Explore every episode of the podcast Career Strategy Podcast with Sarah Doody | UX, Product Design, UX Research
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200: Celebrating 200 episodes: whatās changed in UX hiring (and what hasnāt) | 09 nov. 2026 | 00:25:18 | |
For episode 200, I look back at what UX hiring managers and recruiters have shared on the podcast about what has changed in UX hiring and what hasn't. You'll hear why people are still involved in UX hiring, how to use AI without losing your voice, and why visibility matters in your job search. What You'll Learn in This Episode: āļø Why your resume and portfolio are still read by humans, and what that means for how you write them āļø How to use AI as a thinking tool without outsourcing all your writing āļø Why building something with AI and walking through your thinking can help you stand out āļø How to prepare for a UX interview by asking questions and letting the interviewer choose the case study āļø Why visibility on LinkedIn and in communities helps the right people find you Timestamps 00:00 Intro and what 200 episodes taught me 02:57 Sylvain Maretto on AI and human review in hiring 06:22 Steph McDonald on using AI in your applications 08:19 Patrick Neeman on AI prototypes in interviews 09:33 Why 1,500 people apply to one role 12:56 Jeni Bible on standing out in the interview 15:33 Natalie Kurz on what she looks for in candidates 16:56 Visibility and key takeaways Related episodes UX Hiring Insights: Sarah Doody's Interview With Design Recruiter Jared Tredly from Shopify šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 199: How to tailor your UX resume for every job (and why keyword stuffing backfires) | 02 nov. 2026 | 00:07:55 | |
Using one resume for every UX job application is easy, but it can leave your experience looking out of step with the UX role. In this episode, Sarah Doody explains how to tailor your UX resume in a few quick changes, and why keyword stuffing can make you look bad. What You'll Learn in This Episode: āļø Why a resume should be easy to read, even if it isn't beautiful āļø How to read a job description for the phrases, skills and software your resume should reflect āļø Four parts of your resume you can tailor without rewriting it āļø Why hidden white font keywords and repeated terms backfire Timestamps 00:00 Why your resume should be easy to read 00:32 Why to tailor your resume and how to use the job description 02:51 Tailoring your About Me and Company Summaries 04:14 Tailoring your bullet points 05:14 Why keyword stuffing backfires 05:58 Closing thoughts Related episodes Episode 78: How to optimize your resume for the Applicant Tracking System Episode 88: Troubleshoot your resume with 11 questions in this resume checklist Episode 29: It's a myth your resume must be one page, here's why šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 198: UX resume myths about the ATS, with Workday UX director and hiring manager Patrick Neeman | 26 oct. 2026 | 00:11:03 | |
Patrick Neeman, Director of UX Design, AI Experiences, explains how applicant tracking systems read your resume and why he advises against a two-column layout. He also shares what he has seen as a hiring manager about keyword filtering, knockout questions and the six-second resume glance. What You'll Learn in This Episode: āļø Why Patrick says to use one column for an ATS and two columns for a person āļø How OCR can turn a two-column resume into one big line of text āļø How knockout questions and keyword filtering work in some systems āļø Patrick's misconceptions about companies, AI and recruiters in hiring āļø What Patrick says helps a resume pass a quick scan Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:35 Who Patrick Neeman is 01:23 Keyword filtering and knockout questions 03:55 Why to avoid a two-column resume for the ATS 05:48 Misconceptions about ATS and hiring 07:28 The six-second resume study 08:45 What makes a resume stand out Related episodes How to optimize your resume for the ATS so you can get more UX job interviews How to optimize your resume for the Applicant Tracking System Links and resources šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 197: How UX Recruiters Use AI in Hiring (and risks of UX candidates using AI) | 19 oct. 2026 | 00:13:50 | |
AI in UX hiring plays a huge part of how your UX application gets reviewed. Steph McDonald, a lead UX recruiter at HubSpot, uses it every day, and she's just as clear about where it stops. Steph has spent 25 years in recruiting, finding and vetting candidates in product management. HubSpot is an AI first company, so her team is expected to use AI in their roles. For her that means an AI notetaker in her interviews, which she says saves at least 30 minutes per candidate per day, and a scoring tool that ranks applicants against the skills she sets for each role.Ā She still looks at every resume. She starts with the lowest ranked ones so she can check the bot's reasoning and move people forward when she disagrees. Then there's what she sees from UXĀ candidates. ChatGPT answers pasted straight into an application, follow up question from the chatbot included. Auto apply services sending software engineers and product managers to UX design roles. One resume that came back with the job description dropped in as the work experience and a product manager's title changed to lead UX designer. Her take on using AI to write is simple. Write it yourself first, then use ChatGPT to tighten it up. If AI is part of your UX job search right now, this is what it looks like from the UX recruiter's side of the screen. Topics Discussed ā How HubSpot uses AI in hiring, from an AI notetaker in interviews to a tool that scores resumes, and why Steph still wants to control resume review herself ā Why Steph looks at the lowest ranked candidates first, and what she's checking when she does ā What a knockout question looks like in a real application, using a hard requirement like building payments products ā Why years of experience isn't how HubSpot screens candidates, as far as Steph has seen, and the one situation where she uses it herself ā Why Steph doesn't buy the advice to stuff hidden keywords into your resume to please the bot ā The mistake that shows a UX recruiter you never read your own AI generated answer ā Why auto apply services backfire, and the strange case of four back to back resumes with identical formatting ā A resume an AI tool rewrote into something that made no sense, and what it says about handing your own story to a bot ā Where Steph draws the line on using ChatGPT to polish your writing Links & Resources š Connect with Steph McDonald on LinkedIn šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 196: What a Shopify design recruiter looks for in a senior UX portfolio | 12 oct. 2026 | 00:12:25 | |
A senior UX portfolio gets read differently than a junior one, and most people never find out how until they're already in the rejection pile. Jared Tredly has spent around 15 years in recruitment, most recently as a design recruiter at Shopify, where he was hiring for roughly 30 open design roles at the time of this conversation. Before that, he worked agency side, where a single role could pull in 700 applicants a week. He's blunt about what actually happens to a UX portfolio once it lands in front of someone like him. At Shopify he sees 50 to 100 new applications come in on a given day, and he says UX recruiters broadly can see anywhere from a hundred to a thousand portfolios on a busy stretch. He'll often look at the work before he even opens the resume, because for UX design roles the portfolio carries more weight than it does in almost any other hiring process. He describes reviewing one like peeling back the layers of an onion. This episode gets into what actually earns a second look at that volume. Where seniority shows up in a case study and where it doesn't. Why he thinks ATS systems are mostly useless for screening portfolios, and what he actually uses them for instead. Why "impact" metrics carry less weight than most candidates assume, and what he listens for instead. If you've ever wondered what happens to your application after you hit submit, or why a UX portfolio that took you weeks to build didn't get a response, this is a rare look from the other side of the desk. Topics Discussed ā Why a UX design portfolio carries more weight in hiring than it does for almost any other role, and why that makes it the first thing reviewed, not the resume ā How many UX portfolios get looked at in a single day at a company like Shopify, and what that volume means for how quickly a decision gets made ā Why ATS systems are mostly unreliable for screening portfolio quality, and what they're actually useful for in the UX hiring process ā What causes an instant "hook" or an instant bounce in the first few seconds of a UX portfolio review ā Why inconsistency between a resume, UX portfolio, and LinkedIn profile raises suspicion instead of just looking sloppy ā What separates a senior level UX case study from a mid level one, including project complexity, recency, and evidence of influence over simple execution ā Why cramming a UX case study with slides or over explaining a process can actually work against a candidate ā Why raw impact numbers matter less than being able to explain why a UX design decision was made and what it actually changed ā Whether portfolio format (website, deck, or PDF) matters, and what actually causes friction for a reviewer regardless of format Links & Resources š Connect with Jared Tredly on LinkedIn š Explore open design roles at Shopify šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 195: UX Hiring Insights: Steve Durgin, From Candidate to Hiring Manager, on Trust & Networking | 05 oct. 2026 | 00:57:59 | |
UX hiring decisions are less scientific than most job seekers assume. Steve Durgin found that out firsthand, first as a candidate, now as the one doing the hiring. Steve is the founder of affinityUX, a research led innovation and product studio that helps companies find friction in their products and build experiences people actually care about, using methods like jobs to be done and outcome driven innovation. Steve came from a background in social work and human services, went through Career Strategy Lab to make his pivot into UX, got hired, and eventually built his own agency. He's since hired six CSL alumni himself, so this conversation covers hiring from both sides of the table, not just theory. Steve used to think hiring was a logical process based on qualifications. Now he describes it as a psychological decision to trust someone under uncertainty and time pressure.Ā The conversation walks through what that actually looks like in practice: why a single clear, non-cringe pitch beat out a stack of cold applications, why posting inside a community instead of a public job board changes everything about speed and quality, and what he's actually trying to learn in a 30 minute screening call that never shows up in a resume. It closes with a practical framework for turning any conversation into more opportunities, plus a portfolio structure Steve says makes the difference between getting skimmed and getting remembered. Topics Discussed ā Why hiring is more of a psychological trust decision than the logical, checklist based process Steve assumed before he started hiring himself ā The exact type of pitch that got a candidate a same-day response, and what made it different from every cold pitch Steve normally gets ā Why posting inside a community instead of a public job board can cut time to hire dramatically, and what that means for where you should be spending your energy ā The specific question Steve asks every candidate to surface things that never show up in a resume or portfolio ā A real example of a candidate whose most valuable skill only became obvious once Steve actually talked to her, not from anything on paper ā What Steve looks for that goes beyond hard skills, from comfort with ambiguity to the ability to connect a task back to the business outcome it serves ā How to structure a portfolio case study into three slides so it survives someone with almost no time to look at it ā Steve's three part framework for turning a single conversation into new opportunities: asking for favors, offering favors, and proactively expanding your network Links & Resources š Join the affinityUX Contractor Pool This 10-15 minute form allows you to join affinityUX's pool of contractors. If they land a project that seems like a great fit for you, they will reach out! š Listen to Steve's earlier interview on the Career Strategy Podcast š Connect with Steve on LinkedIn š Book: Traction by Gino Wickman šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 194: UX Hiring Insights: Marc Aquino, Senior Product Design Manager at Deel | 28 sept. 2026 | 00:52:01 | |
