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STC Certification: An In-Depth Interview with Steve Jong

Tom Johnson — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:11:47 +0000

The following is a guest post by Steve Jong, chair of the STC Certification Commission.

What does the certification program involve?

First, for an introduction to the subject, I recommend the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_certification. Our Certified Professional Technical Communicator™ (CPTC) credential provides assurance to employers and the public that the certified practitioner possesses the knowledge, skill, and ability expected of a competent technical communicator to meet the demands of technical communication projects, today and tomorrow.

To become certified, a candidate must submit a packet of material covering five areas of practice: (1) user, task, and experience analysis; (2) information design; (3) process management; (4) information development; and (5) information production. The packet is given a double-blind assessment by a team of evaluators according to objective criteria. If the packet meets or exceeds the criteria, the applicant is certified.

Once achieved, certification is good for three years; to maintain it, certified practitioners must continue their professional development, through continued learning, attending programs and conferences, or other professional activity—the choice is theirs.

What led to the development of a certification program?

It’s been a long and winding road. The first recorded discussion of certification was an STC Annual Conference all the way back in 1964! STC formed an ad hoc certification group in 1975. Certification languished as a chicken-and-egg problem: members wanted proven value before embracing it, but without a program there was no proven value. Repeated member surveys showed majority support for the concept, though always with a vocal minority in opposition.

In 1985 the committee reached the point of presenting a proposal to the STC Board to undertake a one-time certification of members. Extrapolating from another poll, the plan would have exactly broken even. Given what they felt was a lack of consensus, the Board decided to postpone a decision for two years, which in the end turned into more than 20. During that time certification became much more common among other professions, with plenty of successful examples.

Five years ago, STC commissioned a study that told us we needed three things to be considered a profession: a code of ethics, a body of knowledge, and certification. Independently, we saw that certification is a key characteristic of thriving associations. We already had a code of ethics; we began the BOK work, and certification took on new urgency.

The incarnation of the certification task force that I chaired was able to define overarching areas of practice that are unique to our profession yet shared among our many subgroups. We also came to realize that the certification market was much more than STC members; that certification was not a one-time event but an ongoing operation; and that STC would benefit not just from application fees but also from recertification and training. From this three-dimensional perspective, the economics of certification made sense, and in April 2010 we wrote a proposal that the Board could accept.

Has anyone completed the certification program yet?

We are collecting packets right now. When we have enough we will calibrate the scoring system. We expect to announce the first group of certified technical communicators at the STC Summit in Chicago.

What are the goals of certification?

At the 2009 STC Summit, a group of STC thought leaders brainstormed a list of drivers, or reasons for certification. The STC Board subsequently accepted the list as fitting STC’s strategic goals. This is what the certification program is trying to achieve:

Legitimize the contributions of, and respect for, our profession
Establish uniform worldwide performance standards
Increase the employability and salary of certified practitioners
Satisfy employers’ expectations
Reduce hiring risk for employers
Generate non-dues revenue for the Society

What kind of resistance have you experienced in starting the certification program?

I’ve been presenting the program to audiences for several years now, and a few common themes have emerged. Some people question whether any meaningful assessment can encompass the diverse specialties within our profession. Some people cite a poor doctor, teacher, or plumber they once encountered as proof that all certifications are meaningless. Some people think there’s no need for them to get certified because they personally either have a strong portfolio (when job-hunting) or conduct interviews well (when hiring). Some people say they cannot show their work because everything they do is internal, proprietary, or secret. And some people think the program is just plain too expensive.

How do you respond to some of the objections people have made to certification?

Like other professions that offer certification, technical communication is a broad field. But we are not certifying expertise in subject matter, which employers may determine themselves, or specific tools, which vendors may certify. That narrows things down considerably. What we are assessing is competency in the unique skills we offer, and at that level technical communicators share a core set of knowledge, skills, and abilities regardless of job roles.

We can all think of someone who couldn’t do the job. Ours is not going to be a perfect system, and I’m sure that on occasion someone less than competent is going to slip past us. But that’s no reason to abandon certification. Despite individual examples of incompetents with credentials, no one in the real world seeks out an uncertified doctor, teacher, or plumber. In actuality, that’s the first thing we ask for!

