Well, what a way to start 2023 — by being made redundant for the first time in my professional career, which has spanned almost 20 years. To say I felt like I was kicked in the teeth when I received the news is an understatement. Until last week, I worked as a technical writer for Specialized (a manufacturer of high-end bicycles) for over two years. I was laid off along with half my team in a broader cull of 8% of the workforce — mainly from the technology teams to which I belonged. In my time there, I built the role from nothing to a world-class suite documenting no less than six API services, all managed with Git and published automatically using CI/CD principles and a lot of Python.
While I get back on my feet, I’ve decided to create this new portfolio and professional blog, emerging from the shadows of my nom de plume. It’s very early days and I’ve a lot to do – writing resumes, and publishing work examples – but I hope this site will grow like a well-tended garden.