Job Responsibilities
Create, edit, and update all written training material for a
company with seven concepts and 10,000 employees. Negotiate with
print vendors and come up with cost-saving ideas for materials.
Answer field inquiries regarding training. Make development
recommendations for management and senior management and enroll
them in appropriate courses. Manage training department library.
|
Job Requirements
Certificate in Technical Writing or equivalent writing experience
Excellent verbal and written communication skills with ability
to multi-task
Restaurant/Hospitality experience preferred, but not required
Must be a self-starter who can work with minimal supervision and
meet tight deadlines while producing high quality accurate
materials. Requires a lot of adaptability, flexibility, and
resourcefulness along with strong networking skills.
|
Uppers
I love writing and I love the idea that my materials are used to train and help
people. The restaurant industry is an interesting one and requires interaction
with the field. There's always some interesting project/initiative to work on,
which creates more challenges & learning experiences.
|
Downers
As a Training Specialist, it's easy to become the administrative
assistant and "Girl Friday" of the training department - in this
position, I think companies try to get away with not hiring the
right staff levels (i.e., a technical writer and an
administrative assistant) and so the pay is much less but the
work is more. If you're not careful, this position just becomes
a "catch-all" of tasks that no one wants to do.
|
Lifestyle
Some weekends (not very many) are required. During restaurant openings, very
long hours are required - working from 9:00 AM until 11:00 PM at night is not
unheard of. During less busy times, a typical work day is 9:00 - 6:00 with a 1/2
hour lunch. The job is very demanding and does not leave much energy for the
weekends. Dress is business casual and the corporate make-up is very diverse -
women, men, different ethnic groups. Must be sensitive to the audience you're
writing to - it can be different from the people you work with in the office.
|
Compensation
$20.63/hour with eligibility for overtime (the only plus!). 401
K, Medical/Dental/Life. No bonuses or stock options, although I
have in the past received small award checks for good
performance.
|
Advice to Jobseekers
If your passion is writing, get your Instructional Design
Certification. If your passion is training, get Langevin-
certified as a Facilitator, Developer, etc. Check out their
website at http://www.langevin.com.
If you're really serious about writing training manuals, get the
hands-on, operational experience you'll need for the audience
you'll be writing to, and then try to pursue a technical writing
position. The Training Specialist position is too general, more
entry level and tends to limit your opportunities at times.
|
|
