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A day in the life of... a Senior Technical Writer

20.11.20

by Samantha Campbell

Samantha Campbell, a Sydney-based Senior Technical Writer (mtribes) who joined us in 2019, lets us in on an ‘ordinary’ day in her life – including how she starts her day, her hobbies, and a song that gets her in the zone. Read on.

20.11.20

by Samantha Campbell

Samantha Campbell, a Sydney-based Senior Technical Writer (mtribes) who joined us in 2019, lets us in on an ‘ordinary’ day in her life – including how she starts her day, her hobbies, and a song that gets her in the zone. Read on.

Something people don’t know about me…

I’m a huge fan of surrealism and love the exploration of the workings of the mind through art.

I chose this career path because…

So many reasons…but predominantly because technical/UX writing combines form and function beautifully.

I describe my job as…

Improving customer experience through words. I like to think that I help customers navigate digital products while bringing a smile to their face.

My friends and family describe my job as…

My wife calls me a technical Babel fish. My friends and family think I do “What Emily does in the TV show ‘Emily in Paris’”. If only I was that glamourous and sociable…

I start the day with…

A 20-minute transcendental meditation followed up with a coffee outside on my patio.

An ordinary day at work goes like this…

I work for the product team on mtribes, a UX personalisation platform. My days are never ordinary, which is one of the things I love most about my job!

A typical day includes a couple of stand-ups, a short planning session, a feature kick-off meeting, reviewing UI copy, writing a product document and an evening catch-up with overseas colleagues.

I know it’s been a good day when…

I didn’t notice the time go by. I checked in on a colleague and had a good laugh. I remembered how special it is to have freedom to work my own way.

The best piece of advice I’ve been given is…

Can I choose two?

  • “Don’t worry about the bad drafts and never delete your work. Every word is a learning process.”
  • “Part of the writing process is thinking. Make time to sit and think. It’s never a waste of time.”

Outside of work I like to…

This year has forced me, like everyone else, to reassess my likes and dislikes. Before the pandemic, I absolutely loved travelling, going to see live bands and theatre, and dining out.

Now, I spend more time taking coastal walks, cloud-spotting, reading, searching for avant-garde/experimental films to watch, and shopping for shoes to add to my already substantial collection.

A song that gets me in the zone is…

Life on Mars by David Bowie

I am passionate about…

Patterns, knowledge, communication, emotional intelligence and sustainability.

To me, the definition of success is…

Loving my life, loving my job and sharing the delight that writing brings to me with others.

I’m excited about the future of…

If I have to choose just one topic, it’s the future of writing. Written content is finally having its day in the sun. People are embracing the importance of (online) copy, and its rightful place in UX design, like never before. I’ve been a caped copy crusader for the last decade and I’m so excited at the potential of this.

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