“My role is to design the best experience possible for our users using the power of words.”

Discover our Qonto Insiders of the month: Mélanie Alves Lima, Lead UX Writer, at Qonto.

1. What did you do before joining Qonto (your education, professional experience etc.)?

I’m kind of obsessed with languages so I did all my education in the translation field. I first did a Bachelor’s degree at Paris-Sorbonne University and then a Master’s Degree at the Higher Institute of Translators and Interpreters of Brussels (ISTI).

Once I graduated, I started working as a translator in many different sectors — tourism, subtitling, engineering — before becoming specialized in luxury. In 2016, I made the move to copywriting by working as a Content Manager for a major French luxury house.

After a couple of years of working as a translator and copywriter in-house, I decided to try the freelance adventure… which was a big fail! Besides really missing being part of a team, I couldn’t find meaning anymore in what I was doing.

In 2020, I took the opportunity to step back and change my career path by discovering UX Writing. For months, I trained myself by reading and listening to basically everything I could find about UX Writing and by talking to people already in the field who were willing to share experiences and tips. And that’s when I joined Qonto!

2. Why did you join Qonto?

To be honest, coming from the luxury industry, I never pictured myself working in fintech.

I knew Qonto from the very beginning since a friend of mine used to work here as a Product Designer, and I was quite impressed by the scale of the company and how much they valued content. At that time, we weren’t really talking about UX Writing at Qonto, but there were already several roles dedicated to content such as Content Managers, Product Copywriters, Copywriters, Product Marketing Managers… while for most startups there is usually only one person handling all of these functions.

So I contacted Friederike, who was Content Manager & Copywriter Germany, to learn more about her role. Qonto was then looking for a Product Copywriter and she convinced me to join the company and its team.

I remember telling myself: “They understood everything!” I really felt I could have an impact and build a product that is valuable, helpful and useful for users — which is exactly why I decided to switch careers to get into UX Writing.

3. How would you summarize the recruitment process?

Fast, smooth and transparent.

The recruitment process was quite intense with around 6 interviews but Samy, the Talent Acquisition Manager who hired me, did a fantastic job in supporting me each step of the way.

I did the first three interviews remotely as I was living in Marseille at that time. But after the skills test, Samy organized a perfect day trip to Paris so I could pass the last round of interviews there and meet the team. In around 10 days, it was all set!

What I liked most was him calling me after each interview to first get my impression and then walk me through the next one.

4. What stood out for you about the onboarding process?

I joined Qonto in May 2020, right after the first lockdown, so I had a full remote onboarding experience. It was kind of new for everyone but still really well organized. The onboarding process can also be quite intense — the two first weeks are minutely planned — but at least now I feel fully immersed in the Qonto ecosystem. Plus, despite meeting my team and my main colleagues through a screen, I was amazed by the warm welcome they gave me! They were all super available, willing to help by answering any of my questions and grabbed coffee with me virtually.

5. Tell us about what you do as a Lead UX Writer at Qonto.

The mission of the UX Writing team is to design the best and most meaningful experience possible for our users using the power of words. By crafting content for our product, we aim to ensure that when our users interact with our Qonto app they have the right information at the right place, at the right moment. To be able to achieve that, I need to make sure that the team works under the best conditions — meaning having the right tools, environment, standards…

As a Lead UX Writer, my main goal is to focus on my team’s learning by building knowledge for them, from them, and with them in order to continuously improve. I want them to be able to get a high-level view of what they do on a daily basis and encourage them to reflect on the way they do things and why they do them this way. It’s actually the approach we have at the company level, called The Qonto Way.

6. What is the main quality required to be a successful UX Writer?

Empathy is key to succeed in this expertise. You need to be able to get into your customers’ shoes and world by understanding their pain points and their needs, and by speaking exactly the same language as them.

7. How would you summarize your day-to-day life as part of the Qonto UX Writing team?

I bet I’m not the first one saying this but as cliché as it might sound, every single day is different.

Working as a UX Writer at Qonto means mainly handling in-app content for our desktop and mobile applications, backend content such as transactional emails and push notifications, and localizing all this content in 5 languages. We can also work on crisis/incident communications, and on Qonto’s Tone of Voice with other teams by proofreading content.

Because we try as much as possible to be involved from the very beginning of the feature process, our day can be a mix of kick-offs, user interviews and tests, workshops, alignment meetings, copy challenges, synchs with engineers to align on localization, and so much more.

8. UX Writing is a relatively new job. What are the challenges involved in building a new trade?

Most of the challenges I face with my team indeed come from the fact that this expertise is not always identified and recognized (yet).

We still need to “evangelize” a lot by explaining what we do exactly, what value our expertise can bring and what the risks are of building a product without having a UX Writer involved. In that sense, we’re still figuring out the best way to maximize our impact by having a kind of a test-and-learn approach.

Hiring the team is also a big challenge. In the end it’s all about people, so our goal is to bring together the best profiles and find the right balance between junior and senior profiles so everyone has the time and space to grow their own expertise.

9. Which of Qonto’s 4 values (Ambition, Mastery, Teamwork, Integrity) resonates with you the most and why?

Teamwork, without a doubt. First, because I personally believe that my expertise doesn’t bring lots of value on its own so it forces me to work and align with all my stakeholders to make the most of it and reach quality. Then, because it’s exactly what I was looking for after my freelancing adventure. Having a team surrounding me, learning from them, being inspired and challenged on a daily basis was what I missed the most, and I found it all at Qonto!

10. Do you have a fun anecdote you would like to share about your time at Qonto?

After 2 years in Paris, I’ve recently moved to Barcelona. Our Spanish office has an amazing rooftop with a breathtaking view of the city. Besides languages, I’m also kind of obsessed with sun so I try as much as possible to do my meetings on the rooftop, and sometimes with sunglasses. I’ve lost count of the messages asking if my background is fake and the screenshots of my face I receive after each meeting. Thanks to my dear team, I even have my own personal sunny emoji on Slack now.