Certification will not replace a strong portfolio or a skillful interviewer. But when we apply for a job, our résumé is only one of dozens skimmed by a recruiter or HR person. In the moment of consideration it gets, certification makes it stand out, which can give you the opportunity to show that portfolio. And at the other end of the process, when a hiring manager has to choose between equally qualified candidates, certification can be the tiebreaker. Our certification is an independent, objective, third-party assurance, and in time it will become a meaningful distinction.

Evaluators must sign blanket non-disclosure agreements, drawn up by our legal counsel, to protect applicant submissions. However, we set up the process so that you can become certified without ever showing a piece of real work. You can use older work, redacted samples, recreations, even simulations. Of course, it’s easiest to use samples drawn from your own portfolio, but you don’t have to.

Finally, certification is an individual decision, and there is no guarantee you that if you get certified your salary will increase or you’ll get a promotion. But in the professions we’ve studied, the average certified practitioner enjoys a salary premium that far exceeds the cost of certification. Compared to certification programs for comparable professions, the cost to obtain and maintain CPTC certification is midrange or slightly lower. So I dare say it’s a bargain!

Who is the target audience for certification?

The CPTC credential is available worldwide to experienced technical communicators who work in English and wish to demonstrate that they have the ability to meet the North American standards for practice. That’s a mouthful, so let me unpack it a bit. We require a combination of experience and education to qualify. While a bachelor’s degree is plenty, if you have five years of experience you really only need a high-school diploma or its global equivalent. (This is how PMI certification works as well, by the way.) With a specialized degree (such as technical communication), the experience requirement is reduced to as little as three years.

You don’t need to be an STC member to get certified, and you won’t need to get certified to be an STC member. Our evaluators work in English; in future we hope to expand to other languages. The mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities we’re looking for were qualified for the North American market, though we’re working to qualify the mix outside North America.

Is the BoK comprehensive enough to be the foundation for a certification program?

Yes and no. To quote its charter, the Body of Knowledge is “attempting to organize, make accessible, and connect together the plethora of information necessary to train for and practice within the profession.” That certainly fills the bill! But the BOK will take time to flesh out. And the BOK team is cataloging material as it arrives, not concentrating on the subset of information we’re certifying. For now we are evaluating submission packets prepared by candidates, which better fits the portfolio model familiar to practitioners. When the BOK is ready we will switch to exam questions drawn from it. So if you’re nervous about taking tests, I suggest you get certified now.

How much does certification cost?

For charter applicants (until 14 February 2012), the application fee is $99, the assessment fee is $495, and the yearly maintenance fee is $49. Additionally, if you return your submission packet by 14 February 2012, we will rebate $100 of the evaluation fee. After that, prices will increase, more so for non STC members. So if cost is a concern, or you’re not an STC member, consider applying now.

What would be the advantage for established professionals to go through certification?

As I mentioned before, certification is a tiebreaker both for setting an interview and for getting an offer. I’m not blowing smoke here: this is what we’ve heard from HR professionals and hiring managers. In uncertain times, certification program applications go up. That’s because people look for every edge they can get.

For a gray-haired veteran, certification won’t make as much difference as it will for a mid-career professionals. But as the Wikipedia article puts it, professional certification stands above your résumé (which is you writing subjectively about yourself) or a reference (which is someone speaking to your role in one place) as an independent, objective, third-party assurance of your competence.

There’s something else to consider. Take my personal example: I was named an STC Associate Fellow this year, and—how shall I put it?—I’m most of the way through my working life. I am not in the target demographic for certification. But I am at the point where I think in terms what is good not just for me but for STC, the profession, and my colleagues. Certification will transform the Society, the profession, and the careers of people working today. To me, anything I can do to help accelerate the growth of the program is worthwhile.

Is there a way to participate as a trainer in any of the certification courses?

Yes! In other professions, the typical certification applicant spends more for training than for the certification process itself. By starting CPTC certification we are establishing a market for certification courses. STC plans to participate in that market, but it won’t be exclusive. Anyone can offer training in the areas of practice.

Steve Jong is a life-long technical communicator, an Associate Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication, a former STC Director at Large, and a former president of the STC Boston Chapter. He is the chairman of the STC Certification Commission, which has been established to oversee the STC certification program. You can read more about certification here. You can follow Steve Jong’s blog here.