UX design burnout doesn't come from working too many hours. That's one of Marc Aquino's hot takes in this episode, and once it sits with you, it's hard to keep blaming the hours. Marc is senior product design manager at Deel, a global HR and payroll platform helping companies hire and pay employees and contractors in over 150 countries. He's spent 15 years in the industry, seven of them building and scaling design teams across startups, scale-ups, and global companies. His take started with a LinkedIn post responding to a Nielsen Norman Group article on psychological ownership, research originally from Lynn Van Dyne and John Pierce. Burnout builds from a cycle. You get excited about a UX project. You pour research and effort into it. Then stakeholders get involved, and it gets scoped down or reshaped until it barely resembles what you built. Repeat that for months, years, and it wears you down more than the hours ever could. Marc talks through how he tries to protect his own team from that cycle, including a framework for pitching big ideas without getting shut down, and a line from his LinkedIn post that stuck with Sarah: the UX designers who last the longest hold the shipped thing loosely and their own judgment tightly. Then the conversation shifts into hiring. What Marc actually wants to see when a UX project never launched. Why team metrics tell him more than individual ones ever could. What happens when a candidate claims credit for a huge revenue number all on their own. Deel gets an enormous volume of applications, and Marc is candid about how little time he actually gets to review each one. Topics Discussed ā Why UX design burnout might have less to do with hours worked and more to do with losing authority over something you feel deep ownership over ā The repeating cycle that quietly wears UX designers down over months and years, and why fast-paced companies make it worse ā A framework for pitching big, ambitious ideas at work without getting shut down before you even present them ā Why you should include projects that never launched in your UX portfolio, and what to talk about instead of the outcome ā Why leading with a huge dollar figure or revenue percentage in an UX interview can backfire, and what to say instead ā Why team metrics tell a UX hiring manager more about a candidate than an individual one ever could ā What actually happens to your application in the days after you hit submit at a company receiving millions of applications a year ā Two team rituals that help a UX design team avoid burnout and stay aligned every month Links & Resources š Connect with Marc on LinkedIn š Marc's LinkedIn post responding to the Nielsen Norman Group article on psychological ownership š Kotter's Eight Steps to Change Management š Sarah's earlier episode with Steph McDonald, UX recruiter at HubSpot š 10% Happier by Dan Harris šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 193: Should your UX portfolio approach change based on your role or seniority? | 21 sept. 2026 | 00:20:35 | |
UX portfolio approaches based on seniority or role. That question lands in Sarah Doody's inbox nearly every day. Does the approach actually need to change? This episode answers a real question from a listener targeting director level UX roles, wondering if the portfolio frameworks taught inside Career Strategy Lab only apply to individual contributors. The process for building a strong UX portfolio doesn't change based on your job title. That's the real answer buried in a question Sarah gets constantly, usually from people convinced their situation is the exception.Ā This time it came from a listener targeting director level UX roles, wondering if the frameworks taught inside Career Strategy Lab only apply to individual contributors. Sarah's answer: no. Three reasons why. A portfolio's job stays the same no matter your title or years of experience. UX recruiters and hiring managers are always answering the same core questions. The way a portfolio gets consumed doesn't change either. A role gets 500 applications in 48 hours.Ā Every portfolio gets skimmed and scanned, not read word for word. And what makes a portfolio good is consistent across roles too. Answer the so what behind your decisions. Not just what you did. Gamified, operating system style portfolios are trending on LinkedIn right now. Sarah explains why they create friction instead of clarity for a recruiter trying to move fast. Then there's what-ifing. Hunting for UX portfolio advice specific to your exact job title, years of experience, or city. That search doesn't exist, and it's costing you time you don't have. If your job title or seniority level has you wondering whether you need a different UX portfolio strategy, this episode settles it. Topics Discussed ā Why the three questions UX recruiters and hiring managers are actually trying to answer never change, no matter your job title ā How the "jobs to be done" framework applies to your UX portfolio, and what your portfolio's actual job is ā What happens when a UX role gets 500 applications in 48 hours, and how that changes what your portfolio needs to survive ā Why talking only about what you did is the most common UX portfolio mistake, and what answering the "so what" actually looks like in a case study ā Why operating system style UX portfolios are trending on LinkedIn right now, and why they're probably working against you ā The real cost of constantly asking "what if" about your specific UX job title, years of experience, or city instead of just building your portfolio ā What went wrong with an early UX portfolio back in 2006, and what fixing it actually looked like Links & Resources š Episode 155, Sarah's interview with Patrick Neeman, Director of UX and AI Experiences at Workday š Episode 173, Sarah's interview with Jeni Bible, UX Manager at Home Depot š Episode 172, Sarah's interview with Alexander Zeh, Head of Product Design at ManyChat š Episode 192, Sarah's interview with Sylvain Maretto, Director of Design at Ecosia š Episode 161, Sarah's interview with Jared Tredly, Design Recruiter at Shopify š Episode 188, UX Portfolio Myth: Your UX Portfolio Does Not Need To Be A Website (Myth 2/5) šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 192: UX Hiring Insights: Sylvain Maretto, Director of Design, on Why AI Hasn't Taken Over Hiring and What He Looks for in UX Portfolios | 14 sept. 2026 | 00:45:02 | |
UX hiring managers are looking for three things right now, and UX isn't specifically one of them. Not exactly reassuring if you've spent years polishing your process pages. That's the reality Sylvain Maretto lays out in this episode, and it's coming from someone actually reviewing applications, not theorizing about them. At the time of this recording, Sylvain was the director of design at Ecosia, the search engine that funds tree planting with its profits. He's spent 15 years building and leading design teams across Berlin, Tokyo, and beyond, with stops at Omio (joined when it was 25 people), Zalando, Tour Radar, and GetYourGuide. He also helped seal the acquisition of Holoplot, the audio technology behind the sound system inside the Vegas Sphere. He joined Sarah after leaving a comment on a LinkedIn post arguing portfolios need to be more experimental. He disagreed, and what follows is his actual answer: a triangle of AI fluency, UI craft, and business acumen. UX gets treated as a given, not a differentiator. From there, Sylvain walks through what happens inside an applicant tracking system when 500 people apply for one role. Why the AI built into most of those tools produces noise instead of signal. What a job description is actually telling you, if you read it twice. And how to talk about results when a project got canceled before it ever shipped. If you've ever wondered what's actually happening on the other side of your application, this is that answer. Topics Discussed ā The three things Sylvain actually screens for when he opens a portfolio, and UX isn't one of them ā What happens to your application the second it lands in an ATS, and why you're one of 500 people applying for the same slot ā Why the AI built into most hiring software is, in Sylvain's own words, mostly noise ā The STAR framework he wants every case study to follow, and why your "action" section is probably too long ā What to say about a project that got canceled or never shipped, when you still need to show results ā How reading a job description twice instead of once changes what you should actually be highlighting ā Whether hiring managers expect different things by country, or if it's really just about company stage ā Why Sylvain thinks a narrow, specific niche beats trying to check every box on a job post ā The values-based signal he built into his own hiring process at Ecosia that most candidates don't see coming Links & Resources š Connect with Sylvain on LinkedIn š Sarah's book: The Product of You š Ioana Teleanu's LinkedIn post that started this conversation šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 191: UX Portfolio Myth: Your personality is not what UX recruiters want in your portfolio (Myth 5 / 5) | 07 sept. 2026 | 00:11:53 | |
Adding personality to your UX portfolio is one of the most repeated pieces of advice in the industry, and Sarah closes out her five part portfolio myth series by explaining why it's actually working against you. Personality and passion don't get you the interview. Proof does. That's the whole myth this episode takes apart. Sarah argues that trying to inject personality into a portfolio usually competes with the actual content instead of supporting it. A font chosen to feel "personal" can make a case study harder to read. Extra design elements, background flourishes, or animation pull attention away from the work itself, and animation in particular can even make some viewers physically ill. A personal logo shrunk down to fit a slide often becomes illegible. None of it proves you can do the job you're applying for, which is the one thing recruiters and hiring managers are actually scanning for. She backs this up with a line from Steph McDonald, lead recruiter at HubSpot focused on UX design roles, who compares a well edited portfolio to a fashion designer who puts on all her jewelry, then takes a few pieces off before walking out the door. The move isn't to avoid adding things you care about, it's going back afterward and cutting what isn't earning its place. Sarah's takeaway is direct, less personality, more evidence that you've done what the job description is asking for. This episode also wraps the full five part series. Sarah runs through a fast recap of all five myths, from project count to portfolio websites to showing failed work, and asks listeners who followed along to share whether it changed how they think about their own portfolio. ā Why personality and passion don't get you an interview, and what actually does ā How trying to show personality through fonts, animation, or design flourishes can work against your portfolio instead of for it ā Why a personal logo in your portfolio often backfires once it's shrunk down to a smaller size ā What Steph McDonald, lead recruiter at HubSpot focused on UX design roles, said about editing a portfolio before you hit send ā Why Sarah says the goal is proof over personality, and what that actually looks like in practice ā A full recap of all five UX portfolio myths covered across the series ā Where to learn more about Career Strategy Lab if your portfolio has been stuck in redesign mode for months š Episode 168 of the Career Strategy Podcast, Sarah's full interview with Steph McDonald š Episode 187, Myth 1 of 5, on why you don't need three to five projects in your portfolio š Episode 188, Myth 2 of 5, on why your portfolio doesn't need to be a website š Episode 189, Myth 3 of 5, on why your case studies don't need to show the full UX process š Episode 190, Myth 4 of 5, on why you can show projects that didn't launch šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 190: UX Portfolio Myth: You can't show projects that didn't launch (Myth 4 / 5) | 31 aoƻt 2026 | 00:09:55 | |
