Cracking the Cleartrip UX Writer Interview
Cleartrip (now owned by Flipkart) is known for having one of the cleanest, most minimalist user interfaces in the Indian travel industry. As a UX Writer here, your job is to guide users through complex booking flows using as few words as possible.
The Interview Stages
- Portfolio Screening: Submit case studies showing ‘Before & After’ UX copy transformations.
- The UX Writing Assignment (Take-Home): A rigorous test of microcopy logic.
- Product Design Round: You will interview with UI/UX designers, not just marketers.
- Behavioral & Culture Fit.
Round 1: The Take-Home Assignment
Travel apps generate a lot of user anxiety (fear of losing money, fear of booking the wrong date).
- Task: “Rewrite the error message when a user’s credit card fails during a ₹50,000 international flight booking. The current message is: ‘Error 404: Transaction Declined by Gateway’.”
- The Goal: Empathy and Action.
- Bad Edit: “Your card failed. Try again.”
- Good Edit: “Your bank declined this transaction. Don’t worry, no money was deducted. Please try a different card or UPI.”
Round 2: The Design Collaboration Round
UX Writers at Cleartrip do not work in isolation; they sit inside Figma with designers.
- Question: “A designer wants to use a 2-word label on a button, but you know the legal team requires a 6-word disclaimer. How do you resolve this?”
- The Approach: Compromise. Use a concise 2-word button (e.g., “Confirm Booking”) and place the legal disclaimer in a tiny, low-opacity font directly beneath the button.
Round 3: A/B Testing Copy
Cleartrip is highly data-driven.
- Question: “We want to increase hotel bookings. Should the button say ‘Book Now’ or ‘Reserve Your Room’?”
- The Strategy: Do not just pick one. Explain how you would A/B test both. Mention that ‘Reserve’ implies lower commitment (maybe they can cancel later), which might increase initial clicks but affect final conversion.
Round 4: Product Sense
- You must understand the travel business model. “Why do we push users to book flight + hotel together?” (Because the margin on hotels is significantly higher than on flights).