I've got a difficult project/tough period at work support thread

[Cloo]

I made something of a career change 6 months ago from editorial/content into bid writing and about to face my first real test. I have managed for 20 years to avoid any job that gets particularly stressful, but I know this one can get that way. We are bidding for a ginormous government contract to be submitted end of Feb; we've done quite a lot of prep but the real rush starts when almost everyone is back tomorrow. I have 3 questions to write, the first fairly short and mostly drafted, not too worried about that one. The next 2 are very long highly technical in an area I don't understand very well and where the technical guys can't really give me answers until they have thrashed out some more shit. I have been able to drafted maybe 30-40% of it.

I suspect it is the next 4-5 weeks, when I have reviews and revisions, will be the most stressfull bit as writers (I think managers have it worst at final submission weeks and we'll just be tinkering)

One the upside, I keep reminding myself:

• I don't have to work out everything on my own, there are some very helpful people in the team who know what they're doing
• I know some of those helpful people are sitting between me and the technical people, which should help us translate
• Probably all of our competitors are equally befuddled by the technical questions
• I'm bottom of the chain so anything that happens isn't massively my fault

So I thought I'd start a thread for anyone facing a challenge

 

[porp]

I have been in similar situations as someone with a responsibility to translate between technical experts and external audiences.

It sounds like you have a healthy attitude to this stressful situation and that's great.

My experience has been that when you set technical experts to respond to an external problem in a limited time, what emerges is the limits of their knowledge and the exposure of bodges and compromises they would rather keep hidden.

So thinking ahead, and this may not be your problem.

What would it look like if, one week before deadline, you had, shall we say, an approach to a solution and a refined problem statement, rather than a nailed on response?

 

[krtek a houby]

Find the tech speak and corporate jargon to be an absolute nightmare. Fair play to anyone who can not just tackle it, but have a career in the area.

Sorry, Cloo , that's not useful to you but wish you the best on your challenge.

 

[Mr Retro]

It sounds to me you’re really on top of it. One question in the bag and 40% of the rest drafted.

Try and enjoy the next weeks, it’s probably the reason you had a move. These times, when a project is really busy coming to a deadline, can be really fun and exciting.

 

[Cloo]

First day back OK. Have first response out for first review - these early stages are more informal than I feared, so that's a relief. I think that revisions to this one will be relatively minor at each stage, aside from one bit that may need rethinking.

Tech team sorting their shit out is behind schedule (quelle surprise) so that's going to be a scrabble although when I looked back at my answers for the two questions it was really only one sub question I am shit out of content until they pull themselves together but I have a bit more than I thought to go with, especially for the one that's the last to be reviewed.

I do like to be busy, I find being underemployed very stressful - I am worried lest any late nights be needed as I am not an 'out of hours' person, on the other hand, when I know what I'm doing I am a fast finisher and can produce good writing quickly.

 

[toblerone3]

Sympathy post. I have a really tough project this year going on into the first half of next year. I am trying not to succumb to fear and anxiety. Can't really say how much I can say about it here at the moment (as its potentially very much in the public eye of local politics) but just putting this down as a marker in case I can contribute more later.

 

[Miss-Shelf]

I'm just lying in bed huffing and puffing with quiet anxious despair because I work in education and am behind on all work streams and I am so fed up of that being my whole life.

It's been glorious having time off and to stop that guilt and anxiety

 

[newme]

I'm literally on the other end of these sort of bids, idk what ginormous translates to for your company but I have several multi million pound contracts on the go and have made frameworks that encased 5 counties before. Will say tech stuff should be done by tech, thats how we review it, I'm a cog that makes things go forward, I don't do technical details. I make sure its compliant and legal from my point of view mainly and have almost no interest who wins. If its a legal/IT/anything remotely specialised thing, they do the technical review and I support any moderations/social value etc. Is this through the portal? If so I hope they have done some PA23, GCC training is available. Yes lean on technical people, it's their contract to win effectively as while we get some amazingly written bids it needs to be backed up. Honestly the quality of most bids is extremely poor and if you have social value attached then its simple to win by just doing what it asked for and usually costs very little. Out of 5 most barely get a 2 on most sections cos they can't be arsed.

 

[Cloo]

At the end of the day, I don't think anyone really knows what they're doing, including sometimes the people reading the bids. I'm told comments on responses can be inscrutable - you can do one you are pretty sure is great and it gets lousy feedback, you can do one you think is so-so and it gets top marks so it's a bit of a crapshoot at the end of the day!

Kind of relieved it'll be the best part of a year before we get the answer as by then I'll probably have some smaller projects under my belt and not have to be too anxious about feedback on my sections (hopefully)