UX portfolio projects that didn't launch or didn't go as planned are exactly the kind of work recruiters and hiring managers want to see, not the kind you should hide.Ā This is week four of a five part series on UX portfolio myths, and this episode tackles the belief that a canceled, pivoted, or unsuccessful project doesn't belong in your portfolio. Sarah pushes back on this directly. Smart hiring managers understand that things go wrong in real UX work all the time, and a project that didn't launch says nothing about whether you're a good researcher or designer.Ā In fact, she argues that a messy or canceled project is one of the best opportunities to show how you adapt, collaborate, and think under real constraints, exactly the soft skills recruiters are trying to evaluate. She walks through common scenarios people worry about, like research getting cut entirely or not being able to run usability testing, and gives specific ways to handle each one in a portfolio.Ā Rather than hiding the gap, she suggests explaining what happened, what you did instead, and what you would do differently with a do-over, which turns a limitation into a chance to show your thinking. She backs this up with a clip from her interview with Jeni Bible, a UX Manager at Home Depot and a Career Strategy Lab alum who is now hiring herself. Jeni's take is simple, projects get canceled constantly, and what she actually wants to hear is what you did, what you learned, and how you collaborated along the way.Ā If you've been sitting on a portfolio project you assumed was too messy or unfinished to include, this episode makes the case for why it might be exactly what you need. Topics Discussed ā Why a project that didn't launch doesn't signal that you're a bad researcher or designer ā How to handle a portfolio project where research got cut or skipped entirely ā What to include if you never got to run usability testing on something you worked on ā The "do-over" framing Sarah recommends for showing what research or testing you would have done in hindsight ā What Jeni Bible, a UX Manager at Home Depot and Career Strategy Lab alum, said she actually wants to hear about canceled projects ā Why a canceled or pivoted project can be one of the strongest ways to show adaptability and collaboration ā A preview of the fifth and final myth in the series, coming next week Links & Resources š Episode 187, Myth 1 of 5, on why you don't need three to five projects in your portfolio š Episode 188, Myth 2 of 5, on why your portfolio doesn't need to be a website š Episode 189, Myth 3 of 5, on why your case studies don't need to show the full UX process šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 189: UX Portfolio Myth: Your case studies don't need to show the full UX process (Myth 3 / 5) | 24 aoƻt 2026 | 00:14:37 | |
UX portfolio case studies don't need to walk through every single step of your process, and trying to do that is actually working against you. This is week three of a five part series on UX portfolio myths, and this episode tackles a big one, the belief that every case study needs to show the whole end to end process for a project. Sarah argues the opposite works better. Going deep into just one or two parts of a project beats trying to cram in everything you did, especially for projects that spanned six months, a year, or longer. Trying to show it all just skims the surface of everything and overwhelms the person reviewing it, which is the opposite of what you want. She backs this up with a clip from her interview with Alexander Zeh, former Head of Product Design at ManyChat, who said he's specifically listening for problem solving language, phrases like "I facilitated," "I unblocked," "I synthesized," because those signal maturity in how a candidate thinks, not just what they produced. The bulk of the episode is a screen share walkthrough where Sarah rebuilds a weak case study slide by slide, showing exactly what it looks like to go from a shallow "next, I made some wireframes" slide into one that explains the problem, the decision, the reasoning, and the impact. If your case studies currently read like a list of what you did, this episode shows you exactly what to change and why. ā Why cramming your entire UX process into one case study actually works against you ā What Alexander Zeh, former Head of Product Design at ManyChat, said he's actually listening for in a portfolio walkthrough ā A live screen share breakdown showing the difference between a shallow case study slide and one that goes deep ā Why "next, I made some wireframes" is what Sarah calls a five alarm fire in a portfolio ā How to handle a case study for a project that spanned six months, a year, or longer without trying to cram in everything ā What questions your case study should actually be answering, beyond just what you did ā Why you might choose to highlight different parts of the same long project depending on the specific role you're applying for š Episode 187, Myth 1 of 5, on why you don't need three to five projects in your portfolio š Episode 188, Myth 2 of 5, on why your portfolio doesn't need to be a website šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 188: UX Portfolio Myth: Your UX portfolio does not need to be a website (Myth 2 / 5) | 17 aoƻt 2026 | 00:18:56 | |
UX portfolio websites eat up months, sometimes years, of time that could be spent applying, and Sarah argues you don't need one at all. This is week two of a five part series on UX portfolio myths, and this episode takes on one of the most repeated pieces of advice in the industry, that your portfolio has to be a website. Sarah's counter is a portfolio presentation instead. It's free, doesn't require learning new software, takes weeks instead of months, and can be duplicated and tailored for each specific role in under an hour. She walks through a full comparison of time, cost, customization, and what she calls interview readiness, the idea that a presentation portfolio doubles as the exact thing you'll need to present in interviews anyway, so you're never scrambling to build something new once you land one. She backs this up with two hiring manager perspectives. Patrick Neeman, Director of UX and AI Experiences at Workday, told her he prefers presentations because that's the format his own team works in day to day. Steph McDonald, a lead recruiter at HubSpot focused on hiring UX designers, said presentations are completely fine as long as the craft level is polished. Sarah also shares Marcus's story, who got hired as a Lead Product Designer at NAVA after building his portfolio as a presentation instead of a website. If you've been stuck for months trying to wrangle a website builder instead of actually working on your portfolio content, this episode is a direct permission slip to stop, and a breakdown of exactly what to do instead. ā Why a portfolio website can actually hurt your first impression with recruiters and hiring managers instead of helping it ā The alternative Sarah recommends instead of a website, and why it takes weeks instead of months to finish ā A full breakdown of time, cost, customization, and interview readiness for a website versus a presentation ā What Patrick Neeman, Director of UX and AI Experiences at Workday, said he actually prefers to see in a portfolio ā What Steph McDonald, a lead recruiter at HubSpot, said about presentation portfolios and craft level ā How Marcus got hired as a Lead Product Designer at NAVA using a portfolio presentation instead of a website ā Why "link to portfolio" on a job application doesn't actually mean your portfolio has to be a website ā The exact question to ask anyone who insists you need a portfolio website, and why most people can't answer it š Marcus's episode, sharing how he built his portfolio presentation and got hired at NAVA š Last week's episode, Myth 1 of 5, on why you don't need three to five projects in your portfolio šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 187: UX Portfolio Myth: You don't need 3 - 5 projects in your UX portfolio (Myth 1 / 5) | 10 aoƻt 2026 | 00:12:49 | |
UX portfolio advice is full of numbers that sound official but aren't backed by anything. This episode kicks off a five part series on UX portfolio myths, starting with the most common one: that you need three to five projects before you can apply. Sarah says the opposite is true. One strong, detailed project beats five surface level ones every time. She backs this up from an interview she did with Alexander Zeh, former Head of Product Design at ManyChat, who said he'd rather see one or two case studies that map directly to the job description than five that walk through every step of the design process without any real depth. The episode shares two specific examples. Laura got hired as a Principal Product Designer in cybersecurity with a single, unfinished feeling project still sitting in Figma slides, and was actually found and reached out to on LinkedIn before she even applied. Leon, laid off after 11 years at the same company and an author of a book on wire-framing, got hired after focusing on just one project instead of trying to rebuild an entire portfolio from scratch. If you've been stalling on applying because you don't have "enough" projects yet, this episode is a direct challenge to that belief, and a reason to ask where that number actually came from in the first place. ā Why the three to five project rule is a myth with no real backing, and where it likely came from ā Why one detailed project beats five surface level ones, and what "confuse and lose" means for a UX portfolio ā What a former Head of Product Design at ManyChat said he actually wants to see in a portfolio ā How Laura got hired as a Principal Product Designer with one unfinished project, and was found on LinkedIn without ever applying ā How Leon got hired after being laid off from an 11 year role, focusing on just one project instead of rebuilding his whole portfolio ā Why working on your portfolio alone can make you more critical of it than recruiters and hiring managers actually are ā The question to ask yourself if you believe you need three to five projects, and where to trace that belief back to ā What Sarah says to look for in UX job descriptions instead of following a generic project count š Laura's episode, sharing in her own words how she got hired with one project in her portfolio š Leon's book on wireframing for UX šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 186: Why Positioning Is The Most Underrated Skill in the AI Era of UX | 03 aoƻt 2026 | 00:26:54 | |
