Inside Tech Comm with Zohra Mutabanna

In this episode, we explore how content is created, consumed and distributed at an offshore service-based company. Tejasvi Patil shares with us her journey from QA into project management. Tejasvi shines a light on what successful content creation looks like on her team, and the pitfalls of inadequate documentation. Some topics that we touched upon: Guest Bio Tejasvi Patil carries with her a vast experience of 16 years in the IT industry. She has been working at Globant for the past 5...

In this episode, Bill Glynn shares with us some interesting insights on his background as a product manager, and what collaboration looks like from his perspective. We dive into these questions to understand the big picture and what is at stake: Guest Bio Bill Glynn has over twenty years of experience in product management utilizing waterfall, agile/scrum, and kanban processes to develop hardware and SaaS-based products for service providers and large-scale enterprise customers around the...

In this quick chat with Matt, we talk about Matt's background and his eventual journey into UX design. Matt works very closely with UX writers, and my goal is to spotlight what that partnership looks like. We talk about the benefits of that partnership and the challenges when writers are not at the table. Some of the questions we discuss: Guest Bio Matt Rife is an award-winning design professional with more than 15 years of experience spanning a variety of sectors, including financial...

We are launching Season 3 with a very special episode. In this interview with Kim Campbell, I embark on a journey to understand how academia is preparing the next generation of technical communicators. My aim is to spotlight how the Department of Technical Communication at the University of North Texas, in particular, is collaborating with the practitioners of the profession to bring a hands-on experience to the students and prepare them for the real world. Kim touches upon the disconnect...

In this final episode of Season 2, Robert Delwood, a former NASA engineer, sheds light on how technical writers can pivot to API writing. It is a special skillset and mindset. Listen to this exclusive episode to find out how you can acquire this skill and make it in this high-in-demand career. Per the website programmableweb.com, approximately 2000 APIs are added each year. For each API, roughly 2-3 writers are needed. Given this exponential rise in APIs, there is obviously a growing demand...

Somebody has aptly said that "looking for a job is like dating". When you are looking for the perfect job opportunity, the process can be daunting. In this scenario, the recruiter or the talent acquisition manager can be your friend. In this heart-to-heart conversation, Olivia Farmer shares with us the "behind the scenes" of hiring the right talent. As much as the days can be grueling, Olivia reminds us how recruiters can be our advocates during the hiring process. We touch upon all facets...

Denise Kadilak says "show that you've got knowledge about the field and that you are self-motivated, and you're willing to pivot, embrace change. If you can demonstrate that in any way on your resume. That's always going to be a big win." We talk about what to do in an interview and what not to in this fun and fast-paced conversation. Tune in if you are curious about what out-of-the-box hiring looks like. Learn more about what innovative and forward-thinking managers look for in a...

Staying with the theme of Job Search and Career Advancement, David Owens dives deep to give us a hiring manager's perspective on what he looks for in a tech comm candidate for his team. If you think tech comm is all about writing manuals in a silo, then this interview may just open your eyes. The field is fast evolving if you have not noticed, and managers are interviewing to fill non-traditional tech comm roles. Are you game? If not, this conversation promises to give you some great tips on...

In the first episode, Jack Molisani and I talked about how to spruce up your resume. We continue our conversation to discover how to interview for success. Landing that next gig depends as much on your attitude and experience as it does on how you present yourself at the interview. Jack Molisani shares secrets about how to be a hit at a content interview. We ponder these questions: If these questions intrigue you, then this conversation has more hidden nuggets that you will want to...

Season 2 - Job Search and Career Advancement Aren't we always looking for those amazing tips that can improve our chances of getting our next big gig? It all starts with that critical document - the resume. In this debut episode of Season 2, Jack Molisani shares some great insights into the dos and don'ts of things to put on your resume. Some things that we cover: Listen to the episode to find a hidden gift. You don't want to miss it. Guest Bio Jack Molisani is an STC Fellow, a member...

My biggest supporter and life partner, Iqbal Mutabanna, decided to interview me for the last episode of Season 1. So here I am in a candid conversation, sharing my professional journey with you. We will pivot in Season 2 that launches in the second week of August. Stay tuned. Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy my episode :)

Tina Davis, CSM has done a little bit of everything - from teaching dance, working as a television editor to being an entrepreneur. Like many of us, she chanced upon the field of technical writing. Tina sought out the best education opportunity to put her on a road to success - and success she did find in her second career of choice. In this episode, she shares her journey into the world of nonprofits. If you are interested in working for a nonprofit, tune into this episode as Tina shares...

Laurel Beason has covered the journey from journalism to technical writing, and everything in between. If you are new to the field and would like to find out how you can move forward with the "think-forward" mindset, then tune in. In this episode, we chat about: Guest Bio Laurel Beason has earned her living as a professional writer for over 30 years. She started her career as a newspaper reporter in the Pacific Northwest and transitioned into technical writing after moving to Dallas in the...

Sree Pattabiraman's journey is one of exciting twists and turns. She graduated with a degree in commerce but found her first break in technical writing. Today, Sree is a rising leader in the field of technical communication. She is a DITA guru, a speaker at several events, and a role model to anyone who wants to make it in the field. Sree shares her amazing story that started "back home" in India and her pursuit for excellence that brought her to the land of opportunity. I am sure her story...

This space does little justice to the guest I am about to introduce. But here it is... Altaf Tyrewala is the author of the critically acclaimed books, No God in Sight and Engglishhh: Fictional Dispatches from a Hyperreal Nation. He has also edited the crime-fiction collection, Mumbai Noir. Altaf's works have been published and anthologized worldwide. In this tete-a-tete, Altaf shares his journey that merges e-learning and creative writing. He shares an interesting perspective of how the...

Teresa Nguyen has navigated the fields of journalism and tech comm in the not-so-distant past. She currently practices UX research. In this episode, Teresa shares some amazing insights on how she leveraged her transferable skills and the common "through-line" of human experience to weave through these intersecting fields. Guest Bio https://www.linkedin.com/in/technicallyt

Ron Gardner pursued a degree in agricultural journalism, but "fell" into technical writing. Ron shares how his background in journalism, some sprinkling of "schmoozing", and bootstrapping have contributed to his long and successful career in technical communication. Ron also talks about the inverted pyramid to "trim the fat" from your writing. Now, aren't you intrigued? Guest Bio Ron Gardner has been a technical writer for over 20 years. He graduated from Texas A&M University in College...

Timothy suggests that no matter what profession you belong to, you are doing technical writing at some level. Drawing from this philosophy, he shares an interesting perspective on how his nursing students became invested in tech comm after taking an introductory tech comm course. Understanding the nuanced difference between audience and user can be the difference between good and bad communication. Listen in for a fascinating conversation from an academic and practitioner who brings a...

I happened to attend a webinar of Steve Wiseman, titled "Beyond the Publication - Bringing the World of Technical Communication and Enterprise Content Strategy Together". In this webinar, Steve discusses what content strategy is, the relationship between content strategy and helping organizations scale, and how the technical communication content creation and iteration process is valuable across the organization. You will hear references to this webinar in this episode as the primary theme...

Faith had long been seeking a stable opportunity that would pay the bills. But in doing so, she found a career that she loves. She discovered that this field satiates many facets of her personality - all in one job. How many of us can say that? Faith also shares an interesting perspective on why she thinks technical writing is the inverse of creative writing. Perhaps that sentiment resonates with you... Guest Bio In her own words..... Hi, I’m Faith Peralta! I’m a Technical Writer at a...