Michael O'Brien's Résumé
Page 1
Employment Background
- September 2004—Present: Part-Time Instructor for UNM
- September 2000—December 2002: Teaching Assistant for UNM (see Page 4 of
C.V.)
- December 1991—November 1999: Technical Writer for Cisco Systems, Inc.
- July 1990—November 1991: Test and Repair Technician for Cisco Systems, Inc.
- March 1988—July 1990: Field-Service Engineer for Perkin-Elmer, Inc.
Employment Details, Technical Writer, Cisco Systems, Inc.
- Designed, researched, developed, wrote, and released paper-based and online
(HTML-based) technical documentation for Cisco Systems' Cisco 12000 series,
and entire Cisco 7000 series, Cisco 7500 series, and Versatile Interface Processor
(VIP) family of internetworking router products.
- Consistently and successfully converted highly technical engineering and
marketing specifications to "plain English" suitable for Cisco Systems' customers/end-users.
- Worked independently and as member of scores of project and task teams.
- Consistently tracked and managed multiple document projects in parallel.
- Worked with Cisco Systems' technical writers, program managers, and technical
editors to design new document types and templates.
- Served on committee to develop Cisco Systems' first corporate style guide.
- Served on department-wide committee to develop new documentation models
for improved consistency across Cisco Systems' business units.
- Served on scores of product teams throughout complete product development
cycles.
- Prepared and managed hundreds of paper and online document edits/reviews.
- Researched, investigated, and verified technical information required for
all technical documentation projects.
- Worked closely and effectively with Cisco Systems' engineering staff and
management to develop accurate and usable customer (end-user) technical documentation.
- Conceptualized/designed illustrations for technical documentation, and coordinated
development/creation efforts of graphics artists and technical illustrators.
- Successfully met or exceeded all document deadlines and product/document
ship dates.
- Served on Cisco Systems' team tasked with publishing online technical documentation,
and helped launch first documentation-CD-ROM product.
- Successfully saved Cisco Systems approximately $200,000.00 in annual printing
costs by redesigning several technical documents and books as two-book set.
- Designed and helped coordinate successful installation of Cisco Systems'
first usability testing facility.
- Served on task team to implement Cisco Systems' first online, documentation
database.
- Successfully teleworked as full-time technical writer (July 1995-November
1999).
- Consistently maintained highest annual performance ("focal-review") levels
throughout entire tenure with Cisco Systems (July 1990-November 1999).
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Curriculum Vitae (C.V.)
Following are the details of my C.V.
Academic Record
- M.A. in English, University of New Mexico (UNM), 2003 (Graduated with 4.07
GPA.)
- B.S. in Electronics Engineering Technology, DeVry Institute of Technology,
1988 (Graduated with 3.56 GPA.)
- A.A.S. in Electronics Engineering Technology, DeVry Institute of Technology,
1987
Areas of Specialization
- Technical/Professional Writing
- Technical Editing
- Data-Communications Writing
- Music and Audio Writing
- Sound-Reinforcement Writing
Academic Honors
- Received Tau Alpha Pi engineering honors through DeVry Institute of Technology
(1987).
- Received first-place honors (and prizes) from DeVry's English Department
for original short story "It's Nothing Sweetie Just the Wind" (1988).
Professional Honors
- Received dozens of Individual Performance Awards (IPAs) for special efforts
for and technical writing with Cisco Systems (1990—1999).
- Received one International Award of Excellence, three U.S. Awards of Excellence
and one of Distinguished, and one U.S. Award of Merit from STC, for Cisco
Systems' technical documentation (1992-1999).
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Educational Experience
- Wrote M.A. thesis, "Working Inside Cicero's Closet: Communications Solutions
for Teleworking Technical Writers," between January 2002 and March 2003. (Successfully
defended April 7, 2003.)
- Made index-editing presentations to Prof. Lynn Beene's Editing classes (November
1999 and November 2002).
- Made Framemaker® v6.0 desktop-publishing presentation to Prof. Charles Paine's
Documentation class (December 2001).
- Used Framemaker® v6.0 to produce all graduate papers and projects, as well
as to design unique, multi-chapter book template for M.A. thesis.
- UNM graduate coursework included the following:
- Documentation
- Hypertext
- Editing
- Introduction to the Profession of Writers
- Nonfiction Prose Stylistics
- Introduction to the "Beat" Writers
- Language and Rhetoric Seminar: Nature and Science Writing
- Teaching Technical Writing
- Teaching Composition
- Nineteenth-Century American Women Writers
- Thesis Writing (three semesters)
- College Latin (four semesters)
Publications
Independently wrote and published numerous professional-music articles in Bass
Player and Bass Frontiers magazines (1997-2001), including the following:
- Jim Scholten: Role Playing with Sawyer Brown, Bass Player, February
1997, 18—20
- Is There Another Kind of Harmony? Bass Frontiers, Volume 7, Number
3, 2000, 38
- How to Be the Best Bass Player in Your Living Room, Bass Frontiers,
Volume 7, Number 4, 2000, 38
- Choosing the Right Tool for the Right Job: A Modular Approach, Bass
Frontiers, Volume 7, Number 5, 2000, 38
- Find a League of Your Own, Bass Frontiers, Volume 8, Number 1, 2001,
38—39
Independently wrote and published scores of technical documents (~4000 pages)
for Cisco Systems, as well as 17 books, which included the following:
- M and C Chassis Hardware Installation and Maintenance, 1992
- AGS Hardware Installation and Maintenance, 1992
- AGS+ Hardware Installation and Maintenance, 1992
- Cisco 2500 Series Hardware Installation and Maintenance, 1993
- Cisco 2500 User Guide, 1993
- Cisco 7000 Hardware Installation and Maintenance, 1993
- Cisco 7010 Hardware Installation and Maintenance, 1994
- Cisco 7500 Hardware Installation and Maintenance, 1994
- Cisco 7505 Hardware Installation and Maintenance, 1994
- Cisco 7507 Hardware Installation and Maintenance, 1994
- Cisco 7010 User Guide, 1995
- Cisco 7505 User Guide, 1995
- Cisco 7507 User Guide, 1995
- Cisco 7513 Hardware Installation and Maintenance, 1996
- Interface Processor Installation and Configuration Guide, 1996
- Cisco 7500 Series Installation and Configuration Guide, 1997
- Cisco 12012 Gigabit Switch Router Installation and Configuration Guide,
1997
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Professional/Academic Experience
- Taught English-219, "Introduction to Technical Writing," as UNM Teaching
Assistant (TA) (Fall 2000—Fall 2002).
- Garnered consistently excellent teaching evaluations as UNM TA through five
consecutive semesters (Fall 2000—Fall 2002).
- Served as Technical Editor for Director of Nursing Research at University
Medical Hospital (UMH) (2001—2002).
- Involved with Med-Tutor's Program through UNM's English Department and University
Medical Hospital (March 2001—September 2002).
- Edited several successful grant proposals to the National Institutes of
Health (NIH).
- Edited two successful doctoral theses for members of UMH staff and administration.
- Conducted grant writing/editing seminar for members of Nursing Research
Council at University Medical Hospital (June 2001).
Professional Affiliation
- Society for Technical Communication (STC), since 1992
- California: Silicon Valley Chapter (1992—1998)
- New Mexico: Kachina Chapter (1998—2006)
- Kachina Chapter's volunteer Webmaster Online Job Bank Coordinator (1999—2001)
- Voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS,
1997—present)
References available on request