Career in UX writing

At the UX Salon Words 2020 conference, I had the awesome opportunity to moderate a panel about starting a career in UX writing! Jen Schaefer of Netflix, Roy West previously of Uber and Google, and Nora Ginio of Wix shared their invaluable insights! Here are some takeaways if you couldn’t make it.

When you’re hiring, what are you looking for?

Writing samples. Well crafted, thoughtful writing can be more important than the resume itself. There still aren’t many rich UX writing resumes out there so writing samples are a great way to show your skills. Journalistic, documentation, and other types of writing samples work. From there it’s on the hiring managers to analyze the writing through the lens of “How would this translate to UX?” Take copy that was not written for a UI and describe how decisions made there are applicable to UX writing. The volume of samples is not important — showing strengths and how you solve puzzles can be done in only a few pieces.

You can do tear downs of existing product copy to show that you are proficient in best practices and think in the way UX writers need to think.

We’re look for core competencies that go beyond writing, for example,

1) research and partnering with researchers;

2) metrics — show that you understand that you need to measure what you do;

3) content strategy — what’s your plan for using language to achieve product goals, it’s not writing for its own sake when writing product copy;

4) documenting how decisions were made for the sake of scaling among other application;

5) globalization and partnering with researchers and translators, how to get and give context, for example;

6) interaction design.

If you’re not coming from a UX writing background, we’re looking for transferrable skills. We need to see that you have what it takes to start in UX writing and you can show that from parallel experiences.

What about the portfolio?

This is your chance to execute your storytelling skills. Include an intro, contact information, and describe both the work you’ve done and the work you want to do.

It’s also a chance to show your presentation skills, which is important in succeeding in any company.

Online portfolios might be preferable because they can’t get lost as easily as a pdf or Google Doc. There are even a free portfolio website template from Wix you can use. Behance by Adobe is another one of the many options out there.

What makes a candidate stand out?

For better…

Do your research. Candidates who do their research — look up the company, the brand, try the product, look at the competitive landscape — before they show up at the first interview.

Be word-obsessed. Candidates who are able to talk about their favorite content sites. Someone who’s word-obsessed and has brands whose copy they regularly reference for inspiration.

Leverage transferrable skills. Candidates who focus on transferrable skills, like a journalist who talks about writing in an inverted pyramid, being skilled at asking the right questions, etc.

Bring specific examples: Candidates who bring specific examples of how they solve problems and talk about their process — and that doesn’t need to be specifically from UX writing. How did you problem solve? Manage prioritization? How did you use language to make a thing better? How did you measure success?

Candidates who can answer, “How do you balance user needs and business needs?” Yes, as UX writers we’re user-centric but we are also a product, a business and we need to know how to make tradeoffs. Candidates who don’t forget about that part definitely stand out.

For worse…

Don’t be someone else, be you. Candidates who are “too much in their heads” and sound like they’re regurgitating scripted, academic material they might have heard in a certification program, for example. Instead, show who you are. Think through what you want to highlight and don’t just say what you think hiring managers want to hear.

Check your ego at the door. Candidates who are too attached to their language definitely raise a red flag. Don’t be defensive. UX writing is so collaborative and good ideas about language can come from anyone in the company and you all have the same goal of improving the product.

What comes next, after you land the job? How do you get off on the right foot?

Be patient. Don’t expect to be productive right off the bat. Take time to get context and meet people. Set up 1-on-1 meetings. First meet the people you’ll work with directly and then keep building out until you have a big network. Listen during meetings more than you talk at the beginning.

Understand people’s goals. Not just what they do but how are they measuring their success. Then you become and ally and position yourself as a valuable collaborator.

Check ego at the door. Your experience is a tool to draw from, but you need to have “beginner’s mind” and embrace the company you’re at now. Come open to the new culture and product that you don’t know like the people who are already there know it.

General advice

Ask for advice: Don’t be shy about talking to people, write to people and ask for advice. There is a culture in tech of being helpful and you’ll be surprised at how people are open to giving you a half hour. When you reach out, customize your correspondence! If you sound like you’re blasting a template of, “Can I have some time?” you won’t get responses. Instead, show genuine, personalized interest.

Network at events and engage in Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, conferences, local meetups. Read the relevant Medium publications and books.

Stay on top of current thinking and trends.

Grow beyond just writing. Increase your value with skills like research, interaction design, localization, etc. Focus on what you’re interested in beyond writing.