Avatar photoSteven Savage

Documentation And Fear

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When I started my last job search, I was surprised at how many job interviewed involved me managing documentation.  Surprised not in that a Project Manager needed documentation skills or would oversee documentation projects, but in that someone actually cared.  IT is infamous for poor documentation, so it was nice to see a focus on good documentation.

I’ve wondered if the lack of documentation, record-keeping, and code commenting actually holds back development and innovation.  It’s hard to innovate when you aren’t quite sure what you’re doing at the moment or what people did in the past.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Publishing: The New Skill

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Published using Nook for the first time for my latest book.  It was about as easy as Kindle, with a few less international options.  That’s pretty promising, as I’d usually have Lulu.com do the job.

It’s still a pain to self-publish merely for the amount of options, platforms, and issues one has to face.  There’s what to put the document in when you write, any conversions you have to make, then what tool to publish it in (I go from Libre Office to Jutoh myself).  It’s nice to be able to self-publish, but I wouldn’t call it simple.

The strange thing is self-publishing is basically it’s own skillset.  It’s not a gateway to easy publishing if you’re a writer since you’ve got to be more than a writer – or hire someone that can do the conversions for you.  Yes, the barrier to entry is far lower, but what was once insurmountable financially or business-wise is still a challenge because you need the skills to self-publish.

Writing well is still never enough.  The barriers and challenges to publishing have changed and even lowered, but they’re still there.  Success is still a lot of work.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

 

Quest For Employment Is A Go!

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Yes, after many an interruption, my next book Quest For Employment is out!  I’m still waiting for it to process for the Nook (and iBook may take a bit) but you can get it in ePub, PDF, and Kindle!

This book is based on a series of columns I did at Fan To Pro concerning what I learned on an unexpected job search.  It was further tested and expanded when I got laid off a second time, and figured I might as well see if I knew what I was talking about.  As I’m employed, I’m pleased to say, yes, I probably know what I’m talking about.

It’s a great deal at $2.99, and is a fast, quick read that gives you a kind of “director’s cut scenes” on the job search, those extras, options, and observations you won’t find in standard job search guides.  Ever wonder about the role of empathy in your job search?  How resumes may get you judged on anything but the actual contents?  Why people seem to be talking about different things when they mention networking?  It’s all there in 40 breezy pages.

Best of all each chapter has actual “To Dos” to give you specific things to try out so you can use the knowledge right away.

If you’re not sure, there’s even a sample.

So drop on by, give it a look, and let me know what you think (and let me know what you think of the purchase options, I’m trying out some new services).

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.