Most Important Skills For a Technical Writer at Global Software Company

The number one thing I put on this list is rolling with change. This means stepping into intense situations where, for perfectionists, it's difficult to not know what will happen or to feel out of control. You're really in a place where you have to think on the spot.

This is improv. I have to show people what I'm thinking, how I'm processing, and be vulnerable. I need to tell people what I think in the moment, sometimes in front of a room full of people or in a big meeting, and make decisions that will affect us.

Rolling with change is huge, but so is staying organized. Collect all the details that pop up along the way and never assume something isn't important. Don't think, "Oh, that's not really important, it's small," because it will come back to bite you later.

You learn the hard way if you cut corners with details or don't ask a follow-up question. You might wonder if asking will make you a nuisance. No, it will lead to a better project and a better experience for everyone.

I've been lucky enough to work with really thorough people. If you skip a detail, they'll find it for you, which isn't a great feeling. So be thorough and be okay with change, because you can juggle everything.

As long as you stay organized and don't cut corners, you'll be fine. Number two is understanding when something is done. In school, we get to edit things until they're perfect.

But you need to know if the most important things are being communicated clearly. There are warning labels that say, "If you run power to this underground port, make sure the cable doesn't overload it, otherwise it'll blow up." You have to put that label on; there's no option.

It could hurt someone. You have to make sure all the most important things are communicated as clearly as possible, in priority order. Let go of things that may matter more to you personally and focus on protecting customers.

Understanding when things are done can be difficult. When you publish something and send it off, people will take it to a meeting or presentation. I have many methods to ensure my mind is at peace when I send something off for publication.

I search large-scale documents for swear words to ensure I haven't accidentally included one. It happens. You might publish so many times and then accidentally write something inappropriate. You don't want to embarrass other people.

It's important to know when things are done because documents can get so long, thousands of pages. You need to know when to say, "It's done," and let it go.

This is really important: you have to have strategies to make something boring fun and engaging. This is not just for you to survive the workday, but for others too. You can look at someone and talk about something technical and dry.

Just humanize the situation and keep it lively. Working 40 or 50 hours a week in a tech environment with safety-sensitive information can get dry. People do better work when there's good chemistry and energy in the room.

Making something boring fun is possible. Just humanize the tech world in general because it can get a little robotic. Humans need humans to work with.

Having natural curiosity about people, differences, cultures, and values is a skill I use all the time. It's instinctive to me. I ask a million questions, which can put some people off day-to-day.

But at work, it really helps me. It helps to bring yourself to work and have your personality traits be part of something that helps you complete your role more thoroughly. Keep learning. You're never done.

With that, it's truly amazing what your mind can do, especially if you step into that realm of intensity where you're okay with change. This means your mind too. You might not work with equations, but you're talking to an expert in math, and you're going to write a chapter about equations.

Guess what? You can understand it. You really can. It doesn't matter what kind of student you were or are; you're a human with a brain, and our minds are amazing.

Lastly, use appropriately timed humor, if that's part of your personality. It diffuses situations when things get rigid. There are times when things are important to discuss, but sometimes it's just a semicolon. It's good to keep it light if you can. It helps people think better.