Positioning is quietly becoming the skill that separates people who stand out in UX and product from people who get left behind, especially now that AI can build almost anything in seconds.Ā In this episode, Sarah makes the case for why the ability to build fast is no longer the advantage it used to be, and why knowing what's worth building, and framing it well, matters more than ever. Sarah traces this back to a belief she used to hold herself, that good work speaks for itself. It doesn't. She shares how she avoided a required public speaking class in college, only to realize later that the real skill was never about sounding polished or the delivery.Ā It was about the thinking that happens before you say a single word, or type a single sentence, or design a single sales page. She also shares a recent story from her own business, where a team she hired to build an AI tool ignored the detailed context she gave them and rushed straight into building, producing a prototype that missed the mark entirely. She ended up building it herself, faster, because she had the clarity they skipped in the process.Ā That story becomes the jumping off point for two ideas Sarah argues will define who stands out in UX and product going forward, knowing what's worth building, and framing the work so people actually say yes to it. If you've ever felt invisible in a meeting, passed over for a promotion, or like your UX job search ideas keep getting ignored, this episode reframes that feeling as a positioning problem rather than a skills problem, and gives a concrete way to start fixing it this week. Topics Discussed ā Why "good work speaks for itself" is a myth that's quietly keeping talented people invisible ā The real reason some ideas get funded, approved, or hired for in UX, and it's rarely because they were the best idea ā A story about hiring a team to build an AI tool, and what happened when they skipped the thinking and rushed straight to building ā Why knowing what's worth building is about to matter more than how fast you can build it ā A real example of a stakeholder update that got buried, and the exact rewrite that would have gotten a faster yes ā Why leading with the "so what" instead of the "what" changes how quickly people respond to your ideas ā How the same positioning skill applies just as much to your UX job search, your portfolio, and a promotion conversation as it does to a pitch ā A simple challenge to try this week on your next email, Slack message, or update šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 185: The one thing you can't DIY in your UX job search | 27 juil. 2026 | -1:43:-4 | |
DIYing your UX job search feels productive right up until you realize you've been doing it for six months, twelve months, or longer with nothing to show for it. If you've been telling yourself you're one tip away from finally landing interviews, this episode is worth sitting with. The core question Sarah asks is simple and a little uncomfortable: if you gave yourself three more months on your ux job search, your portfolio, or your resume, what would actually be different? Because more time doesn't automatically mean better results. More applications don't automatically mean more interviews. If you can't answer what you'd change, you're just planning to spend more hours doing the same thing that hasn't worked yet. Sarah backs this up with research from her own program, Career Strategy Lab. After analyzing over 1,700 responses from people who didn't join, the two most common reasons were not feeling ready, or wanting to keep trying the DIY approach first. But when she surveyed people after they did join, a pattern showed up just as clearly: regret over not joining sooner, and months lost to portfolios or ux job searches that stayed stuck. The episode also gets specific about the one thing Sarah says is genuinely hard to DIY, which isn't your resume or your portfolio. It's relationships and proximity to people who are actually hiring. She shares two real examples, Marcus and Heather, both laid off, both stuck after months of solo applying, and both hired only after they stopped going it alone. ā Why simply giving your job search "three more months" rarely changes your outcome unless your strategy actually changes ā The specific question to ask yourself before committing to another few months of DIYing your portfolio or resume ā What over 1,700 survey responses revealed about why job seekers hesitate to get outside help, and what those same people said after they finally did ā The popular portfolio myth about needing three to five projects before you can apply, and why it can quietly cost you months ā How one person got hired with only one project in her portfolio, and was found on LinkedIn without even applying ā Why relationships and proximity to people hiring are the hardest thing to build alone, no matter how much networking you do on LinkedIn ā How a referral from someone he knew got Marcus hired as a user researcher after six months of rejections and ghosting ā How one person's post about her manager hiring a contractor turned into a job for someone else, which then led to five more people getting hired at that same company ā Why being part of a smaller, closer network can make you more visible than posting into the endless scroll of LinkedIn š Episode 122 of the Career Strategy Podcast, Marcus's full story in his own words šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 184: Natalie got hired for a Director level UX role (and now she's the one hiring for UX roles) | 20 juil. 2026 | 00:39:17 | |
Landing a Director level UX role doesn't happen by accident, and neither does becoming the person on the other side of the hiring table a few months later.Ā Natalie Kurz did both. She spent six months on a UX job search after a layoff, landed a Director of Experience Design and Content role at NextGen Health, and within months found herself reviewing over 600 applications for her own open positions. Natalie spent 25 years in UX, most recently as a people manager, before being laid off last May. She joined Career Strategy Lab during that UX job search, and the shift she describes isn't really about tactics.Ā She stopped using the "spray and pray" method long enough to get clear on what she actually wanted in her next UX role. She let her LinkedIn profile, UX network, and a background she almost left off her resume, do some of the work for her. What makes this episode different is that Natalie is now the one hiring for UX roles.Ā A few months into her new position, she's already brought on multiple UX designers, including someone from Career Strategy Lab. Natalie now experiences the exact hiring process she was on the other side of not long ago.Ā So this conversation moves between her UX job search story and what she now looks for as a UX hiring manager, which gives listeners a rare before-and-after view of the same process. If you're currently employed in a UX role and feel like your resume, portfolio, or LinkedIn presence isn't ready to go if an opportunity showed up tomorrow, this episode is worth sitting with. Topics Discussed ā How a recruiter found Natalie and reached out about a completely unrelated UX role, purely because of how her LinkedIn profile came across ā Why she eventually stopped applying to every job with "UX" in the title, and what she focused on instead ā How a cold, polite message to a lead UX designer on a team she wanted to join turned into a warm handoff before she ever talked to a recruiter ā The background she almost left off her resume entirely, and why it ended up being a key reason she got hired ā What it was actually like reviewing over 600 UX applications as a hiring manager, and what made a resume or portfolio stand out in the first three to five seconds ā The line she now tells every UX applicant about generic resume bullet points, and why it matters more than people think ā Why she doesn't see contract roles, career gaps, or career changes as red flags in a UX resume, even now that she's the one hiring ā How she uses AI to check her own UX hiring decisions for bias, rather than to write applications ā Why she believes she'd be far more prepared for her next UX job search than she was for her last one, and what she does now to stay that way Links & Resources šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 183: 3 Things Iād Do If I Was Laid Off From a UX Role Today | 13 juil. 2026 | 00:19:45 | |
Just laid off from a UX role? If youāre tempted to open LinkedIn and easy-apply to every role with UX in the job title, don't do it!Ā In this episode of the Career Strategy Podcast, Sarah Doody breaks down what she would NOT do after a UX layoff (e.g. play the numbers game) and the 3 things sheād prioritize instead.Ā Youāll walk away with a clear order of operations: get specific about the UX role you want, get visible where hiring actually happens, and start showing up for the work you want to be hired for. šÆ In this episode we discuss: - Why easy-applying to every āUXā job backfires after a layoff - How to get ruthlessly specific about the UX role you actually want - Auditing past jobs and naming your āsuperpowersā (and why to ask others) - Where UX recruiters and hiring managers actually hang out - The LinkedIn order of operations: headline first, then everything else - Why turning on Open to Work is a signal, not desperation - What to post on LinkedIn so your profile gets found, without becoming a āthought leaderā 00:00 Intro 01:30 Why I wouldnāt play the numbers game in my UX job search 02:50 Step 1 ā Get specific about the UX role you want 07:37 Step 2 ā Increase your visibility 13:23 Step 3 ā Post about what you want to be hired for 16:17 Putting it all together 17:44 UX Layoff checklist + final word šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 182: 6 ways you'll get hired in UX faster with Career Strategy Lab (the tour you've been asking for) | 06 juil. 2026 | 00:10:53 | |
This episode is a full walkthrough of how you'll get hired in UX faster with Career Strategy Lab and exactly what happens after you join. Sarah shares what genuinely helps UX people in their job search, after coaching UX and Product people since 2017 and running Career Strategy Lab since 2021. What Youāll Learn in This Episode: āļø The six things that help UX and product people get hired faster āļø What your first 30 days inside CSL look like āļø Why positioning comes before your LinkedIn and resume āļø How the portfolio, case study, and critique process works āļø How monthly recruiter Q&As and the 850-alumni referral network help you get hired Topics Discussed: ā The 6 things Sarah has found consistently help UX people get hired faster ā How the first 30 days inside Career Strategy Lab are structured and why every step is intentionally sequenced to build on the last ā What a Compass Statement is and why it comes before everything else in your UX job search prep ā How getting clear on your positioning makes fixing your resume and LinkedIn significantly faster ā How the weekly critique system works and why submitting imperfect work early beats waiting until everything feels ready ā The monthly recruiter and hiring manager Q&A sessions: who shows up, what you get to ask, and why this is one of the most underrated parts of the program ā How Career Strategy Lab's 850-person alumni network functions as a UX-specific job referral network and how members are actively using it to get hired ā The open to work area, interview debriefs, and hired recaps and why watching other people get hired in real time is some of the most useful intel you can get in a job search šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 181: How UX people are leveraging relationships to get hired with the help of Career Strategy Lab | 29 juin 2026 | 00:13:28 | |
The UX job market is rough right now. If your LinkedIn feed looks anything like Sarah's, you already know that. But while everyone is complaining about the market, almost nobody is focusing on the part of the job search they can actually control. In this episode, Sarah breaks down why the job market feels so impossible right now, including the surprisingly outsized role that one-click apply has played in flooding recruiters with hundreds of applications per posting and what you can do about it. (Hint: The answer isn't more applications.) Sarah shares real examples from inside the Career Strategy Lab community of how alumni are leveraging relationships to get referrals, introductions, and job offers, including one person whose hire two years ago has now led to four or five other alumni landing roles at the same company. The through-line is simple: the people who benefit most from their communities are the ones who actually show up in them. Topics Discussed ā How the one-click apply button has made the job search harder for everyone and what that means for your strategy ā Why relationships matter more than ever in this job market, and why you need to start building them before you need them ā Why people say no to referral requests and how to change that ā Real examples of Career Strategy Lab alumni using community relationships to get referral links, introductions, and job offers ā How one hire two years ago has cascaded into multiple alumni landing roles at the same company ā The difference between existing in a community and actually participating in one Links & Resources š Jared Spool: Why is the UX job market such a mess right now? šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 180: UX Hiring Insights: Eric Shumake on Healthcare UX, Specializing, & Thinking of Your Career as Gigsāā | 22 juin 2026 | 00:58:59 | |