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Upcoming Webinar: Designing Quick Reference Guides

Tom Johnson — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:31:14 +0000

I’m giving an STC webinar this week on designing quick reference guides. Here are the details:

Designing Quick Reference Guides
Date: Wednesday, 25 January | 1:00–2:00 PM EST (GMT-5)

Condensing a manual into an attractive quick reference guide requires a poet’s precision with language, but it also requires you to exercise skill with visual design and page layout. These short guides blend marketing with instruction, allowing you to combine text with images to pull readers into the content. Long manuals are outdated, ineffective ways to teach people software.

The quick reference guide (usually 2 to 6 pages), with strong visuals and a magazine-like layout, is something that end-users, project managers, and just about everyone absolutely loves. Quick reference guides should be a standard deliverable that technical communicators emphasize and prioritize in their work.

By the way, if you can’t make the webinar but you’re still interested in the topic of quick reference guides, see this page of quick reference guide resources on my blog.

Feb 19, 2012 update: You can access a recording of the webinar here.

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Slides from STC Webinar on Organizing Content (Findability)

Tom Johnson — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:44:55 +0000

Here are my slides from the STC webinar I presented on organizing content (findability). The official title of the webinar was “Organizing Content: Breaking Out of Topic-Based Hierarchies.” I added detailed notes for each slide. This should make the presentation understandable even without the audio recording. You can download the presentation in two formats:

Feb 19, 2012 update:You can listen to the recording of this webinar here.

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Podcast with Alan Houser — Candidate for STC Vice President

Tom Johnson — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 06:33:58 +0000

Download MP3
Length: 25 min.

Alan Houser

I recently interviewed Alan Houser, candidate for STC vice president, in a podcast about his perspectives and plans for the STC. Both Alan and Vici Koster-Lenhardt are running for this position. I asked each of them the following five questions:

What’s one of the greatest challenge STC members face right now. Any solutions?
What would you like to see differently in the STC?
Local chapters struggle to make their events relevant to members. How would you help fix this problem?
How can you help you resolve the rift between academics and practitioners?
Given the variety of job titles/specializations in the STC, how can you keep the magazines, conferences, webinars, etc. relevant?

For more information on Alan, see his bio here and his blog post on the STC Notebook. You can also listen to the Scriptorium webinar forum with the two candidates.

The election runs from March 9 to March 30. You can ask the candidate questions here.

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Podcast with Victoria Koster-Lenhardt — Candidate for STC Vice President

Tom Johnson — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 06:33:48 +0000

Download MP3
Length: 15 min.

Victoria Koster-Lenhardt

In this podcast, I talk with Victoria Koster-Lenhardt, candidate for STC vice president, about her perspectives and plans for the STC. Both Alan and Victoria Koster-Lenhardt are running for STC vice president. I asked Victoria following five questions:

What’s one of the greatest challenge STC members face right now. Any solutions?
What would you like to see differently in the STC?
Local chapters struggle to make their events relevant to members. How would you help fix this problem?
How can you help you resolve the rift between academics and practitioners?
Given the variety of job titles/specializations in the STC, how can you keep the magazines, conferences, webinars, etc. relevant?

For more information on Victoria, see her bio here and her blog post on the STC Notebook here. You can also listen to the Scriptorium webinar forum with the two candidates.

The election runs from March 9 to March 30. You can ask the candidate questions here.

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Podcast: Educational Programs and Workplace Practices

Tom Johnson — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 22:11:18 +0000

Download MP3
Length: 65 min.

Last week we recorded an Intermountain-STC chapter event, “Educational Programs and Workplace Practices,” held in Layton, Utah. The event included a panel of academics from local technical communication programs in Utah. We had six programs represented: BYU Provo, Westminster College, Utah Valley University, University of Utah, Utah State University, and Weber Utah State University. About 15 students and a handful of practitioners attended the event.

Here’s a description of the program:

It’s often a mystery to practitioners what Utah’s technical communication programs offer. Hiring managers are unaware about the knowledge and skills they can expect program graduates to have. And educators often struggle to understand workplace trends and realities. At this event, a panel of educators will describe their programs and discuss with practitioners the effectiveness of the coursework. Professionals in the audience will provide insight into current trends in the field. This discussion will be enlightening for all professionals, educators, and students in technical communication programs or fields.

