After writing yet another boring resume for a potential client, I decided I needed something different. Here’s what I came up with. I’d love to hear what you think about it. Please feel free to download it, and keep it on file.
Dan Romanchik
1325 Orkney Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Phone: 734-930-6564
E-mail: dan@danromanchik.com, cwgeek@kb6nu.com
This is not your typical resume.
The typical resume just doesn’t tell my story properly. I’ve written a bunch of them, and I’ve never been happy with any of them. They all list some of the work that I’ve done, and some of the clients I’ve worked for, but that stuff is boring. So, if you’ll bear with me, let me tell you my story.
I am a professional writer. I write about high-tech topics, such as electronics, automotive and software technology, for a high-tech readership, such as engineers and company executives. I’ve written feature articles, application notes, press releases, and blog posts for many different companies and publications.
I also write and self-publish books on amateur radio. I am the author of the “No Nonsense” amateur radio license study guides, and I publish them in both e-book and print versions. They’re available from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and my own website, KB6NU.Com. (KB6NU is my amateur radio call sign.)
I am also a storyteller. Storytelling is a powerful thing, and the best way to connect with readers is to tell them a story. When I write an article or a press release or a blog post for a client, what I’m really doing is telling their story.
When I write for myself, I’m telling my story. Even when I’m writing or updating one of my amateur radio license study guides, I’m telling a story.
How an engineer became a writer/storyteller
I graduated from the University of Detroit with a degree in electrical engineering and spent twelve years practicing engineering as a test engineer and engineering department manager. As an engineer, I did some interesting things, such as lead a group of engineers developing test equipment for manufacturing hard disk drives (in Southeast Michigan, of all places!), but I didn’t belong in the corporate world.
When I decided that I needed to do something different, I made plans to take the summer off and bicycle across America. My plans were cut short by a job offer from Test&Measurement World, a trade magazine that covered the electronics test and measurement industry. (I did get to take a month off, which allowed me to bike from Norfolk, VA to Carbondale, IL, approximately one-third of the way across the country.)
Test&Measurement World took a chance on me. At that point, my writing skills were mediocre at best. I remember the first manuscript that I turned in being returned to with so many red marks that it looked like someone had bled all over it. They stuck with me, though, and eventually I learned how to turn in articles that people actually wanted to read. I give all the credit to the great editors that I worked with there. They taught me how to write.
I’ve been freelancing now for 20 years, and I really enjoy it. I get to work with lots of different companies, on lots of different projects, and tell lots of different stories. And, I get paid for it!
Other stuff that I do
When I started out as a freelancer, I was both a writer and website developer. One of my first freelance gigs was with Quality magazine, for whom I wrote about electronics test and measurement as well as developed and maintained their website. I still have a few web-development clients, but I’ve been concentrating on writing for the past several years now.
I’m also an avid amateur radio operator. I blog about amateur radio at KB6NU.Com, and I joke that it’s the #1-rated amateur radio blog. I make this claim because when you Google “amateur radio blog” or “ham radio blog,” I usually come up #1. In addition to publishing my amateur radio license study guides, I teach amateur radio classes.
Rotary is also a big part of my life. I have been a member of the Ann Arbor (MI, USA) Rotary Club for eight years and have served on a number of committees. Rotary has been a great experience for me.
For more information
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. If you’d like more information, or if you’d like to see some of my work, please e-mail me at dan@danromanchik.com or call 734-930-6564.
Leave a Reply