Most UX professionals spend years trying to be good at everything. Eric Shumake, founder of HXR Labs, spent 20 years getting really good at one thing and it kept opening doors he didn't expect. Eric is a principal UX researcher and a well-known voice in healthcare UX. His career has taken him through companies like Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Myriad Genetics, and AliveCor. He also teaches, including a popular course on Maven on breaking into healthcare UX, and has been exploring how AI can meaningfully (and responsibly) augment research without replacing the judgment that makes research trustworthy. In this episode, Eric and Sarah cover a lot of ground: how specializing almost always beats generalizing, what surprises people when they try to bring standard UX practices into clinical environments, why Eric thinks of every role as a gig, and what he'd prioritize if he were managing someone's job search like a product. Topics Discussed ā Why specializing beats generalizing and how to niche down even when it feels risky ā How transferable skills work in practice: why experience in one highly regulated industry (like finance) can open doors in another (like healthcare) ā The biggest blind spot people bring into healthcare UX ā Why "recommendations are where insights go to die" and how to tie research to decisions and numbers so stakeholders actually act on it ā Treating every role as a gig and why that mindset is more practical than it sounds in today's job market ā Why posting consistently on LinkedIn is one of the highest-leverage things a UX professional can do in a job search right now ā Where AI genuinely helps in UX research (desk research, competitive analysis, automating the time-consuming parts) and where to draw a hard line ā What neurodivergence in the workplace looks like from the insideduring a job search Links & Resources š HXR Labs š Eric's Maven course on breaking into healthcare UX šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 179: Feel Burnt Out & Invisible in Your UX Job Search? How Emmanuel Re-Entered the UX Job Market After a Career Break | 15 juin 2026 | 00:31:16 | |
Re-entering the UX job market after years away is harder than most people expect, especially when you're doing it alone. After 12 years at Constant Contact, growing from associate interaction designer to principal UX designer, Emmanuel relocated, took a deliberate career break, and then tried to re-enter a job market that had completely changed. He spent three months rebuilding his portfolio alone, then another three months applying and hearing almost nothing. His LinkedIn hadn't been updated since 2017. He burned out. In this episode, Emmanuel shares what finally got him unstuck; why working on his resume, portfolio, and LinkedIn in parallel changed his messaging faster than tackling them one at a time; how early feedback from coaches and a community shortened iteration cycles he'd been stuck in for months; and what shifted when he started applying only to roles that actually fit. He's actively interviewing now, and the inbound LinkedIn requests have started coming in too. Topics Discussed: ā What re-entering the UX job market after a long tenure at one company feels like and how to close the gap ā Why working on your resume, portfolio, and LinkedIn in parallel sharpens your message faster than doing them one at a time ā How long iteration cycles quietly stall your progress and what to do instead ā Why submitting imperfect work for feedback early is one of the highest-leverage moves you can make ā What AI tools genuinely help when job searching and where human judgment still matters more ā The confidence cost of mass applying ā What changes when you get more selective about the roles you apply to šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 178: Stop Mass Applying: How Carlos Got Hired in UX and Promoted to Senior Product Designer | 08 juin 2026 | 00:25:38 | |
If you're sending dozens of applications per day and you aren't hearing back, this podcast is for you. Carlos was applying to dozens of UX jobs a day, swiping through listings like a job board version of a dating app, and hearing almost nothing back. Out of hundreds of applications, he got two responses and both were rejections, but he knew he was a good designer. In this episode, Carlos shares how he went from mass applying with no traction to landing a product designer role at Covenant Eyes and then getting promoted to senior product designer within the same year. He talks about what changed when he stopped treating the job search like a numbers game, how he used the same frameworks he learned in Career Strategy Lab to make his case for a promotion once he got there. Topics Discussed: ā Why mass applying isn't productive and what to do instead ā How to use the skills from your job search to land a promotion ā Why confidence in interviews matters more than having a perfect portfolio ā A portfolio website vs a portfolio presentation ā How research a hiring manager before your interview helps you stand out ā How the skills you learn during your job search transfer directly into your work after being hired ā Why waiting until you feel confident enough to start is the wrong approach Links From This Episode: š Free UX Case Study Template š Career Strategy Lab Syllabus šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 177: Getting ghosted in your UX job search? You're not invisible ā you're unpositioned | 01 juin 2026 | 00:22:33 | |
Are you getting ghosted in your UX job search despite knowing you're qualified? When you have 5, 10, 15 years of experience and you're applying to 20+ jobs a week without hearing back or you're not making it past the first round, it's natural to start thinking you're the problem. You're not. You're just unpositioned. In this episode, Sarah makes the case that ghosting is usually a positioning problem, rather than a skills issue. Positioning is how you communicate what you do, who you do it for, and why it matters. It's the thread that connects what you've done in the past to what you could do for a team if they hired you. When that thread is missing, recruiters and hiring managers move on because your materials aren't clearly paining the picture for them. Sarah walks through what it actually takes to fix your positioning, starting with the one foundational step most people skip: getting clear on who you are and what makes you different, before touching your resume, portfolio, or LinkedIn. Topics Discussed: ā Why getting ghosted in your UX job search isn't usually a qualification problem ā What causes recruiters to move on from your resume ā What "positioning" means in the context of a UX job search ā The step most people skip that ties everything together ā How applying to fewer jobs can get you more interviews ā Creating a Compass Statement and how it acts as a filter for every career asset you create ā How niching down your job search to a specific industry or type of company can transform your UX job search Links From This Episode: š How to stand out as a candidate by focusing on your benefits vs features š Developing your positioning through a career roadmap and compass statement š Free UX Case Study Template šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 176: Stuck at the Final Round of UX Interviews? Andrew Re-Did His UX Portfolio and Got 3 Offers (Including Blue Origin) | 25 mai 2026 | 00:59:12 | |
What do you do when you have years of experience, you're making it through rounds of interviews, but you still aren't getting offers? For Andrew, the answer was scrapping his entire UX portfolio and starting over. Andrew had been applying to jobs for a year. He was making it to the final interview rounds at companies like Facebook, Amazon, and Google, but he wasn't getting offers. On paper, everything looked great. He couldn't figure out what was missing. Eventually he did. After six years at GE, he'd gotten so deep in the work that in interviews, he'd talk at length about how interesting the products were and the intricacies of the industry. He was selling the products instead of himself. So he scrapped everything and rebuilt his portfolio around a single core message: what he does, what he's good at, and what he can bring to the companies he's applying to.Ā The clarity changed how he talked about himself in interviews. By the end of each conversation, hiring managers knew exactly who he was and how he'd be an asset. Three offers followed, including one from Blue Origin, where he accepted a role that brought him back to the intersection of hardware and software that drew him to UX in the first place. Topics Discussed: ā The difference between selling the product you worked on versus selling yourself to a potential employer ā The value of working on your resume, LinkedIn, and portfolio in parallel rather than sequentially ā Why making it to the final round but not getting the offer might signal a problem with your portfolio ā How perfectionism and long iteration cycles quietly destroy your confidence and what breaks the pattern ā What it looks like to rebuild your career materials around a single core message and how that clarity shows up in interviews too Links From This Episode: š Free UX Case Study Template šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 175: How to Deal with NDAs When Creating Your UX Portfolio | 18 mai 2026 | 00:14:07 | |
NDAs stop a lot of UX professionals from including their best work in their portfolio, but they might not be the obstacle you think they are. Sarah has spent nearly a decade coaching UX professionals, and one of the questions she gets most often is how to handle NDA-protected work in a portfolio. In this episode, she walks through what NDAs typically do and don't restrict, how to write about protected work without violating your agreement, and why UX recruiters and hiring managers aren't looking for pixel-perfect deliverables (and what they are looking for instead.) Sarah also shares a concrete example of how to frame a confidential project in a way that's compelling, specific, and respectful of any agreements you've signed. If you've been leaving projects out of your portfolio because you weren't sure what you could share, this episode is worth a listen. Topics Discussed ā What NDAs actually restrict vs. what most people assume they restrict (they're not the same thing) ā A concrete example of how to write about a confidential project without naming the company, showing screens, or violating any agreements ā Why UX recruiters and hiring managers care far more about how you think than what the final product looked like ā Practical ways to include visuals from protected projects without revealing anything proprietary ā How NDA concerns often uncover the real problem: not knowing how to structure a UX case study ā How to go back to a former employer and ask the right questions to clarify what your NDA actually allows ā Why your UX portfolio doesn't have to be a website and how a presentation format can sidestep a lot of NDA concerns entirely Links From This Episode: š Free UX Case Study Template š UX Hiring Insights: Alexander Zeh of ManyChat on Diverse UX Teams and Standout Portfolios š UX Hiring Insights: Ben Peck on UX Generalists, Soft Skills, & Standout Portfolios šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 174: The Bar to Stand Out As A UX Candidate is Lower Than You Think | 11 mai 2026 | 00:17:33 | |
