Nick Theelen – Technical Writer
Joined 2020
What does a typical work day look like for you?
On a typical day, I spend time retrieving the information that I need for my documentation, which involves communicating with many people in many places within the company. Quite often, I’ll also take my photo camera and go to the Research & Development department or the Customer Experience Centre (CEC). There, I meet up with service specialists and engineers, so we can work on a real machine. I’ll take photos of every step, which we’ll later use in the manual and also as guidelines for me to create the text.
What do you love about your job?
The variety! I like not just doing the same thing every day. Some days, I’m running around with a camera, which is a lot of fun. But I wouldn’t want to do that all day either. The combination with writing is great.
Tell us about a recent project you worked on
We had to rebuild the high-capacity stacker, with a new tray. This was an upgrade requested by an important customer, which is also going to be available to our other customers. Because this involves hardware changes, it’s quite an extensive procedure. I got to participate in the install myself. That is the best way to get the details you need to write the procedure!
What are the biggest challenges in your work to cope with?
New software can get quite technical. Sometimes, I don’t immediately understand what it does or what it’s for, and that makes it challenging to describe how to use it effectively. Then I need to find the person who created it to get the information I need. Fortunately, although everyone is very helpful.
What’s your biggest achievement?
I’m enjoying getting more responsibility within projects. As writers, we are also a source for engineers looking for naming strategies and consistent development, and we offer feedback on interface copy. I’m proud that the engineers proactively seek us out before they write the first version, to get our input.
What was your very best work day ever? Why that day?
Shooting the video for the vacancy! It was different and exciting and just the kind of variety I like among my regular tasks.
What is your favorite topic to talk about with colleagues during breaks?
I have several colleagues who are active like me, and we talk about sports and workouts a lot. And about the other good things in life, such as vacation plans and good food.
What is the most valuable thing you learned at CPP?
That you never stop learning! I spent 20 years in school, but in this job I already see that there’s so much more to learn. Being on the work floor is a completely different experience than sitting on the school benches.
