Back in mid-2022, we recorded a podcast asking whether the content design market would be hit by layoffs. A month later, they began. A year later we wrote a blog post talking about the 2023 content design job market, saying the number of jobs had shrunk and job seekers were facing a bit of an uphill battle.
It’s now May of 2024, nearly 2 years on from that initial wave of layoffs. I think we’ve turned a corner. The market is certainly not back where it was (nor will it ever be, I think) and job searching is competitive. But the sheer number of opportunities now suggests we’ve now reached a point where we can be optimistic about the future.
What’s happening in the content design job market?
It begins with a trickle. Over the past 6 months I’ve seen more LinkedIn posts turn from saying “I’m looking for a job” to “I’ve been hired!” Of course, it’s hard to quantify these types of posts, so it raised my interest when I saw this little tidbit come across my feed:
Look, 6% is hardly a tech boom. But it’s not an insignificant amount, and considering the number of jobs that disappeared in 2022 it’s a welcome reprieve.
This recent quote from Shannon Leahy, who appeared on Larry Swanson’s Content Strategy Insights podcast, also gives some good context. Shannon is a prolific job poster and regularly shares new job postings every day on her LinkedIn profile. If anyone has her finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the content design market, it’s her:
“I do also think I see glimmers of promise out there as far as seeing jobs for manager level folks, so folks who want to grow teams, build teams. Have been seeing a little bit more of those crop up lately.”
Will this differ from place to place, from market to market? Sure. We’re talking in general here. And in general, things seem to be getting bigger. Of course, stories like these are nuanced. Let’s dig into some detail and the trends we’re seeing.
Content design jobs for every experience level
For a while, it seemed as though many of the content design and UX writing jobs on offer in 2024 were focused on intermediate to senior-level roles. These types of roles are ideally suited to high-level individual contributors, and not necessarily managers. It meant that entry-level jobs were virtually non-existent. That trend is reversing, and we’re seeing more internships, and jobs directed towards grads or career switchers.
Here are just a few we’ve seen lately:
Although Meta says it wants someone with 1 year of UX writing experience, typically that tends to include career switchers as well if they can demonstrate enough skill. It’s certainly a low enough bar that someone with adjacent experience could apply.
UX Writer and Content Design, Early Career
This job from Google is interesting in that it specifically calls out someone early in their career. It’s not an internship, but an early-level role. They specifically state they want someone with “1 year of experience with writing, editorial, marketing, or UX writing in an agency setting.”
Another good post here from Visa, looking for an associate role. A rare role that doesn’t ask for any years of experience – indicating it’s open to entry-level job seekers.
There have also been UX writing and internship opportunities at companies like Canva and Airbnb. These early-level positions are a good indicator companies see at least something of a future for the discipline.
New content design jobs are very specific
This is an interesting trend, and it’s one that Chelsea Larsson, head of Experience Design at Expedia, recently mentioned on the Writers of Silicon Valley podcast: many content design job ads are becoming very specific.
Prior to 2022/23, many content design jobs tended to be broad. You’d be called a “Senior Content Designer” and cover a wide range of disciplines. This latest trend sees these jobs becoming much, much more specific:
- Netflix: Senior Content Designer – Core
- Google: UX Writer and Content Designer – Google Play
- Google: UX Writer Content Designer – Google Assistant
- Atlassian: Lead Content Designer – AI
- PayPal: Content Designer – Developer Experiences
- Canva: Content Design Lead – Growth
- Figma: UX Writer – Billing and Admin
- Robinhood: Content Design Manager – Activation
You get the idea. These roles are getting super specific, and while that may not be palatable for entry-level content designers, it does open opportunities for intermediate to senior-level people. The good news is that it’s unlikely these types of specializations will pigeon-hole you into a role that you can’t get out of. These roles are just focusing on specific practices, and that makes sense in the overall job market now.
Companies are much more interested in efficiency and growth, which means they’re going to invest in specific areas of the business that are doing well, need attention, or can prove impact. So it makes sense we’re seeing hiring growth there as well.
I expect as the market continues to recover we’ll see more generalist roles.
Smaller companies are hiring more too…
The last 5 or so years were dominated by FAANG growth, but content design and content strategy is bigger than just big tech. There are a huge number of companies hiring for content designers that sit outside of San Francisco and work in all sorts of interesting and cool areas.
To be clear, these roles are also “tech” in the sense that you’re working on software. But this software sits outside what we would consider the biggest providers and sit in more niche areas:
- Hinge: Senior Content Designer
- 10up: Senior Content Designer
- Duolingo: Senior Content Designer
- Robinhood: Senior Content Designer
- Gusto: Staff Content Designer
- StubHub: Staff Content Designer
- Wells Fargo: Senior Lead Content Designer – Consumer Digital Channels
- CVS Health: Senior Content Designer
- Chewy: Staff Content Designer
- JP Morgan Chase: Vice President Content Design
- Remitly: Senior Content Designer
You get the idea. You might quibble with whether some of these jobs are considered big tech or not, but there are far more options than just the traditional big players.
…but big tech is coming back
It’s always interesting to see when large companies lay off a bunch of people then start hiring them back. UX writing and content design is essential, who knew?
One trend we used to see during the “boom” of 2019-22 was that FAANGs would go on hiring sprees for multiple people at a time. That’s certainly not happening in the same way, but we are seeing recruiting drives for multiple content designers for companies like Meta. Here are some examples of individual ads:
- Meta: Content Designer
- Google: Tech UX Writer Senior Associate
- TikTok: Content Design Manager
- Netflix: Senior Content Designer
- Netflix: Content Design Manager
- Microsoft: Senior Content Designer
So is contracting
Contracting tends to be a bit of a leading indicator. When contract roles start appearing, there tends to be an uptick in hiring a bit later down the line. Some of those jobs won’t be advertised, but companies will keep extending contracts and then hopefully turn those contracts into full-time positions. Doesn’t happen all the time, but it happens, and tends to occur in the background without much advertising.
Something to keep in mind though, as opposed to previous hiring stretches, is that the current contract roles tend to be for more senior positions. Your results may vary, new ones pop up all the time:
- Sr. Director, Content Design (FTE)
- UX Writer/Content Strategist
- Senior Content Designer
- Conversation Designer
Conversation design hiring is big
This trend makes sense given everything that’s happening with AI. There are a lot of conversation design jobs around, including early career options. For any UX writers and content designers interested in this field, there are a lot of overlapping experience requirements here.
- Meta: Conversation Designer
- Instacart: Conversation Designer
- Google: Conversation Designer, Early Career
- Tanisha Systems: Conversation Designer
The content design job market is still in flux
There are some good news stories here. If you’re looking for a job in content design or UX writing, then this type of news should give you hope for the future. Is the market back to where it was? No – but neither was the market in 2001 or 2002 after the dot com bust. It took a few years for hiring to recover. The same is true here.
In the meantime, there are good opportunities. As long as you keep focusing on developing new skills, staying on top of the future of the industry, and understand what the market is looking for, then content designers and UX writers will be on a good path.
You can connect with Patrick Stafford on LinkedIn, or listen to his podcast Writers of Silicon Valley.