So who is this Dachary Carey person, anyway, and why should you hire her for your project?
My qualifications are pretty unique. As a kid, my grandpa used to call me a “Jack of all trades,” and that tendency has extended into my professional career.
Feel free to click through the links below for a brief overview of my career, or download my resume in PDF here for the highlights.
My first job was working at OfficeMax, where I ended up in the copy department and somehow managed to parley that into corporate writing. My store manager made me an impromptu manager-in-training (at 18, mind you) and I began drafting reports and marketing materials for internal store use and submitting to the corporate office.
From there, I ended up working with a company called IKON Office Solutions. Some of you might recognize IKON as a copier and mailroom company. IKON outsources copiers, printers and mailroom equipment for many organizations, and provides people management services as well as equipment management services.
What this means from a practical standpoint is that IKON would go into a company’s business, set up a copy center, mailroom or whatever services the company required, and provide staffing for these centers. The specifics varied depending on the company and the contract.
I worked at IKON for four years, and worked my way up from fax person to site manager during my time with the company. I served in a broad range of industries, including the mortgage industry, non-profit organizations, health care organizations (including hospitals and pharmaceutical companies), large corporations and the legal industry. I’ve always been technically inclined, so I became an equipment expert and eventually spearheaded an imaging center for one of the largest law firms in the Indianapolis area.
During my time at IKON, I also continued to develop my writing skills. My manager found out that I enjoyed writing and that I was good at it, and recruited me to draft many of his corporate communications. I also drafted some materials for clients, including articles for marketing departments.
Most notable, though, was my development of forms, data tracking systems and site procedures guides. I’m very good at analyzing data and efficiency studies, so I invariably ended up restructuring and reorganizing every department I managed during my time at IKON.
My methodical, detail-oriented tendencies made me excellent at writing Site Procedures Guides. The first SOP, or standard operating procedure manual, that I wrote when I was a site supervisor for a non-profit organization became the benchmark for SOP guides in the Indiana marketplace. In fact, our site trainer used my guide to teach people how to write SOP guides. From there, I drifted around to various ‘problem’ sites; analyzing work patterns, creating more efficient processes and procedures and writing SOP guides for them.
In the end, I left IKON because I moved from Indiana to Massachusetts. While IKON did have a presence in Massachusetts, it wasn’t as extensive as in the Indiana marketplace, and the Mass marketplace wasn’t equipped to utilize my unique skill set.
When I moved to Massachusetts, I landed in a new position with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Coldwell Banker had taken on a new model, and was experimenting with a new division of the company: Urban Communities.
They hired me as an administrative assistant, but the off-the-record position was office manager. They were establishing a new office in a condo sales center, devoted exclusively to selling condos at this urban development, and my background as a systems and processes person made me an ideal candidate for this new position at One First; a condo development in East Cambridge, Massachusetts.
One First was the first devoted sales office that Coldwell Banker had attempted, and was intended to be the flagship site for a new division of the company: Urban Communities. Since Coldwell Banker was literally building Urban Communities from the ground up, there were no data tracking systems and no established processes and procedures. They needed someone to help establish all of this for the new business model.
I was on the ground floor for developing these processes and procedures. I interfaced with the Coldwell Banker accounting department, marketing department, advertising department and the regional manager to create workable systems for this new division of the company.
I documented these procedures, and essentially compiled a template for procedure manuals in other new locations. I created forms and data tracking systems. The company sent people from new sites to train with me to get a basic idea of systems and procedures, so they could apply them to their unique sites.
During my time with Coldwell Banker, I also had the opportunity to participate in many marketing and sales meetings; draft corporate documents; draft marketing materials and contribute articles for the newsletter and other publications. This position familiarized me with the real estate industry, and continued my development of my corporate and marketing writing skills.
After a year at Coldwell Banker, I had established and documented systems and procedures, had things running smoothly in the office and felt the need for a new challenge.
I had already been working at the Law Offices of Daniel Malis, P.C. part-time; designing Attorney Malis' website, doing some administrative office tasks and helping to manage his move to a new location. When I began looking for a new challenge, the timing was perfect for me to move into a full-time role with his law firm; his paralegal was leaving to go to law school, so I took over.
I began working part-time with Attorney Malis in August 2005, and worked full-time with him from roughly August 2006 through December 2008. I was very much his Girl Friday. Technically, my job description was ‘legal assistant,’ but I was also part office manager, part secretary, part clerical assistant, part marketing consultant and part mom.
I handled everything from invoices and cutting checks, to client relations, to drafting legal correspondence and even basic legal motions. I edited documents, provided marketing consulting and served as a general tech agent for practically any system in the office. I developed databases, created forms and implemented procedures. Essentially, he did the lawyering, and I ran the office.