Have you been applying to UX jobs you know you're qualified for and still not hearing back? Chances are, your experience isn't the problem, it's how you're presenting it. After nearly a decade of coaching UX and product professionals and reviewing thousands of resumes, portfolios, and LinkedIn profiles, Sarah has seen the same red flag mistakes show up again and again. The candidates making them are talented, experienced designers who simply were never taught how to market themselves. In this episode, Sarah breaks down one major red flag mistake for resumes, portfolios, and LinkedIn. Spoiler alert: fixing it doesn't require months of work. Sarah also shares the story of Jonathan, a UX director with 20 years of experience who was getting ghosted on 75% of his applications. He was qualified, but his materials weren't telling his story effectively. Once he addressed the right things, he landed an executive-level role at the University of Houston. Your materials don't have to be perfect... they need to be 10% better than everyone else making the same, avoidable, mistakes. Topics Discussed ā What hiring managers and applicant tracking systems are silently penalizing you for ā Why showing deliverables without context, process, or decision-making is leaving hiring managers cold ā What to put in your LinkedIn headline instead of just your job title and company name (and why) ā How to optimize your LinkedIn profile for the algorithm ā How to rewrite vague resume bullet points so they communicate scope and outcomes ā Why talented UX professionals with years of experience still struggle to get interviews ā How to break out of the perfection trap that's keeping you in research mode Links From This Episode: š Free UX Portfolio Case Study Template š Optimizing Your LinkedIn Headline š How to optimize your resume for the ATS so you can get more UX job interviews š EP 170: Jonathan's Journey From UX Layoff to UX Executive šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 173: UX Hiring Insights: Jeni Bible, UX Manager at Home Depot, on How She Got Hired, What She Looks for in Candidates, & Presenting UX Case Studies | 04 mai 2026 | 01:02:28 | |
Do you ever wonder what happens on the other side of a UX job application, like who's reading your portfolio, what makes them keep going, and what makes them close the tab? Sarah sits down with Jeni Bible, a UX Manager at Home Depot who has a uniquely full-circle perspective. Jeni went through Career Strategy Lab, landed her role at Home Depot just four months later, and is now the hiring manager evaluating candidates for that same type of position. Jeni brings 27 years in the design industry, starting as a graphic designer, running her own agency for two decades, and making her way into UX through e-commerce. She now leads the online UX team at homedepot.com, focused on critical touchpoints like checkout, payments, and promotions. In this conversation, Jeni gets candid about what she looks for in a portfolio, why most candidates miss the mark in interviews, and what she told recruiters to help them filter the right people for her team. If you're in the thick of a UX job search or considering a career pivot, this interview with Jeni will be insightful. Topics discussed in this episode: ā How to get your application through a UX recruiters initial filter ā What portfolio format impresses UX recruiters more than a polished personal website ā The questions to ask a UX recruiter that the job description won't answer ā Why UX recruiters want to see failed tests and pivots, not just polished outcomes ā The panel interview move that almost always advances candidates to the next round ā How to include a canceled project in your UX portfolio without it hurting your chances ā Home Depot's UX career ladder explained and how contractor roles can open the door ā How Jeni uses peer feedback as a hiring manager Links From This Episode: Timestamps: 00:00 Introducing Jeni Bible, UX Manager 01:13 Online vs. enterprise UX at Home Depot 02:32 Jeni's 27-year path into UX 05:35 Translating agency experience to in-house roles 07:47 What to ask recruiters on the first call 11:32 How CSL helped Jeni find direction 15:04 Tailoring a portfolio for a manager role 22:36 From 1,500 applicants to 10 24:07 Password-protected portfolios 29:08 What Jeni looks for in case studies 33:32 Candidates who don't ask about the team 36:27 Let the hiring manager choose your case study 39:22 Video case studies and prototype demos that stood out 41:48 The art of the pause during portfolio presentations 49:40 How to handle a canceled project in your portfolio 51:27 Reaching out on LinkedIn: what works, what doesn't šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 172: UX Hiring Insights: Alexander Zeh, Head of Product Design at ManyChat, on Building Diverse UX Teams, Scaling Design Teams, and What Makes a Portfolio Stand Out | 27 avr. 2026 | 00:54:45 | |
What does it take to build a UX portfolio that makes a hiring manager stop scrolling? Alexander Zeh, Head of Product Design at ManyChat, is here to share how he approaches hiring and what many candidates get wrong. He breaks down how he structures his hiring process to reduce bias, why a failed project can be a stronger case study than a polished one, how to handle NDA-protected work, and why the "hero designer" narrative is working against you. Whether you're actively applying to UX roles or just trying to understand what hiring managers are really thinking, this conversation will change how you approach your next portfolio presentation. Topics discussed in this episode: ā Why Alexander treats team diversity as a design decision ā The grading criteria that lets hiring managers make a confident call ā Why clear writing and articulation matter more than Figma fluency ā How constraints and failed projects can make a stronger case study than a polished outcome ā How claiming to do it all might be a red flag to hiring managers ā Whether UX job seekers in different countries need different portfoliosĀ ā How to handle NDA-protected work ā Why showing your thinking at every fork in the road matters more than the final product Links From This Episode: Timestamps: 00:57 Intro: Alexander and ManyChat 03:10 Alexander's career journey 07:26 From consulting to in-house leadership 12:36 Building diverse teams intentionally 15:26 Why grading criteria beats "I'll know it when I see it" 16:22 Blind submissions to avoid groupthink 18:16 What hiring managers actually look for 22:19 What standout candidates do differently 28:09 Does location affect your UX job search? 35:25 Showing impact without a happy ending 44:34 Resilience, vision, and holding the tension 47:55 Handling NDA work in your portfolio šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 171: The 6-Word Post-It Note To Speed Up & Fix Your UX Job Search | 20 avr. 2026 | 00:10:33 | |
Are you spending hours on your UX job search but not actually making progress? The problem usually isn't effort. It's focus. Most job seekers stay busy tweaking portfolios, scrolling job boards, and hanging out in Slack groups, but at the end of the day, they can't point to anything that moved them closer to getting hired. In this episode of the Career Strategy Podcast, Sarah Doody shares a simple Post-It note hack that transformed how she runs her business, and how you can use the same concept to cut through the noise and focus on what actually matters in your job search. Topics discussed in this episode: ā The 6-word question a business coach told Sarah to write on a Post-It note ā Why "being busy" in your job search is not the same as making progress ā How to identify what your job search actually needs right now ā Why tweaking your portfolio for the fifth time probably isn't the answer ā How to create your own Post-It note filter for your UX job search ā The difference between false productivity and real momentum Timestamps: 00:00 The best productivity tool might be a Post-It note 00:24 The 6-word question that changed how Sarah runs her business 02:24 Why "is this a revenue generating activity" was a game changer 04:49 Your job search is like a business 05:45 How to write your own Post-It note question 06:30 The trap of tweaking your portfolio all Saturday 07:06 False sense of productivity and why it's the enemy of getting hired 08:45 You don't need more time, you need the right focus 09:33 Send Sarah your Post-It note on LinkedIn šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 170 - Finding Your UX Niche: Jonathan's Journey From UX Layoff to UX Executive in Higher Education | 13 avr. 2026 | 00:28:00 | |
After being laid off, Jonathan spent months applying to everything and getting almost nowhere. Even with 20 years of UX experience, 75% of his applications ended in silence or rejection. In this episode of Career Strategy Lab, Sarah Doody catches up with Jonathan now that he's landed an Executive Director of Web Experience role at the University of Houston Downtown He shares what changed in his job search when he stopped applying to everything and started being intentional about where, how, and to whom he was presenting himself. Topics discussed in this episode: ā Why applying to everything actually slows your job search down ā How getting more specific and intentional led to significantly more callbacks ā The power of peer accountability and working sessions in a community ā How to think about your portfolio presentation vs. your website ā Why two versions of your resume matter in today's ATS-driven hiring landscape ā The "ugly first draft" mindset and why it helps you move faster Timestamps: 01:03 Jonathan's new role: Executive Director of Web Experience 02:32 Why DIY-ing his job search wasn't working 03:16 The tipping point that led him to join Career Strategy Lab 05:30 How niching down changed everything 07:00 From 50 applications a week to 5 12:02 The "ugly first draft" mindset 13:40 Treating your job search like an experiment 14:29 How to stay objective about your own work 15:08 Why confidence is a byproduct of action, not a prerequisite for starting 15:49 Imposter syndrome 17:16 Keep a log of wins to fight negative self-talk when you're stuck 18:36 Walking into interviews with a 30-60-90 day plan 21:32 Portfolio website vs. PDF deck 23:16 Two versions of your resume: ATS vs. human-readable šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 169 - 3 ways to stop wasting time in your UX job search | 06 avr. 2026 | 00:17:47 | |
Every month your job search goes on is a month of lost salary. And the thing is, most UX and product people who are stuck aren't lazy. They're working hard, spending hours a week on their search. But they're also spending a lot of that time just waiting: waiting for a response after they apply, waiting after an interview, waiting for the right job to show up. In this episode, Sarah Doody breaks down 3 common ways you waste time in your UX job search and what to do instead so you can start getting interviews, and hired, faster! Topics discussed in this episode: ā Why waiting around after applying or interviewing is costing you opportunities ā How to follow up without seeming desperate ā Why the "numbers game" approach to job applications backfires ā How tailoring your resume and UX portfolio helps you apply to fewer jobs but get more interviews ā Why cold messaging on LinkedIn almost never works ā How to build warm relationships before you need them so people actually reply Timestamps: 00:00 Every month your job search continues is a month of lost salary 01:08 Time waster #1: Not following up after you apply or interview 03:15 Why following up isn't desperate, it's proactive 04:30 Follow up or be forgotten 05:20 Time waster #2: Sending the same resume and portfolio for every job 07:00 Why applying to fewer jobs with tailored materials gets you hired faster 08:45 How to quickly tailor your resume and portfolio for each role 10:15 Time waster #3: Waiting to build relationships until you need them 11:30 Cold messaging vs. warm messaging 12:45 How to invest in relationships before your job search 14:00 Who to prioritize building relationships with 15:15 Recap: 3 ways to stop wasting time šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 168 - UX Hiring Insights: Steph McDonald UX Design Recruiter at HubSpot on AI in Hiring, Portfolios & What Gets You Hired | 30 mars 2026 | 00:58:14 | |
