Profile of a Business Communication Alumnus: Rob Otoka

Alumni Profile

Rob Otoka, Linking Professionals to Rewarding Careers in Information Design

Technical Recruiter (former Documentation Manager and Technical Writer)
B.S. in Business Communication, 1990

About Rob's Company
A Typical Day at Work
What Rob Likes about His Job
Other Career Highlights
Rob's' Thoughts about Prospects for Careers in Information Design
How a Bentley Education Has Benefited Rob

About Rob's Company

Since 1991, MICRO TECH PROFESSIONALS has specialized in placing contract and permanent:

Technical writers and information designers
On-line and web professionals
Editors and marketing writers
Graphic designers and illustrators
Human factors and usability engineers
Translation and localization professionals
Trainers and course developers
Instructional designers

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My primary responsibility is to find Information Design professionals to meet our high tech clients' business needs. To do so, I use several techniques including searching through internal databases and the Internet, cold-calling into similar organizations, interviewing prospective candidates, and networking. To understand our clients' needs, I research each client's market, technology, and service.

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What Rob Likes about His Job

Communicating, educating, helping others, and self-growth.

After graduating from Bentley in 1990, I worked for 7 years designing and developing documentation for financial software, first as a technical writer, then as a documentation manager. Based on this experience, I can help people build their careers in the same profession.

I also have the opportunity to share and expand my knowledge of the Information Design market, new technologies and skills, employer expectations, and the software development cycle. Understanding all of these aspects and matching them to someone's career needs is a very satisfying experience.

In addition, I have also redesigned our web site, marketing collateral, and advertisements. In fact, we are currently redesigning our site and collateral again. As I learned it at Bentley, communication is an on-going process. As business and technology evolve, so must a company's message to the market. Also "on my plate..." is the development of a curriculum for training new employees. For example, I designed and developed a series of reference sheets on the different types of Information Design professionals, as well as the tools and technologies that each uses.

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Other Career Highlights

I speak to local students at Bentley, Northeastern, and at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Lowell about the Information Design marketplace, preparing resumes and portfolios, and interviewing techniques. I have also given presentations to the Society of Documentation Professionals (SDP) on market trends in the information design profession.

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Rob's Thoughts about Careers in Information Design

The role of the Information Designer has expanded with the emergence of new business models (for example, Application Service Providers, e-commerce, business-to-business (B2B), and the virtual employee) and technologies (for example, wireless internet connections, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and voice recognition systems) . These new business models and technologies are changing the way people interact with computers. People in all age groups use computer applications. These developments have created unique business problems that require creative, innovative information solutions.

Today's Information Designer must understand how users interact with product and what users require from information. The Designer must then use the most appropriate delivery medium (for example, HTML Help, Web-Based Training, or Quick Reference Cards) to meet the needs of both the user and the employer. To develop the materials, clear, two-way communication must exist between the Information Designer and intended audience.

To help eliminate problems with products and reduce product "time-to-market," a new role for Information Designers has emerged: the human factors or usability engineer. This role involves conducting strict task analysis, developing and testing prototypes of products, and measuring results before general product release. Better designed products result in lower support costs. This new role offers a tremendous opportunity for all information designers.

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How a Bentley Education Has Benefited Rob

The combination of strong communication, technical, and information design skills, as well as a sound business background, has allowed me to build experience in several areas. My education at Bentley has allowed me to identify and solve business problems with creative, audience-targeted solutions. All of my positions since graduation have drawn upon the base of knowledge that I developed at Bentley. Furthermore, because communication is required in every organization, the skills I have developed at Bentley are extremely valuable and have provided tremendous opportunities thus far.

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