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Searching STC Resources for Information

Tom Johnson — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 12:00:58 +0000

One of the advantages of belonging to the Society for Technical Communication (STC) is having access to the rich information sources on technical communication. These sources include Intercom, the Technical Communication Journal, past proceedings from conferences, the Notebook blog, and more. Unfortunately, there isn’t a single search that allows you to comprehensively search all of these sources at once. I this screencast, I show you how to navigate and search the STC site to find information.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_xyVw06OZ4

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Introduction to WordPress — Recording of WordPress Webinar

Tom Johnson — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:08:06 +0000

Last month I gave a webinar on WordPress to the STC CIC SIG, which is the Independent Contracting and Consulting Special Interest Group of the Society for Technical Communication. I recorded the webinar and am allowed now to make it available for free on my site.

The recording plays my voice only, and the whole webinar lasts about 75 minutes. You can view the recording in two sizes. If you want small dimensions (about 1000 pixels in width), which will fit on most computer screens, view this recording. The clarity is a little fuzzy because I resized it to be smaller.

If you have a larger monitor or higher resolution, view this recording. The dimensions are larger, with a 1440 pixel width, but the clarity is perfect, since it isn’t resized at all.

Since it’s a huge file, wait patiently for the screencast to load. Also, this is a long time to sit down and watch a tutorial, so you may want to view this during lunch.

By the way, if you don’t already know, I do WordPress consulting, so if you need to hire me to help you get started with a project, let me know.

Recording of WordPress Webinar

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WordPress Webinar July 13 with the STC Consulting and Independent Contracting SIG

Tom Johnson — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:11:47 +0000

I’m giving a webinar on WordPress tomorrow, July 13, at 1:00 to 2:30 pm EDT. The webinar is organized through the STC Consulting and Independent Contracting Special Interest Group (CIC SIG). Here’s the description:

Blogging is no longer a phenomenon. It is a way of life; another layer of communication to understand and utilize.

An effective blog site can be critical to establishing a successful presence in the electronic marketplace of the World Wide Web. It can also be instrumental in expressing oneself or one’s enterprise-in writing, in photography, in travel-or in disseminating knowledge, opinion, or other useful information. The potential is limited only by the creativity of the individual. A tool like WordPress makes this creativity possible.

But first, one has to learn how to use the tool properly.

In Developing and Designing Blogs, we will learn how to use WordPress to create and customize a blog with a specific look and feel. We will cover the best practices in blog design, including readability, layout, typography, searchability, navigation, and more. We will also discuss the use of categories, tags, images, video, and audio.

For more details and sign up information, see the CIC SIG webinar description.

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Experimenting with a New STC Chapter Meeting Model

Tom Johnson — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 06:48:51 +0000

Our Intermountain STC chapter recently did something different for our meetings. Instead of the monthly meeting that takes place at an always-distant location in the evening, we held a half-day event on a Friday afternoon with three presentations in a row focused on a theme. Surprisingly, it worked quite well. We had probably double the number of people who normally attend our evening meetings.

Lots of people showed up for our half-day e-learning event.

I’m quite excited about this new model. One advantage over the evening meetings is the driving-time-to-value ratio. With a typical evening meeting, for the hour + time you spend traveling, you hear only one presentation. With our half-day event, you listen to three presentations for that same one hour of driving time.

Meeting during the afternoon of a weekday also works much better for most members’ schedules, especially members with families. No one likes to leave their families in the evenings to go attend a work-related professional development event. But leaving work early on a Friday for the event, getting to bill the event as training — and still returning home to your family at 6 p.m. — is a much better deal.

Even though we had just one recorded webinar and two presentations, the attendees felt the event had high value. One person said if the chapter would keep putting events on like this, he surely would renew.

Part of the success was Joe Christensen’s highly mesmerizing presentation on e-learning project analysis. I’ll type up my notes on some of his stories in another post. He gave me a lot to think about.

Joe Christensen mesmerized us with stories about e-learning projects that racked up millions in cost only to find the initial project analysis was flawed.

This new meeting model is something our chapter is definitely embracing. I can see us scheduling even more presentations, such as every 30 or 45 minutes, and holding the event every other month. Our theme for the afternoon was e-learning. For our next meeting, someone suggested that we focus on graphics.