What does it actually take to get hired in UX Design and stand out to UX recruiters? Steph McDonald, a UX Recruiter from HubSpot is here to share how she approaches UX hiring. With 300+ applications often coming in for a single UX design role, the competition is intense. And behind every application is a recruiter making real decisions about who moves forward and who doesn't. In this episode of the Career Strategy Podcast, Sarah Doody sits down with Steph McDonald, a lead UX design recruiter at HubSpot who has spent over 25 years in recruiting. Steph is refreshingly honest about what's happening on the other side of your application. She breaks down exactly how candidates are evaluated, how AI is being used in hiring right now, and the resume and portfolio mistakes that get you skipped. She also shares what she actually wants to see in a portfolio (spoiler: the messy stuff), why one-page resumes drive her crazy, and why those AI-powered bots that apply to jobs on your behalf are doing more harm than good. Whether you're actively applying to UX roles, this conversation will change how you think about showing up as a candidate. Timestamps: 00:00 Meet Steph McDonald, UX Design Recruiter at HubSpot 01:55 How Steph got into recruiting by accident 03:39 How the job market has shifted post-COVID 05:28 Why companies are hiring fewer people at higher levels 06:35 How long it actually takes to get hired at HubSpot 07:51 How HubSpot tweaks its hiring process like a product 08:41 Trauma-informed recruiting and candidate empathy 10:03 How HubSpot gives candidates real feedback after interviews 13:53 How AI is used inside HubSpot's hiring process 16:23 Auto-reject questions and how they work 18:04 Why AI application bots are hurting candidates 21:49 How recruiters feel when they spot AI-generated answers 24:58 Resume hot takes: font size, page length, and impact 29:22 What Steph looks for in a UX portfolio 33:46 Portfolio format: website vs. presentation vs. Google folder 34:49 Diversity and inclusion in HubSpot's hiring process 38:45 How many people actually get interviewed per role 41:21 Can you reach out to a recruiter after getting rejected? 45:15 Using video in your portfolio: supplement, not replacement 46:02 What "experience with ambiguity" really means 50:03 Is HubSpot hiring right now? 51:29 Lightning round: first job, dream career, interview pump-up song šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 167 - Stop Asking How: Speed Up Your UX Job Search With This One Question | 23 mars 2026 | 00:20:46 | |
If your first move when updating your resume, building your UX portfolio, or preparing for an interview is to Google "how do Iā¦" ā you're falling into a trap that's slowing down your entire UX job search. In this episode, Sarah Doody breaks down the "Who Not How" framework and explains why the question you should be asking isn't how ā it's who. You'll learn why DIYing your job search with Google searches and Reddit threads is costing you time, money, and momentum, and how to start thinking like a high performer instead. Topics discussed in this episode: ā The "Who Not How" framework from Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy ā Why Googling "how to get a UX job" keeps you spinning your wheels ā The hidden time and money cost of DIYing your job search ā How high performers think differently about getting help ā A 3-step exercise to identify where you're stuck and what to do about it ā Why this concept applies to your career, business, and life Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction: Are you stuck in the "how" trap? 01:43 The concept I can't stop thinking about 02:11 The "Who Not How" book explained 03:30 The physical therapist analogy 04:36 How this applies to your UX job search 05:30 The how trap costs you time, money, and momentum 07:04 Why asking for help is not a weakness 08:15 The "how trap" with your resume 09:29 The "how trap" with your portfolio 10:15 The "how trap" with job interviews 11:44 Takeaway 1: Audit where you've been stuck 14:09 Takeaway 2: Match your "how" list to a "who" 16:36 Takeaway 3: The real cost of staying stuck 17:30 How I took 20 minutes off my marathon with a coach 18:54 This applies way beyond your job search šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 166 - UX Hiring Insights Dan Maccarone on Thinking Over Tools & UX Career Reinvention | 16 mars 2026 | 01:05:42 | |
UX hiring insights from a UX veteran with 25+ years in UX and product. In this episode, Sarah Doody interviews Dan Maccarone, co-founder of Hard Candy Shell and Charming Robot, fractional Chief Product Officer, and a UX expert who's worked on products for Hulu, Rent the Runway, Foursquare, and the Wall Street Journal. In the episode Dan shares about what he actually looks for when hiring UX people (spoiler: it's not your Figma skills). Dan shares why he doesn't care about tools, why he conducts interviews over drinks instead of in conference rooms, and how he evaluates candidates based on curiosity, empathy, and how they think, not what software they know. He also gets into career reinvention, the rise of fractional leadership roles, and why your hobbies outside of UX might matter more than your case studies. If you're a UX or Product professional navigating your next career move, this conversation will challenge what you think hiring managers care about. What's discussed in this episode:
šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 165 - 5 practical time-saving tips for your UX job search | 09 mars 2026 | 00:18:30 | |
Feel like your UX job search is full time job? Here are 5 things you can start using today to save time, reduce overthinking, and make real progress in your UX or Product job search. These are tips that Sarah sees working for people inside her UX career coaching program, Career Strategy Lab, and some she uses in her own work every day. Topics discussed in this episode of the Career Strategy Podcast:
RESOURCES
šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 164 - What is Career Maximalism and Why Caring Too Much About Your Job Can Backfire | 02 mars 2026 | 00:23:29 | |
Career maximalism is a mistake that many high achieving professionals make. When you care too much about your job, you can actually become worse at it. In this video, learn what Career Maximalism is, and why this behavior is everywhere, often rewarded, and quietly working against you. Career maximalism is when your job becomes a major source of your identity and your emotional state rises and falls based on how work is going. It often looks like being a great employee, but there's a tipping point where it clouds your judgment, slows your decisions, and makes everything heavier than it needs to be. Sarah Doody discusses the difference between commitment and emotional over-identification, shares a Reddit thread about treating UX as a job instead of an identity, and gives three practical tips for caring deeply without making work who you are. 3 tips for avoiding the trap of Career Maximalism: 1) Build proof of your self-worth outside your job with physical challenges, creative projects, community, etc. 2) Practice emotional detachment without disengagement. Detachment isn't apathy, it's clarity. 3) Set clear standards and boundaries. When expectations are vague, everything becomes emotional. Resources & Links Mentioned:
šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 163 - What is Career Minimalism and How It Can Quietly Weaken Your Career | 23 fƩvr. 2026 | 00:15:45 | |
The idea of career minimalism sounds healthy. But this trending philosophy of your job being a tool, not your identity (especially popular with Gen Z) could be quietly weakening your career if you're not careful. In this episode, Sarah Doody breaks down what career minimalism actually is, why it's gained so much momentum (spoiler: burnout, broken loyalty, and unpredictable layoffs), and the hidden risk most career minimalists never talk about. The real danger isn't doing less at work ā it's what you're building (or not building) while you're there. Sarah also discusses the concept of "Portable Equity" and shares three practical tips so you can protect your work-life balance without accidentally making yourself less employable. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 0:58 What is career minimalism? 3:24 How did we get here? Burnout, hustle culture, and broken loyalty 4:41 Where career minimalism starts to get tricky 6:51 The hidden assumption of career minimalists 7:50 Why career minimalists often end up job hopping 10:16 The reframe: building portable equity 11:24 Three practical tips for career minimalists 11:45 Tip 1: Optimize for portability, not just balance 12:34 Tip 2: Know the difference between being useful and being valuable 13:59 Tip 3: Treat every role as temporary 16:35 Always be seeking ā the career version of "always be closing" 17:36 Wrap up šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 162 - How Erica Got Hired as a UX Officer at WK Kellogg Foundation After a CDC Layoff | 16 fƩvr. 2026 | 00:25:02 | |
Erica Jiminez went from facing a potential layoff at the CDC to landing her dream role as the first-ever User Experience Officer at WK Kellogg Foundation. In this episode, Sarah Doody chats with Erica about her experience in Sarah's UX job search coaching program, Career Strategy Lab. Erica shares how she got clear on what she wanted, made sense of a non-linear career path, and landed a mission-driven UX role. Erica talks about how the Career Roadmap and Compass Statement in Career Strategy Lab helped her shift from a fear mindset to clarity, why her "messy" career path across social work, public health, and UX research actually became her biggest strength, and how she got hired using a whiteboard and Mural board instead of a polished portfolio. She also shares why she negotiated her salary and got what she asked for, and what hiring managers actually look for when multiple candidates are equally qualified. Erica's 3 lessons from her UX job search: 1) Follow what you're passionate about 2) Go for it even if you're not ready 3) Know your worth and advocate for yourself ā the worst they can say is no Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 1:00 Meet Erica, the first UX Officer at WK Kellogg Foundation 3:00 The career roadmap: realizing how unintentional her career had been 4:30 From social worker to UX researcher ā a 12-year non-linear path 5:00 Seeing the story in a "messy" resume 7:00 The Product of You: Design yourself before marketing yourself 8:00 Getting clarity vs. jumping straight to tactics 10:00 The Gumby mindset & reframing your experiences 12:00 Lesson 1: Follow what you're passionate about 13:00 Lesson 2: Go for it even if you're not ready 15:00 Lesson 3: Know your worth & salary negotiation 17:00 The heroes exercise & discovering what matters beyond UX 19:30 Applying UX skills beyond big tech 20:00 Advice for anyone on the fence about Career Strategy Lab 22:00 Why the human element matters most in hiring šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 161 - UX Hiring Insights with Shopify Design Recruiter Jared Tredly | 09 fƩvr. 2026 | 00:50:52 | |
In this episode, Sarah Doody talks with Jared Tredly, a design recruiter at Shopify, about what really happens behind the scenes when UX and Product Design candidates apply for roles. Jared shares an honest look at how generalist recruiters interpret design briefs, what they scan for in the first few seconds of reviewing a portfolio, and why so many designers accidentally bury the most important information. He also breaks down what senior-level designers must show, why overly long case studies backfire, and how to get visibility for design roles at Shopify through their general ādesign poolā application. If youāve ever wondered what recruiters are actually thinking as they review your portfolio, this episode takes you inside the process. What youāll learn:
