A focused, expert-guided program to help you take the next step in your UX content career. 

Do you wish you had someone to talk to about all this, a private support network to ask for help, and an actual, specific plan for what you’re going to do next?

Then you’re in the right place, friend. 🙌🏻 Keep reading.

You have a timeless skillset.

The wide world of content and digital strategy seems like it’s always changing. New titles, new tools, new voices, new approaches.

But is it really changing?

Or are we just learning new ways to talk about?

Many of the foundational skills you need to succeed in this field are the same as they ever were: The ability to write and think clearly, to convey complex messages in a succinct and compelling manner, to understand what your audience needs and use that to inform editorial choices. 

It’s a “chicken or the egg?” problem that leaves everyone feeling a little scrambled:

• Lots of companies today are using new tools and titles to deal with content, but still struggle to find people with the right foundational skills.
• People with the right foundational skills feel excluded from newly-defined roles because no one has given them the new titles! They know how to do the work, but not how to get the job.

My goal? Unscramble these eggs. You can work in UX content. You already have what it takes.

Now look … it will take a little digging, coaching, and creativity to figure out the best way for you to succeed in this field. That’s what we’re going to do together in this program.

The Content Career Accelerator is designed help you find your way forward. It’s not paint-by-numbers. No formulas here. This is about finding your way, based on who you are, what you already know, and what you want to do next. It might not be easy. But I … well, we, with your cohort peers and the growing CCA community … we will make it easier, and give you the confidence and clarity you need to succeed.

There are more opportunities than you think there are.

The full landscape of possible content careers is huge. Even setting aside content marketing (which we are; more on that in a minute) you could have a lifelong career working in any one of these industries:

• Startups and software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology companies
• Universities and higher education
• Government agencies and service providers
• Finance and banking
• B2B and B2C retail
• Telecoms and utilities
• Non-profits
• Management consulting and design agencies

Not every organization hires for every kind of role. But almost any company with knowledge workers has some content roles. They might be hiring for:

• Content strategists
• Content designers
• UX writers or UI writers
• Technical writers, documentation writers, and knowledge managers
• Information architects or experience architects
• Content managers and content specialists
• Editors and editorial directors
• Content channel and product owners
• Website operations (I even still see webmasters from time to time!)

And that’s just for starters. There are a lot of “hidden” UX content roles in organizations using all kinds of legacy terminology and industry-specific jargon. That can make it seem like there are fewer opportunities than there really are. 

This program is designed to help you identify exactly what kind of roles will and won’t be a good fit for your skillset, goals, and values, and how to start finding them or creating them internally. (In my experience, people are often struggling in their content career because they’re on the right track but riding the wrong train, so to speak. We’ll get you on the right train.)

It’s time to get unstuck.

A lot of folks like you already have the skills and experience they need to land great jobs with titles like Senior Content Strategist or Content Designer or Information Architect or Digital Content Specialist. But they’re struggling to convey those skills and experience to others, whether that means not even getting interviews, interviewing endlessly with no callbacks, or just getting roadblocked internally on redefining their role. 

To navigate this confusing landscape, you’ll need to understand these four things:

• Yourself – Your own skills, strengths, and growth opportunities.
• Your goals – How you’d actually like to spend your time in your next job and how you want to collaborate with others on your team.
• The industry landscape – A clear mental model of the wider industry and opportunities, including a confident understanding of the differences between, for instance, content design and content strategy, or individual contributor (IC) roles versus management versus leadership.
• Content hiring processes – Familiarity with how content is actually practiced and talked about in different types of companies and industries, in order to better understand a given job listing and prepare for success in the interview process (and make sure it’s what you even want to be doing).

We’ll cover all four of these areas, and leave you better prepared to navigate this ever-shifting landscape of career opportunities in content strategy, content management, UX writing, content design, information architecture, and all the many other related and sub-disciplines of these fields.

What about portfolios?

Let’s rip the band-aid off: You might learn from this program that you’ll need to create or update a portfolio to get the job you want. 😳Ack! But don’t sweat it: We’ll help you make a plan to tackle it — even if you think you don’t have anything to put into a portfolio.

But you might also learn that your skills and passion are the best fit for a role or industry where they’ve never even seen a content portfolio and wouldn’t know to ask for one. That’s because UX jobs aren’t the only kinds of jobs, tech companies aren’t the only kinds of companies, and there are lots and lots and lots of content career opportunities out there in a variety of industries – whether you’re more of a strategist and writer, or whether you work visually and have lots of cool stuff to put in a more traditional design portfolio.

Let’s find your way forward, together.

This career accelerator program’s exercises will focus on self-discovery, reflection, and learning to tell your career story in new ways. Some participants might find themselves updating a portfolio, others might workshop their interview skills and resumes, and still others might start creating a pitch document to advocate for the job they want to create where they already work.

Whatever path you choose, my ultimate goal is to help you feel less alone, more focused, and more confident in approaching the next step in your content career.

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What This Program Is

This is the way forward in your content career. It’s a kickstart, an unstuck-ifier, a breath of fresh air. It’s the way to shake off the doom-and-gloomies about your career prospects and the burdensome slog of applying for new roles. It’s someone looking you in the eyes and saying: “I’ve got you. You can do this.”

