Why we even need to send a cover letter in the first place?
The UX writer cover letter exists to convince the hiring manager you’re a pleasant, passionate, relevant candidate to learn more about.
Traditional cover letters look something like this:
And they don’t work. They’re long, clunky, and require at least 3 minutes of reading.
A cover letter that works in today’s job market looks something like this:
And that’s because it:
- Shows personality
- Is actionable
- Makes past roles relevant
- Shows the passion behind your career
- Shows what working with you will be like
- Highlights your area of expertise
- Has a call-to-action
Let me explain…
Show personality
As we learned in JB#11, a main function of your UX writer cover letter is to show some personality, so the hiring manager can get a feel for what you’ll be like on the team.
Remember, the cover letter is really for the hiring manager, not the recruiter, and the hiring manager is going to look for different things than the recruiter.
The hiring manager wants to know:
- What you’ll be like to work with
- Will you be a good fit for the team
- What makes you a unique UX writer
- What are your UX writing superpowers
The best way to get that across is to show your personality. As a bonus, 95% of cover letters use the same generic, vanilla voice, so showing your personality will also help you stand out from the crowd.
To show your personality in your UX writer cover letter:
- Write in your own voice (aka write like you talk)
- Share tidbits about yourself (aka fun facts)
- Don’t make your cover letter strictly business (aka infuse some fun)
Write in your own voice
Writing in your own voice means writing like you talk, not in the formal cover letter tone we’re “supposed” to.
Here’s an example of what that looks like from one of my coaching clients:
By using words like “Earth whiz” and “(very) long walks,” the reader gets a sense for what this person is like. They seem down-to-earth and fun to be around — great qualities for someone on your team.
On the flip side, if my coaching client didn’t have any of this, or wrote “lover of nature” as opposed to “Earth whiz,” the cover letter wouldn’t read as personal, which would be a negative.
Share tidbits about yourself
The hiring manager is looking to build a team. And they want to know who’s gonna be on that team. The best way to show them? With your personality.
That’s why good UX writer cover letters start with a quick list of fun facts. Like this:
Not only is this great for grabbing someone’s attention, but it’s a quick way to show what you’re like as a person. And that’ll go a long way in helping you stand out in the interview process.
Don’t make your cover letter strictly business
If your cover letter is strictly business, it’s less personal. To make your cover letter a lighter, more engaging read, infuse personality-packed lines that aren't work-related.
For example, my coaching client included these two personality-packed lines in their cover letter:
It’s fun, and it breaks the seriousness some cover letters carry. It also lets the reader paint a visual picture of my coaching client working in their “cozy work nook.”
Make it actionable
As UX writers, we know the value of making experiences actionable. Your cover letter is no exception. If your cover letter is actionable, you’re more likely to get acted on.
Good, actionable UX writer cover letters link to the portfolio right after they introduce themselves, like this:
A line like this makes it very likely the hiring manager will click to open your portfolio in a new tab. Which is very powerful because now you have a presence on their computer.
And if the hiring manager abandons your cover letter because they got distracted or something interrupted them, having your portfolio open in another browser tab makes sure your application doesn’t fall through the cracks.
Make past roles relevant
If you’re new to UX writing, you want to connect your past to your present. This adds color and context to your resume, and it can articulate your transition.
When making your past roles relevant in your cover letter, we want to make it short and sweet. If we’re brief and succinct, we’ll exude confidence. Like this:
In one simple sentence, my coaching client connected her human services past to her current existence creating purpose-driven, humane designs.
Relevant skills applied to UX writing
Making your past roles relevant to UX writing is essential to landing a UX writing job. That’s a practice to implement while interviewing, in your resume, and of course, in your cover letter.
In your cover letter, you want to highlight your superpowers. What relevant skills do you have that make you the perfect UX writer for the job?
Here’s an example of what my coaching client wrote::
“Collecting data with humility” and “ruthlessly prioritizing needs” are superpowers indeed, and ones any team could benefit from.
This section is also a great time to reference the UX writer job description and pull in relevant keywords.
Passion behind career
People want to work with people excited about working. Since the cover letter exists to show the hiring manager you’re a great fit for the team, show them why you care.
Why do you do what you do? What makes you get out of bed and do UX writing?
If you can articulate your passion for UX writing, you can go as far as inspiring others and make them think, “Wow — I want to hear what this person has to say.”
Here’s an example of what my coaching client wrote in their cover letter:
My coaching client was very passionate about ethics and humane design. They wanted to make an impact with design, and that's powerful to a hiring manager.
What working with you will be like
This is your opportunity to show how you’d approach the job and whom you have experience collaborating with.
Here’s what my coaching client wrote:
“Patience and persistence” are excellent qualities for someone on the team to have.
See how my coaching client is building a profile of who they are, why they’d be an asset, and what they’re like to work with? It goes a lot further than simply describing your work history.
This section is a good time to look at the UX writer job description and see what roles they’re looking for the ideal candidate to have experience collaborating with. And you can just plug and play those into this section.
Areas of expertise
This is your chance to highlight any relevant experience. What industries do you have experience in? What experience do you have that could separate you from other candidates for this position?
Here’s an example of what my coaching client wrote:
Here, you get a sense for what they’ve proven to succeed at in the past (“track record of attentive interactions” and what industries they have experience in (“health, well-being, hospitality…”)
This one line could set you apart from all other candidates if you make it highly relevant. So be sure to reference the UX writer job description to see what expertise they’re looking for.
Call-to-action
As any good UX writer would do, good cover letters end with a call-to-action. This marks your cover letter more than a letter, but something to act on.
Here’s an example of what my coaching client wrote:
It’s simple, but it puts your email front and center, and gives them a clear action to take.
Again, together, all these points build a cover letter that looks like this:
Using these very same strategies, I’ve landed UX writing roles at companies like Netflix, Fitbit, Afterpay, and many more, and I’m confident it can work for you, too.
Happy UX writing đź––
