Who We Are and How We Would Like to Work With You
Who We Are — our focus and missionWhy Tech Pubs Professionals Value Us — what makes us worth your time
The Types of Jobs We Handle — and the skills we look for in our candidates
Register now — what we need from you to work on your behalf
How We Work — essential information about our process and how to make it work for you
Are You New to Tech Writing? — our highly opinionated advice to newcomers
About Synergistech — in case you're wondering, "Who are you people anyway?"
Employment Options — salaried, independent contractor, or payrolled employee?
Contact Us — email and snail mail address, phone and fax
Testimonials — what hiring managers and tech writers say about us
Who We Are
- Synergistech Communications
is a specialized recruiting service for qualified San Francisco Bay Area
staff and contract technical publications professionals.
- staff listings
- contract listings
- both staff and contract listings
- where you'd like to work (South Bay, peninsula, East Bay, North Bay, Sacramento, etc.)
- what deliverables you'd like to create
- whether you'd prefer to work on a staff or contract basis, or have no preference
- Once you have sent your résumé and the other necessary information, you will be subscribed to the email distribution list(s) of your choice and will begin receiving new listings as soon as we publish them. To reiterate, these listings are not targeted to you in particular. They go out to everyone who is subscribed to that list. Our descriptions are long and detailed, which is why we give each one a subject line and summary information sporting key details to help you quickly identify those positions you would like to read more about. There's no need to respond to such postings if you are not interested in the opportunity described. Feel free to share Synergistech listings with your colleagues — we pay referral fees! Just don't forward them to other recruiters.
- When you subscribe, we will also send you the user ID and password that let you see all our current staff and contract listings in one place on our web site. Simply click on the Qualified Applicants link on the Home Page. If you feel overwhelmed by the vast number of listings, try using your browser's find feature to track down key words.
- If you choose to respond to a listing, we prefer that you do so electronically by simply following the instructions that accompany it. We prefer that you correspond by email so that we have an e-trail for you.
- When you work with Synergistech, you are in the driver's seat. If you are actively seeking employment, it is essential that you proactively identify each job that is appropriate for you and respond to us promptly with a brief cover note specifying how you are qualified for that specific job. This cover note serves to draw our attention to aspects of your résumé that match the job listing.
- If we agree that there is a match, we will then reveal to you the name and location of the company, and identity of the manager, and will only send out your résumé after we get the green light from you. If we do not agree that there is a match and you would like to know why, simply ask us by email and we are happy to keep you informed.
- Once the hiring manager has seen your résumé and has indicated interest in speaking with you, we will facilitate the introduction and coordinate the interview process.
- Later on, we can (indeed, we prefer to) handle all aspects of negotiating your future compensation.
- After you have secured your new position, we encourage you to remain subscribed to our listings so you may stay tuned to the job market and/or take advantage of our referral-fee service.
In our view, what sets us apart from our competitors is our substantial software publications industry expertise and the simple fact that we understand and respect both hiring managers and the technical writers who are our candidates. We are driven by the desire to be the kind of recruiting firm we wish we'd had available earlier in our careers — an informed, reliable, resourceful, honest one.
Synergistech's recruiters have over 30 years' combined experience working in various capacities within Bay Area technical publications departments, and we work hard to keep current with software development technology and industry trends. We attend a variety of local professional meetings each month, and seldom miss local Society for Technical Communication (STC) chapter events.
It is our mission to create rewarding professional relationships for technical communicators with substantial software industry experience. You'll find us candid, responsive, well-informed, focused, and fair. In short, you'll appreciate Synergistech. Click here to see what some of our candidates and clients have to say about us.
Why Tech Pubs Professionals Value Us
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Value Us
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Value Us
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The Types of Job Listings We Handle
We have frequent opportunities for experts in the following technical communications disciplines:
Technical writers with expertise in writing applications, system administration,
networking, programmer reference, API/SDK, and/or user documentation
HTML and Windows online help writers
Technical editors (both copy and developmental)
Production and desktop publishing specialists
Publications manager
Technical
Trainers and instructional designers
We also have occasional opportunities for these (and similar) professionals:
Illustrators and graphic artists
Web site designers and content creators
Technical
writers with hardware, biotech, finance, or ISO 9000 experience
Marketing and corporate communications specialists and managers
Interface
designers
Indexers
Translation
and localization experts
Our listings rarely feature 'easy' work or entry-level positions. Are you new to tech writing?
Register Now
If you would like the help of Synergistech Communications in finding rewarding work with the best high-tech companies and publications departments in the Bay Area, please register with us by sending all of the following in an email to pubpros@synergistech.com: 1. A copy of your résumé as a Microsoft Word attachment. See our résumé tips for valuable advice on tech pubs résumés. Please don't send us only an ASCII, HTML, or Acrobat/PDF file, or the URL of your online résumé.2. Indicate your preference for the types of job listings you would like to receive.
