Chandrayaan to the 'UX Writing Career' moon

Chandrayaan: India's recent satellite to the moon (lunar probe)

Hey there! Welcome to Good Links, where I share some interesting finds (and why I found them interesting) with you twice a month.

This post is all about improving your UX writing craft and course-correcting your career moves.

For the uninitiated, UX Writing Bud translates UXW mumbo-jumbo to human so you can learn and kickstart your career with the least effort and investment. If you’ve been looking for something like this….

Let’s check our cognitive biases at the door with a new study.

Ummm….We’ll see about that.

In their newsletter post, The Creator’s Blind Spot, Dr Maria Panagiotidi writes, “When we imagine the mind of an inventor, one might suppose they would evaluate their own products critically. After all, everyone is their own worst critic! Yet, Cratsley and Fast’s research challenges this notion and unravels a complex picture where identity, self-esteem, and self-concept play significant roles in how creators perceive their products.”

The study sheds fresh light on the UX slogan, “You are not the user”.

And that’s why you should write for the diversity in humankind and be the voice of those who have been underrepresented and marginalised. Because when you make adjustments for one, the benefits extend to many.

Now, I get that it’s impossible to think 100% from others’ perspectives, so it’s important to involve them in your writing process. Bin the Binary series shares extensive resources on how you can represent the diverse experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community, while the Nailing Alt Test series explains step-by-step (with examples) to craft better UX content keeping in mind the users of screen readers.

If you are doing impactful, meaningful work of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (and shouldering the additional responsibility of convincing stakeholders), you’d need magic to do your regular work. Or better tools.

So, here’s a live list of UX writing tools to unleash your productive side.

Now that you’ve (out)done the job, it’s time to present it in a beautiful portfolio. Alexandra Spark shares phenomenal tips and tools to build a great UX portfolio. The best part: All of them are free and easy to use!

Pssst….My portfolio is made with Notion+Super.

And finally, you need to go out there and hunt for a job worth your salt (or skill, in this context).

Cue: The Content Strategy Podcast, episode 55

In this episode, Katherine Karaus shares practical advice about competitive differentiation when job hunting, building and maintaining a strong personal brand and content & UX portfolios. She and the host Kristina Halvorson also cover salary negotiation, cover letters and elevator pitches.

It’s jam-packed with tips to help you and your career!

My energy after listening to this podcast:

I hope you found value in this post. So, bookmark, read and share.

And don’t forget to tell me your favourite articles and bits in the Substack Notes and Comments.