Is the poetry not working? Fine, fine. Practically speaking, the Content Career Accelerator is two things:

1. A six-week online program that consists of live guided workshops, readings and discussion prompts, weekly office hours, group accountability and support, and a dedicated career 1-on-1 from an expert in the field. (There will be workshops, readings, discussions, and more for 2023 — but I’m currently working on making the format a bit different. Details soon!
2. A private, supportive online community of cohort participants. You’ll get to interact with and learn from your fellow cohort participants and members of other cohorts, past and future, in a private online community focused on UX content career growth. It’s a cozy little home where you can be yourself and work on your career (and get help with challenges in your current role) without the noise and exposure of a big public community like on Slack or Facebook.

What This Program Is Not

This is not a skills bootcamp. We will not be practicing any UX writing or content strategy skills, at least not directly.

(If we discover a skills gap between where you are and where you want to go, we’ll help you make a plan to close that gap.)

This is not six weeks of creating yet another portfolio (as I’ve said, you might not need one).

This is not a job placement program or a pipeline to work with my recruiters (I don’t have any).

This is not a pitch for a bigger, costlier certification program (I don’t have one to sell you). 

About Your Host

This program, its workshops, and coaching are all led by me, Scott Kubie. I wrote Writing for Designers, publish the weekly UX Writing Events newsletter, host UX Content Office Hours, and have been working on the content side of digital experiences since 2009.

Like many people in this field, I originally studied journalism, and got started by writing whatever I could for whomever would pay me.

Over my career, I’ve worked as an in-house content strategist and UX writer, led the content strategy practice at the world’s top agency in the field, and delivered around 100 public talks and workshops for audiences in just about every industry. I’ve worked embedded on product design teams and as an outside consultant. I’ve been in-house with benefits and an independent contractor. I’ve personally interviewed for and been offered management roles, executive-level practice leadership roles, and “IC” (individual contributor) roles. I’ve guided one-person app startups and Fortune 50 leadership teams. I don’t have all the answers, but at this point, I’ve heard nearly all of the questions, and seen just about every edge of the UX content universe.

I’ve also spent a good deal of my career informally coaching people on their UX content careers and writing about how to get started in this industry. I’m so, so excited to launch this accelerator and focus even more on helping people succeed in the big wide world of content strategy.

You can learn more about me on my about page, and more about how I think and favorite topics by exploring this very website.

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Program Overview

The core program happens over six weeks. It includes five live 90-minute workshops with the full cohort, a 1:1 session with Scott, and additional opportunities to connect with your peers both in real time and asynchronously. You’ll get assigned some exercises and readings, and participate in workshops and coaching via video conferencing and an online whiteboard (Google Meet & Miro, currently). – The specific program format will be a little different in 2023, but the idea is the same!

Commitments

Completing the core activities of the CCA will take approximately 24 hours total. The recommended pace for the initial program is 6 weeks, but you can complete much of that work on your own time. If you have more time available, you can certainly get more out of this program by diving deep into updating your own resume/portfolio/website, and/or doing additional readings to brush up your skills while we go, but that’s not an expectation, just an option.

We have a code of conduct that includes a default expectation of privacy. I want to create an environment where you can feel comfortable sharing about the most difficult parts of your career journey.

Schedule

Most lectures and all-cohort workshops are recorded, but attendance is strongly encouraged. You can choose to have your 1-on-1 recorded if you would like.

Details for the 2023 schedule are pending.

Take the next step.

Program Details

Under Construction! Full program details for 2023 are coming soon.

What does it cost?

For budgeting purposes, I can share that I anticipate a full year of access to the Content Career Accelerator to cost around $595, going forward. There may be opportunities for equity pricing, and for add-ons such as additional coaching and career 1-on-1s.

How many people are in the program?

There are around 20 active members in the current Content Career Accelerator community, and we will add no more than 80 new members in 2023 (20x across 4 cohorts). Workshops and discussions are always kept small and cozy for effective discussion.

What’s included?

Registrants get access to the live program workshops, access to any recordings after the program, downloads of any planning worksheets and materials, and a private online space to communicate with me and your cohort peers.

How does payment work?

You’ll use an online checkout form to pay via credit card. Stripe is the payment processor, and it also accepts Google Pay and Apple Pay. Most cards you use for online shopping should work. Payment secures your spot in the program.

Can I sponsor someone or pay for a scholarship?

First of all, thank you! One option to sponsor a participant is to simply complete the checkout process yourself, entering the sponsored party’s name and email where participant details are requested. If you’re generally interested in making the CCA available to more people, please send a note to scott@kubie.co and we can discuss options, including CCA community sponsorships, co-designing a scholarship program for your organization, that sort of thing. Open to ideas!

What if I get partway or all the way through this program and decide that content is stupid and I’d actually rather pursue my passion of competitive rhythmic wood-carving?

Money well spent then, I’d say. What an insight!

What if you didn’t answer my question yet?

Send me an email, please: scott@kubie.co

(You’re at the end now. Impressed if you read all of that. Thanks!)