There are three options to
choose from:
You will then receive instant notification of our technical communications opportunities as they become available. It is up to you to respond to the ones for which you believe you are qualified and simply ignore those that do not interest you. You may unsubscribe at any time or remain subscribed indefinitely in order to stay tuned in to the job market.
3. Include the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of at least two professional references whose contact information you have recently verified. The best references are people who have supervised you directly in the same type of work for which you will be applying (for example, a tech writer's best reference is a publications manager). We won't check your references without your permission. However, including references tells us that you are serious and makes the process move more smoothly from interview to offer.
4. Describe your preference for the kinds of work for which you would like to be considered. (These answers help us match you with occasional, specialized opportunities. Regardless of what preferences you indicate here, when you subscribe to our staff and/or contract lists, you will receive all our future listings.)
Specifically, tell us:
There is no need to respond
to a listing unless you are interested and believe you are qualified.
Important
— please read How We Work (below) to gain a better understanding
of how you can take advantage of our services.
How We Work
Are You New to Tech Writing?
We take pride in our ability to help you evolve as a technical communicator. We offer an extensive web-based information center (see our Career Development Corner), but the truth is that we are unlikely to be able to place the average fresh-outta-school tech writer. Here's why.Simply put, the companies using our services expect us to earn our fee by bringing them candidates with substantial industry experience and a solid track record. We have built our reputation by bringing them professionals who have demonstrated the skills, talent, and motivation to make a significant ongoing contribution.
The industries we serve require that newcomers have subject-matter knowledge of technical topics (such as relational databases, networking, or software development tools) or at least two years' related work experience, and try as we might we can't make managers' hiring decisions for them....
If you're wondering how to resolve this dilemma, you're not alone — and it is for you that we've written 'Getting Experience when you have none: Escaping the Catch-22'. It is full of practical, proven suggestions about how to develop your career in technical communications. We often receive praise from aspiring tech writers who have implemented the suggested steps in this article. Please also refer to our Career Development Corner for advice on everything from interviewing to résumés.
About Synergistech
Synergistech Communications was created by Andrew Davis.
Andrew worked as a software tech writer in the Bay Area
for ten years. As a publications manager, contractor, and informal STC
'employment advisor' for over seven years, he experienced first-hand how
little most recruiters know or care about technical publications. In June
of 1994, having written a few too many API references and heard far too
many stories of clueless or manipulative recruiters having the last laugh,
Andrew acted on his conviction that both companies and candidates deserve
better — and founded Synergistech Communications.
Employment Options
We place technical communications professionals in a variety of employment arrangements:1) Salaried (or "permanent")
staff
2) Independent contractor
("1099")
3) Temporary employee ("W2")
1. For staff placements, our commission is a percentage (up to 20%) of your first year's salary and is paid by your new employer. Typically, this fee is payable only after you have worked for a full 90 days.
2. If you are interested in working on an independent contractor basis (either "1099" or corp-to-corp), and the company is willing, Synergistech will set up a two-party relationship in which you contract directly with that company. In these cases, Synergistech negotiates with the company an hourly rate for your services consisting of your personal compensation rate (on which we have previously agreed) plus our commission. You and Synergistech then sign our Referral Fee Agreement, in which you agree to pay us our commission each time you receive a paycheck from the company.
This type of brokered two-party, company-contractor ("direct") relationship, while unconventional in this industry, protects both company and contractor from being automatically reclassified (under Section 1706 of the 1986 Tax Reform Act) as employer-employee. Note, though, that the contractor must still satisfy the IRS' 20 Common Law Questions.
3. Synergistech can arrange for a contractor to work as a temporary ("W2") employee if the company or contractor is unwilling or unable to set up a true independent contractor (1099 or corp-to-corp) relationship. In this case, the temporary worker gets a supervisor's signature on his or her timecard at the end of each (biweekly) pay period, then receives payment within a week of the end of the pay period.
When working as a temporary ("W2") employee, your state and federal payroll, unemployment, and social security taxes are fully covered, as are workers' compensation, general liability, owned & hired automobile, professional (errors & omissions), and employment practices liability insurance. In addition, you're eligible immediately for full-featured 401(k) and medical plans, and can have your paycheck deposited directly to your bank(s). Workers must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents of the U.S., or nationals of Mexico or Canada with a valid TN visa.
Contact Information
| Andrew
Davis
President |
Synergistech Communications
2471 Solano Avenue, #119
Napa, CA 94558
tel. (707) 554-9365
pubpros@synergistech.com