What it’s like to be a UX Writer at CarMax

A guide to knowing whether UX writing is for you

A lot of writers ask how to break into UX writing and whether it’s possible to get a UX writing position without prior experience. The answer is a resounding yes. The next question I hear most often is what type of experience is most important. This is not as cut and dry, but I find that talented UX writers truly love words and can easily take on writing in a variety voices, tones, and formats. Beyond that, a thoroughly researched and solid understanding of UX writing best practices and strategies is something you should bring to the table.

Strong writing skills are the foundation that this role is built on, but what I’ve found at CarMax is that UX writing is very different from what draws many people to the art and craft of writing. UX Writing is a fluid conversation rather than a final product. It’s communal, not individual. And its creativity is rooted in strategy and semantics rather than inventiveness.

If you are considering a career change to UX writing, I encourage you to answer these two questions: First, what do you love about writing? (I mean, REALLY love.) And second, will the realities of UX writing truly feed your writer’s soul? If you’re not sure what those realities are, here’s what I’ve found.

UX writing is building relationships. This is a big one. When people ask what I do every day, my answer is, “I make friends, I keep friends.” This job is more social and interactive than any I’ve had before. For the first year I said yes to every meeting I was invited to and invited myself to ones I wasn’t. In this role, it is vital that you stay endlessly curious and open to discussion and interaction. This approach is important because the stronger the relationships, the easier time you’ll have selling your recommendations.

UX writing is sales. Yes, I said it: we sell. Unless you’re given permission to be the word police — and no one wants to be the word police — you will need something other than “because I said so” when your recommendations are challenged. You will constantly find yourself selling your partners on your brand, best practices, the needs of your customers, and your content recommendations.

UX writing is co-writing. When I first started out as a marketing copywriter, I spent hours crafting the perfect copy. I would write until I fell in love with my own words. And when I received edits, I would stew over them. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before a mentor told me to mark everything DRAFT. She said, “It will save your sanity until you realize this isn’t your personal art.” Message received.

UX writers don’t own the words or the ideas behind them; rather, we are word experts and once we understand the conversation that needs to be held, we apply brand guidelines, strategies, and best practices to help deliver words that work really hard — for the customer, yes, but also for the brand and the product itself.

UX writing is editing. It took me years to realize that I love editing more than generating my own content. This is a big reason I love UX writing — because I edit more than I write.

When you’re a UX writer that works with multiple teams across different parts of a customer journey, you can’t always be there from the beginning of a project to lead content-first designs. Much of the time, your partners bring you both ideas and words and hopefully a great deal of context so that you can hone what they have.

Some days you’ll work with content that barely needs a tweak, and other days you’ll ruthlessly-yet-kindly slash redundant phrases and unnecessary extra syllables. Every day you’ll demonstrate how conversational doesn’t equal a lengthy dialogue, and that lengthy dialogue isn’t needed on every screen or interaction. Together, you’ll refine the ideas and words into a digital conversation that feels great.

UX writing is diplomacy. Another reason relationship building is so important is because you will say no to someone else’s words every single day that you’re a UX writer. Language that falls outside of our voice and tone? Sorry. Verbal patterns that break from the rest of the experience? Can’t do it. A hilarious but super obscure joke? No.

The truth, of course, is that we don’t simply say no. We also give the why behind it so that our partners understand and learn. And if you can do this in a way that encourages your partners to come back to you and risk some form of rejection over and over and over again, you will have discovered the true art in UX writing.

UX writing has no finish line. Remember my story about falling in love with my own words, to the point where I pouted if I had to write another draft? It’s time to forget about the final draft. There are no final drafts, and the pursuit of perfection will derail any ability to move quickly. A good UX writer knows that when you land on content that serves the customer, the brand, and the product experience — it’s a good time to stop and give it a go.

If all of this sounds exhausting, trust me, it is — just in the best way possible. When you compare it to many other types of writing, UX writing is an interactive, human-contact sport. And for the right writers, it’s a completely satisfying way to work in words. If you’re a writer who read this and suspect that you might be a natural-born UX writer, keep your eye out for open positions at CarMax; we’d love to talk to you.