Grace
University of Washington Freshman
Aspiring Technical Writer

I'm glad I knew Cathi from IGNITE because she helped me find Cathy from Microsoft so I could job shadow her. Here is my job shadow event on Monday, May 1st

I got there at about 9:30 am. I went to Cathy's office and we chatted a bit. Then we went to the first meeting, called a writing Traige meeting, where they talk about the programs that have the most bugs and needs to be fixed first. It was a big meeting, and very interesting. They hooked up speakers so people can listen in on the meeting even in their office. Then we went back to Cathy's office, and she had me read a brief manual on what she is doing. She is working on the SMS. We went to lunch, and had to bring our food to the next meeting, a smaller one, where Cathy was leading it. We hurried to the next meeting, and some really interesting points and considerations were raised. After that, we went back to Cathy's office and she just gave me time to ask her questions.

Even though Cathy kept calling me "fly on the wall" for the meetings, I enjoyed them and felt like I belonged. I couldn't say anything though, but I felt like if I did work there. I would like being there. I loved how fast paced the working environment was. It gave me a better idea of what I wanted in a job. I probably wouldn't mind doing that daily. It inspired me to find more ways on how to get involved with technical communication, and it gave me more motivation to try to look for a class this summer, or even a simple internship to get me started. Cathy was really helpful and she gave me that feeling like I could ask any possible stupid questions and it is okay. I only wish I knew more about the procedures, which, after this job shadow, makes me want to find out more for myself, and do more job shadows with better questions next time.

Catherine Moya
Lead Technical Writer - Microsoft

I love taking students around on job shadows. For one thing, it reminds me that we have a whole range of customers out there for our products. I tend to get a bit insular in dealing with my own product and its customers. I also love to see the enthusiasm young people bring to new experiences. But the most important reason I love to do events like this is telling someone how much I love my job makes me remember why I love my job so much.

Grace fit right in. I handed her a notepad and instructed her to write down all the questions that came up during the long day of meetings I had on my calendar. She came up with great questions and we had time to answer them in the breaks between meetings. She got to see how our writers interact with the larger product team, with each other, and with one feature team of the product. She also got to sit in on some last-minute sessions I had with writers who I lead. Grace watched as we talked about doc strategy and how we make our docs help our customers understand our products.

Grace did all the little things right. She showed up on time. She had a great attitude - she was game for a fast-paced day! She was attentive and respectful in all of the meetings. She showed good manners. She listened to what I said and often asked clarifying questions to make sure she understood my points. She made a great impression on me and on my coworkers. We're always happy to get bright young people like Grace in here to see what we do.