Independent and Team Worker

Library years

I was the sole teacher-librarian in a variety of secondary schools in the early years of my career. In such positions I had to work with no supervision, developing and promoting the libraries and their services to the wider community. All such services were my total responsibility. Later I was fortunate to work with a close-knit team of library professionals, managing their duties. Outside these library situations I was always heavily involved in the wider school community, being part of school management teams and instrumental in the establishment of specific groups such as school Timetable Committees. I was also very involved in professional library associations, being an active member of state and national executive groups for a number of years.

Technical Communication years

At Microfusion I was a member of the Customer Support team and its inaugural Manager. At times I was responsible for up to eight people. My last position at Microfusion was an independent one, responsible directly to the General Manager. My time and activities were my own to manage and I had great autonomy in this role.

At Harman IT, I worked autonomously for the most part. At times I was required to be part of a team of developers in checking the specifications, feasibility studies, etc. for new software, as well as writing the end-user documentation for it.

Some contract positions at WMC Resources Limited required me to be an integral part of a team of 5 to 8 technical writers, following the corporate styles and methods.

In most contract work since 2000, I have been the only technical writer and editor. However, being a lone writer doesn't mean that I work alone - it is critical that I spend time interviewing and gathering information from the subject matter experts so that I can document their processes and procedures correctly.

Since early 2007, I have worked remotely from home with clients around the world using various technologies to communicate with the critical people on a project.