Interview with Thomas, Technical Editor at AMEG Group

What is your position at AMEG Group?

I'm a technical writer and customer account manager.

What's your background?

I've always had a passion for languages. I'm British and have learned Icelandic, Welsh, French and Arabic.

Logically, I became a translator in a translation agency.

The job was to unravel texts and analyze them. Then I had to translate them. The difficulty lay in conveying the message as clearly and accurately as possible. I had to switch from one language to another while retaining the meaning of each sentence and the overall concept.

What motivated you to join us?

When I was a translator, I had problems with a number of texts. Not in the work to be done, but in their conception. I often found that their basic form could be improved.

I then trained in Limoges for a work-study professional degree in "Technical writing and information design".

At AMEG, I was fascinated by the range of projects and the diversity of customers. This is clearly what motivated me to join the company in October 2023.

What are the main tasks involved in your job as a technical writer?

In practical terms, I mainly work on manuals and instructions. They are either intended for professionals, for technical operators in charge of a production line, for example, or for private individuals, for instructions on how to use household appliances.

The work is organized in several stages:

• it all starts with customer relations and understanding the customer's world;
• After a planning phase with the latter, I collect all the raw data in various formats: drafts, photos, notes, etc. ;
• I analyze information and synthesize it to convey the right message;
• then there's the layout, structuring, organization and production stage. On a day-to-day basis, I use desktop publishing tools such as Adobe InDesign and Illustrator, as well as structured documentation tools like Oxygen XML. I also work closely with illustrators to produce technical illustrations;
• we finish with in-house proofreading, followed by delivery of a first version to customers;
• Then there's a bit of to-ing and fro-ing before the document is finalized.

What do you like best about your job?

Without a doubt, the discussions and exchanges with colleagues.

The team is made up of young employees as well as seniors.

Everyone puts forward their point of view and learns from each other's experiences. No one tries to win the debate. The aim is to find the best solution together.

What qualities are essential for your job?

I'd say you need to be both analytical and creative!

Which project did you find most exciting?

A project to optimize and condense installation instructions for residential electrical appliances (switches) intended for home use.

This assignment was a pleasure. The customer was delighted with our work and listened attentively to our optimization proposals. Everything was done with respect and trust between the two parties.

What's your biggest challenge?

Immersion in the customer's world at the start of the project. The elements are crystal-clear for him, whereas there's always an adaptation time to understand and master the subject on our side.

If you had to give just one piece of advice to a new employee?

I'd tell him to take inspiration from his environment. Information design is everywhere in our daily lives: in the signage of an airport, a company, on a website, and so on.

I invite him to immerse himself in it, to learn how best to guide a user.