From Gord Roberts, Documentation Specialist

Hello! I’m Gord Roberts, a technical writer at Corel (Ottawa, Canada campus) for over 11 years.

Most days, you’ll find me working on the documentation (Help and manuals) for WordPerfect Office-but I also have the pleasure of contributing to a wide variety of Corel products and projects (most recently, Painter 12 Help).

What’s my story?

When I started at Corel in January 2000, I was fresh from university and eager to begin my first “grown-up” job. Though sad to be leaving my hometown and moving away from my family and friends, I was thrilled at the opportunity to work on CorelDRAW, WordPerfect and so many other illustrious Corel programs I used daily.

Fast-forward to today, and I stop to think about the staggering amount of change I’ve seen: in my personal life (lovely wife of six years, two beautiful children), around the world (rise of the Internet, fall of the economy) and even right here at Corel (expansion into new markets, globalization of workforce).

Yet I’m just as excited to come to work on Day 2,875 (rough estimate!) as I was on Day 1.

What’s my motivation?

Three bright lights shine on my desk every day:

Great products. Word processing, graphic design, digital painting, photo and video editing, file optimization, video playback-Corel software offers a staggering amount of power and productivity. I’m proud not only to work on Corel products, but also to use them in my day-to-day tasks both at the office (drafting plans & specs, creating Help graphics) and at home (painting pictures of my kids, making home movies and zipping up my masterpieces for loved ones around the world to view).

Great co-workers. I collaborate most closely with the rest of the R&D department at Corel Ottawa-a talented, dedicated, enthusiastic group of people who make each workday a joy. Thanks to the nature of my job, though, I also have the pleasure of working with folks throughout Corel, beyond Ottawa R&D and right across the world. Despite our varying roles and locations, we Corel employees are united in providing feature-rich, value-minded software you (and we!) will want to use every day.

Great customers, users and fans: YOU! Here at Corel, we never cease to be amazed at the marvelous ways you use our software. And we appreciate not only that you choose to use our products, but also that you take the time to share your work with us (CorelDRAW.com gallery, www.photovideolife.com templates) and pass along your thoughts and experiences (positive or negative!). Your feedback inspires us in everything we do.

What’s my outlook?

As Corel enters the world of social media, I’m especially excited at the chance to get to know YOU better. When I first started at Corel, I was far removed from your feedback and often needed to hear it third- or fourth-hand. Today, I’m thrilled that Corel has offered us the chance to communicate directly: through forums, blogs and the like.

We can learn so much from one another, and I can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish by working together.

Yours very truly,
Gord