During my time with Attorney Malis, I learned invaluable tips for running and maintaining a small business, as well as developed important business contacts that I maintained when I began my full-time writing career. I worked with local real estate agents and mortgage agents on a regular basis, as a small part of Attorney Malis’ practice consisted of real estate. I also became extremely knowledgeable about personal injury law, insurance companies and everything that goes along with personal injury.
Additionally, I had the opportunity to refine my writing and editing skills even further, and had glowing reviews from his clients and other attorneys alike; that I made him ‘look good’ – on paper, and in the office. I continue to work with Attorney Malis in a consulting, writing and Web design capacity, although I left full-time employment in his office in December 2008 to become a full-time freelance writer.
Much of my early writing development was in non-writing jobs. I’ve always been a writer, and my managers invariably figured this out and utilized my writing skills in whatever capacity best served their needs. I did a lot of corporate writing in my early working career, drafting and editing correspondence, reports and compiling analyses for my managers.
By 2004, I had also gotten involved in marketing writing. While this began in a largely incidental manner, it played an increasing role in my job responsibilities as my career progressed. Each position I took utilized my writing skills more intensely, both in marketing and corporate writing, until I realized that those were the portions of the job I enjoyed the most.
I did some freelance writing for organizations once I moved to Boston in 2005. I wrote a few newsletters, and provided articles and content for publications for groups with whom I’d become involved. In 2007, a more substantial freelance writing job literally fell into my lap, and I began actively pursuing freelance writing opportunities in addition to my full-time employment.
By the end of 2008, I’d done enough freelance writing professionally to realize that it was the job for me. I had built a strong core of repeat clients that would enable me to support myself financially, so I left the law firm and became a full-time freelance writer. I’ve been doing it ever since, and not a day has gone by that I regret the decision to freelance full-time.
I take my professional development as a freelance writer very seriously. Writing is my profession, and I owe it to myself and my clients to be as well-educated and informed as possible.
I learned about style guides in school, and have familiarized myself with and utilized Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, The Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook, as well as individual style guides required by some of my employers. In fact, these three style guides live on the bookcase next to my computer for easy reference.
As marketing and writing trends evolve to accommodate the new world of the Internet, I continue to keep myself educated about these trends and the potential inherent in the Web. I own (and recommend) The New Rules of Marketing and PR for people who are unfamiliar with the ways that the Web is constantly changing the face of marketing.
Much of my writing is Web writing, so I’ve taken certificate programs and courses about SEO and online marketing. I also write marketing and Web content constantly, which gives me an opportunity to utilize and develop these skills. Finally, both for my own edification and as research for articles I’ve written for clients, I continually research trends and the current rules of SEO, since SEO practices change regularly as search engine analytics change.
Everything I learn as I write for various clients gives me a better base from which to begin new projects. Currently, I regularly write content in the following industries:
Because I regularly write content in these industries, I am constantly researching and developing my knowledge base about these subjects. I also write about other subjects, or specific subsets of these subjects, and find it easy to apply my research skills to quickly and thoroughly learn about a topic so that I can write authoritative and informative articles and reports.
Finally, I’m a member of Grub Street, a Boston-based writing organization. Grub Street holds classes, seminars and conferences on a regular basis. I attend the annual conference to keep on top of industry trends, and have attended several classes and workshops to refine my writing skills.
I live, eat and breathe writing. When I’m not working on client projects, I’m working on my own writing projects. I’ve participated in National Novel Writing Month since 2007, and have completed a draft novel each year. I’ve been working with an agent on one of my novel-length projects, and am currently working to complete a draft of another novel. My preference for personal writing is fantasy, but I’ve also written fiction/memoirs. I also maintain my own website, blog and personal blog.
I have an energetic Border Collie mix, who unfortunately is afraid of virtually everything. I’ve been through five training classes with him, and we both enjoy it, so I spend a fair amount of time playing with him, training him and working to make him less nervous. We still attend a couple of training classes per year; mostly agility and advanced training classes; and we went to dog camp in 2008. I’m hoping to go back this year. Last year, he earned his Canine Good Citizen certification, and I’m very proud of him! We love to hike together.
I also love cooking. Somehow, my love of food leads me to surround myself with people who also love food. We cook together, teach each other about food and generally goof around and have a good time. I am equally at home in several of my friends’ kitchens as I am in my own, and I like it that way.
I have a deep, abiding love affair with New England in general and Boston specifically. I moved here five years ago, and love it just as much now as I did when I first arrived. I tried moving away in 2009, but I missed Boston and my friends too much, so I had to return. I think I am officially a New Englandah for life. It’s wicked cool!
Finally, I’m a general, all-around dork and nerd. I love electronic gadgets, and I love learning new things. That’s one reason I love freelance writing as much as I do; it gives me an opportunity and an excuse to learn about new things every day! I surround myself with creative, intelligent friends, and we have entertaining (and sometimes silly) discussions about everything from atomic particles and alien life to the mating habits of North Pole elves. My friends are equally dorky and highly entertaining, and I am lucky and grateful to have them in my life.