Martine Paardekooper – Technical Writer
How would you describe your job?
Even though the role is called ‘technical writer’, you really only spend a small portion of your time sitting at your desk to write. Before you can start writing, there’s a lot of researching to do – meeting people to discuss which information needs to be included, and which illustrations need to be made. And the most fun part: seeing the machine in action to get an even better understanding of what you need to write!
What do you love about your job?
What I love is how balanced this job feels; I’ve always enjoyed language-based tasks, such as writing, but I’ve also always been interested in technical topics. In this job, I get to enjoy an interesting mix of both.
Tell us about a project you worked on
My first project was working on the user documentation for the Colorado series, which taught me a lot. Recently, I also got the chance to give a writing-related training to colleagues from a different location. That was really exciting, because it felt a bit like a turning point to me. Going from a new colleague to an experienced colleague sharing my own knowledge.
What are your career goals?
Nothing is set in stone yet. At Canon Production Printing, you get a lot of options to broaden your horizons. I’m playing with the idea of learning more about technical service documentation.
What was your very best work day ever? Why that day?
The first time I got to experience the launch of a new product that I worked on. It’s really satisfying to see how many people worked on it, and seeing them all come together to celebrate the massive group effort.
What is your favorite topic to talk about with colleagues during breaks?
I love hearing about what my colleagues do in their free time; exchanging tips for nice walking routes, hearing about restaurants or theater shows they went to, or talking about hobbies.
What is the most valuable thing you learned at CPP?
That even though I’m one of the younger employees here, my ideas and thoughts are just as welcome as anyone else’s!
