Resources for Professional Communications

Technical Writing

Graphics

Presentations

Checklists

Impact Factor and Citation Index Tools

  • CiteFactor — Provides indexing of major international journals and proceedings.
  • Publish or Perish — Retrieves and analyzes academic citations.
Wisdom from the EMProfessor
Advice for making your resume standout out among the masses As an educator, I have reviewed many articles about writing resumes so that I can better advise my students. I have become frustrated that they all fail to state what is by far the best and most important advice to improve your resume. Here it is: Make sure you have things to put on your resume! Good grades are certainly important. Even more, however, employers want to hire happy and knowledgeable people who will take an active role in their company and contribute to its success. A resume should convey your passion, energy, and that you are an active contributor. This means you should join organizations, be active in them, and take on leadership positions. Get involved in projects outside of the classroom. Your hobbies and interests will speak a lot about the type of person you. Be well read in technical areas so that you are knowledgeable and can write your resume with professional language. Help others. Volunteer your time with philanthropic organizations such as homeless shelters or senior living centers. Do the things that will convey you have a genuine interest in what you do, care about people, and that you actively contribute. If you want to have an awesome resume, do awesome things! [...] Read more...
You need to sell yourself, not your slides The biggest mistake you can ever make when giving a presentation is to make the focus of the presentation on your slides instead of yourself. I think the incorrect mentality at work here is to create a glorious set of slides, then sneak off to the side somewhere to not be in the way of those glorious slides. This is the exact opposite of what you should do. Instead, make yourself the glorious center of attention with perhaps some simple slides off the side to backup what you are saying. This will make your presentation more personal, and your ideas will be more easily understood. We are human and need the personal interaction for effective communication. Listeners will remember you as much as they remember your talk. This will help you network and help you build your professional reputation. TED Talks are usually excellent examples of how to give an effective presentation. Watch some TED Talks with this advice in mind. [...] Read more...
The most important skill you need to find success in science and engineering is — effective communication. I have seen many bad scientists and engineers climb the corporate ladder when they are good communicators, but I have rarely witnessed bad communicators rise the ladder regardless how strong their technical skills are. Perhaps it is unfortunate for the greater good of humanity, but I have to rank communication skills as more important for career success than anything else. Communicating effectively takes practice and much can be learned by observing good communicators. Good communicators put a lot of effort into organizing their information. They invent new ways to explain and visualize complicated concepts. Good communicators use simple language and simple but high-quality graphics. It is common for good communicators to spend more time on their graphics than they do on their words. To become a good communicator, sharpen your computer skills for desktop publishing and generating graphics. Practice public speaking. Strive to make everything you produce professional, polished, and consistent. Make your documents and presentations fun and memorable, while still being professional. [...] Read more...

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