Thanks for a thoughtful  and valuable post, Susan. As a technical writer, much of the work I do is providing step-by-step instructions for completing tasks...and to be successful, I must be sure that those instructions are clear, complete, and help the user get a job done quickly and with a minimum of pain. Some of the documentation I must write, however, is for topics that are not as clear-cut...for example, explaining a complex concept, or providing instructions that require the users to understand the options available to them and make the right choices.

These challenges have helped me to appreciate the dangers of oversimplifying topics that often are fraught with complexity...such as searching for a job in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression...making career decisions in a job market that has changed dramatically in the last 10 years...or responding to the new world of social media in a way that is both productive and true to one's values. Tasks that might have seemed straightforward in the past, such as preparing a resume, are not that easy these days -- not in this complex and competitive job market. All of this provides all of us with the challenge of communicating clearly and directly, while acknowledging the complexity that often accompanies the issues we're writing about... and offering empathy for the difficulty in forging ahead when the road is bumpy and the winds are high.