By Julie Daniel, Carolina Chapter Member


The first ever STC-Carolina Student Resume Clinic took place on Saturday, February 20, 2016, at the TEKSystems’ Raleigh location. The clinic was three full hours of insider information that all technical communication job seekers should know. Christina Mayr, STC Carolina President, kicked off the clinic with self-introductions from the volunteer panel, followed by an explanation of the packet contents, and then the agenda for the clinic. The students and new professionals came dressed for interviewing, ready to soak up as much information as possible.

The volunteers were from various companies in the Triangle and connected to technical communication in some way, meaning they are technical communicators, manage a team of technical communicators, help businesses fill their technical communicator needs, or teach technical communication. Thank you to the wonderful volunteers who gave up their time on Saturday to participate and share their knowledge and experience. The volunteers were:

Resume Reviewers:

• Ann-Marie Grissino
• Anjela Dukes
• Guiseppe Getto
• Larry Kunz

Interviewers:

• Larry Kunz
• Christina Brunk
• Robert Perry
• Emily Toone
• Sheila Loring
• Ben Davidson

Other:

• Betsy Kent (mentoring table)
• Christina Mayr (organizer, presenter)

Packet Contents

The packet contained information for the mock interviews and information to use in the job search after the clinic. The packet included the following:

• Blank resume example, containing simple styles and formatting, that the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) could read.
• Job description for the mock interviews.
• List of general questions and job experience questions that an interviewer might ask. For example, “Why did you choose a major in technical communication? (general question) and “How do you get organized when tackling a big project?” (experience question) All job candidates should be prepared to answer these questions for all interviews.
• Ideas to assist in landing a technical communicator position such as building a portfolio and the tools for producing written content.
• Accomplishment ideas to add to a resume, if applicable. Accomplishments make a resume stronger.
• Resume review checklist to guide students and new professionals in writing their technical communicator resume.

Please email Christina Mayr at christina at myresumerenovation dot com if you would like a packet.

From Prep Session to Field Professionals

Christina then told the volunteers and participants their room assignments to get the clinic underway. Participants had their resume reviewed by one volunteer and two mock interviews conducted by volunteers. Each session lasted 30 minutes.

The three hours went by very quickly but there was a very positive feeling of appreciation and empowerment from the participants in the room when everyone rejoined.


Julie Daniel can be reached at jdaniel at nc dot rr dot com.