of time making excuses to clients like Target and Best Buy about why the software didn’t work – it was their fault.
A social media specialist position description I read recently had 45 bullet points. Forty-five.
45 bullet points to describe using Twitter and Facebook? Dang.
Oh my word! I did read through most of it, but understood very little. What were they actually looking for? Point 6 had me confused but I don’t have any qualifications so what do they expect?
The person they were looking for only exists in imagination. If you read it over again it’s a description of an employer’s wet-dream.
Ofcourse, they have already lost many many many good candidates by just posting this ad.
This job description is whoever wrote this must of been having fun with how many times can i say the same thing a different way. Geez
Maintain and ensure document integrity? I’d rather guard a stapler. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
yep. I’ll never go back to the corporate world, either. No thank you.
I read the first paragraph, and number 1, and left it there. What a big pain in the ass place to work, no thanks! I’ll stick with my little office of 4 people.
It’s easy when you break it down. It also helps if you can read between the lines. Here, take a look:
1. Will be a good sheep, get along with other sheep and won’t piss off the shepherd
2. Figures out if the shit we wrote makes sense3.Does shit that makes the boss look great and doesn’t try to take credit for it.
4. Agrees with everything the boss says and takes shit when the boss is wrong
5.Knows when to use “their” and “there”, “your” and “you’re”.
6. Will kiss other bosses’ asses too.
7. Can use a photocopier and knows how to change the toner.
8. Brings in donuts and Dilbert cartoons to share with the department.
9. See points 8 and 3.
10. Carries the department’s slackers, especially the boss’ nephew.
See? Simple, really. You’re welcome 🙂
Love #8. Ha ha ha.
I’ll bet the paper that job posting is printed on would make a tasty snack for a hungry goat.
They know how to build a mental roadblock with words. I worked with documents, presentations, spread sheets, and databases, and I’ve never seen such a written train wreck. Have they heard of the word redundant? I would certainly not post on or apply for that job.
Oy! I think that says it all. 😉
I think my favourite part was “5+ years of experience in a medical device…”. Boy, that should narrow the field of candidates somewhat!
Evidently, the person who wrote the job posting should not apply for the job as I noted zero integrity, consistency, or READABILITY in the listing. Also, I love, Love, LOVE the Office Space pic. One of my all-time favorite films ever. How many flares do you have?
🙂
Traci
Good Lord they are in need of a humorous technical writer.
Aloha FSSF!
Instead of re-posting their list of “General Responsibilities” I’ll just post the translation
1. Plays well with others.
2. Doesn’t use txt speech.
3. Knows how to use Microsoft Office and can show us how to do something when we get that blank look in our eyes.
4. You’re an IT guy too.
5. Have at least an 8th grade reading and writing level and can use corporate buzzwords such as “best practices”, “family oriented”, and “moving forward” which inevitably mean nothing.
6. You could be able to hack into the CIA computers and you’re still going to be a low level IT guy while your manager doesn’t understand how to access their email.
7. See 3 and 5,
8. You go along with our incredibly stupid ideas, or just don’t get caught not doing them, when we implement ideas that have nothing to do with your actual job. Such as having you fill out little sheets daily on how you saw your co-workers behaving safely.
9. “You do as I say, not as I do.” (Ironically the real list had a corporate buzzword in their #9)
10. Train the new guys, cause we have no idea what we’re doing.
You are so right! I tried to read your post (the resume) but I started to throw-up a little bit in my mouth and had to stop.
Waiting to hear the salary! They list all that CRAP, make it sound HUGE and then they probably want to pay 15,000 a year!
This is why I’m self employed. My favorite jobs (years ago when I was looking) were the ones that said they wanted excellent written communication skills. I have a degree in English with HONORS and wouldn’t even get a phone call. Translation: they want good communication skills to appear magically in someone with no training so they don’t have to pay them too much money.