Links from this episode: šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 160: Why This UX Designer Walked Away After 5 Interview Rounds (And Doesn't Regret It) | 02 fƩvr. 2026 | 00:27:45 | |
In this episode, Sarah Doody chats with Faith, a Product Designer who successfully transitioned from a layoff to a Product Design role, all while navigating UX career uncertainty. Faith shares how she used Career Strategy Labās intentional UX job search framework to slow down, get clear on what she wanted, and create a UX portfolio and application strategy that aligned with her career goals. In this episode, Faith shares how Career Strategy Lab helped her prioritize the āwhyā behind her career choices, overcome imposter syndrome, and set clear boundaries to avoid ending up in the wrong role. From networking on LinkedIn to being picky about where she applied, Faithās story will inspire anyone going through a career transition or navigating a tough job search. What Youāll Learn in This Episode: āļø Why being intentional about your job search makes all the difference āļø How to avoid the trap of applying to jobs just for the sake of it āļø How Faith used Career Strategy Lab to design her job search strategy āļø The importance of knowing your āCompass Statementā to guide decisions āļø Why Faith turned down a āperfectly goodā offer in favor of the right fit āļø How CSLās support and community made her more confident in interviews āļø Tips for networking and finding job opportunities that align with your values āļø Why staying true to your career goals led to better offers and more options Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Sarah Doody and Career Strategy Lab 00:38 Episode Overview and Open House Context 01:46 Faith's Career Journey and UX Experience 03:09 Navigating Job Search Challenges 05:05 The Importance of Intentionality in Job Applications 07:43 The Role of Career Strategy Lab in Job Search 09:21 Finding Job Opportunities and Networking 14:38 Impact of Career Strategy Lab on Personal and Professional Growth 17:11 Advice for Prospective Career Strategy Lab Members 25:33 Conclusion and Final Thoughts šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 159: 3 Skills UX Professionals Need Most in the Age of AI | 25 janv. 2026 | 00:26:57 | |
In this episode, Sarah talks about how AI is reshaping the UX landscape and why three key skills are more important than ever for professionals looking to stand out in the evolving job market. Despite the rise of AI tools, itās not about being replacedāitās about evolving your mindset and skills to stay relevant. In this episode, Sarah explains why UX professionals need to stop thinking like "doers" and start thinking like "drivers." Youāll also hear why the critical skills of speed, quality thinking, and impact are necessary to stay valuable in your career. This episode is for anyone feeling uncertain about how AI fits into your skillset or wondering how to stay relevant in an AI-powered UX job market. What Youāll Learn in This Episode: āļø Why shifting from being a ādoerā to a ādriverā is essential for staying valuable in UX āļø The 3 most important skills for UX professionals in the age of AI: speed, quality thinking, and impact āļø How to leverage speed without sacrificing quality in your UX work āļø Why quality thinking (and not relying on AI) is crucial to uncovering nuances and insights āļø How to make sure your work has true impactāgoing beyond just delivering information āļø The danger of de-skilling and how to stay sharp while using AI as a tool Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction: The Future of UX Jobs in the Age of AI 00:39 Meet Sarah Doody: Your UX Career Guide 01:19 The Value of Strategic Thinking Over Task Execution 02:05 Three Critical Skills for UX Professionals 05:39 Skill 1: Speed with Strategy 09:42 Skill 2: Quality Thinking 14:52 Skill 3: Impact and Influence 19:44 The Risk of De-Skilling in the Age of AI 24:50 Conclusion: Be a Driver, Not a Doer 25:54 Call to Action: Support the Podcast šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 158: From UX Internship to Amazon UX Designer: How Vasudha Got Hired With a Master's in HCI | 19 janv. 2026 | 00:26:00 | |
In this episode, Sarah interviews Vasudha, a UX Designer at Amazon AWS Applied AI, to talk about what it really looks like to invest in your career early, and how the impact compounds for years. Vasudha joined Career Strategy Lab's UX job search accelerator in late 2023 while finishing her masterās degree, navigating the uncertainty of the job market as an international student, and waiting to see whether her AWS internship would convert to a full-time role. Today, sheās thriving at Amazon, and still actively uses CSL frameworks for LinkedIn updates, internal promotions, and long-term career growth. This episode is a powerful reminder that Career Strategy Lab isnāt just about landing one job. Itās about building a career operating system you can reuse, refine, and rely on over time. What Youāll Learn in This Episode: āļø Why Vasudha decided to invest in CSL while still in grad school āļø How talking to an alumni helped her decide to join āļø Why CSL skills extend far beyond the job search āļø How the portfolio sprint changed how she approaches real projects at Amazon āļø Why answering āwhyā matters just as much as showing artifacts āļø How CSL frameworks support promotionsānot just hiring āļø The confidence shift that comes from understanding your blind spots āļø Why embracing being a UX generalist unlocked clarity and growth āļø How CSL helps you tell the right story about yourself (not the wrong one) Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Sarah Doody and Career Strategy Lab 00:38 Episode Overview and Open House Context 01:21 Vasudha's Journey: From Master's to Amazon 05:38 The Impact of Career Strategy Lab 10:56 Portfolio Development and Career Growth 16:37 The Importance of Storytelling in UX Careers 21:54 Advice for Joining Career Strategy Lab 23:41 Conclusion and Final Thoughts šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 157: UX Hiring Insights: Ben Peck on UX Generalists, Soft Skills, & Standout Portfolios | 12 janv. 2026 | 00:55:29 | |
In this episode, Sarah chats with Ben Peck, Director of Product Design & Global Strategy at nCino and a longtime community builder in the UX and product world, to demystify how UX hiring really works, from the perspective of someone whoās hired again and again. Ben brings over 20 years of experience across agencies, tech, leadership, and community building. As the co-founder of Front Conference and former Executive Director of Product Hive, heās reviewed hundreds of portfolios, partnered closely with recruiters, and built high-performing design teams across industries. Together, Sarah and Ben unpack what actually happens after you click āapply,ā how hiring managers scan portfolios, why storytelling matters more than polish, and how community and relationships quietly shape most UX careers. If youāve ever wondered whatās going on behind the scenes of UX hiring, or how to stand out without burning yourself out, this episode is for you. What Youāll Learn in This Episode: āļø What hiring managers actually look for in UX portfolios āļø Why your portfolio needs a hookāand what that hook should be āļø How recruiters and hiring managers split screening responsibilities āļø The biggest mistakes candidates make when telling case study stories āļø Why generalists are thriving in todayās UX job market āļø How to make industry or role pivots without starting over āļø The smartest way to reach out to companies (and who not to DM) āļø Why communityānot cold applicationsāis the real career accelerant āļø How hiring managers evaluate experience beyond āyears on paperā Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction and Purpose of the Podcast 00:38 Guest Introduction: Ben Peck 03:25 Ben Peck's Career Journey 05:31 The Value of Being a Generalist 10:22 Hiring Insights and Job Market Trends 20:59 Portfolio Tips for Job Seekers 28:57 The Importance of Storytelling in Portfolios 30:42 Balancing Content and Design 32:21 Effective Use of Prototypes and Videos 40:00 Transitioning to a UX Career 43:22 The Role of Community in Career Growth 48:37 Advice for Job Seekers 49:33 Lightning Round: Fun and Personal Insights 53:13 Conclusion and Final Thoughts šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 156: From Market Research to UX: How Kellyn Got Hired as a Lead UX Researcher with a 40% Salary Increase | 05 janv. 2026 | 00:29:02 | |
In this episode, Sarah chats with Kellyn, a market researcher who successfully pivoted into a Lead UX Researcher role at Weedmaps, with a 40% salary increase, after feeling stuck, overlooked, and unsure how to position herself for UX roles. Despite 13+ years of research experience (and a partner who is a career coach) Kellyn wasnāt getting traction when applying to UX research jobs. She knew she had the skills, but lacked the clarity, confidence, and story to prove it. Through Career Strategy Lab, she rebuilt her confidence, clarified her direction, transformed her LinkedIn, and created a portfolio that focused on thinking and storytelling, not flashy visuals. This episode is a powerful reminder that career pivots donāt require starting overāthey require structure, strategy, and the confidence to own your experience. What Youāll Learn in This Episode: āļø How Kellyn reframed market research experience for UX research roles āļø Why the Compass Statement was the turning point in her job search āļø How narrowing focus saved her time, energy, and burnout āļø Why LinkedIn optimization led to real recruiter interest āļø How storytelling, not a portfolio website, landed her UX job interviews āļø The role of community, coaching, and feedback in rebuilding confidence āļø Why CSL is an investment with long-term, compounding career impact āļø How clarity led to better interviews, better offers, and better pay Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Sarah Doody and Career Strategy Lab 00:38 Episode Overview and Open House Context 02:10 Kellyn's Career Journey and Success Story 05:00 The Impact of Career Strategy Lab on Confidence and Job Search 13:55 The Importance of LinkedIn Optimization 16:11 Crafting Compelling Case Studies and Portfolios 23:44 Final Thoughts and Advice for Career Strategy Lab Participants 27:08 Conclusion and Additional Resources 27:49 Special Message for Job Seekers šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 155: UX Hiring Insights: Patrick Neeman on Soft Skills, Strategy & Hiring Red Flags | 29 dƩc. 2025 | 00:46:03 | |
In this expert interview, Sarah Doody is joined by Patrick Neeman, Director of UX & AI Experiences at Workday, to pull back the curtain on how UX hiring actually works todayāand where candidates are getting tripped up. Patrick brings a rare perspective: heās led UX teams, taught UX at General Assembly, worked inside applicant tracking systems, and now hires designers in an AI-driven product environment. Together, Sarah and Patrick unpack the biggest misconceptions about ATS systems, why portfolios often fail the six-second test, how soft skills influence hiring decisions, and what senior designers really need to focus on to stand out in todayās market. This episode is especially valuable if youāre making it to interviews but not offers, feeling unsure how AI fits into your skillset, or questioning whether your resume and portfolio are helpingāor hurtingāyou. What Youāll Learn in This Episode: āļø Why companies are often bad at hiringāand how that impacts candidates āļø The truth about ATS filters, knockout questions, and resume formatting āļø Why two-column resumes fail ATS systems (and what to do instead) āļø What hiring managers notice in the first 6 seconds of reviewing a resume āļø How soft skills like alignment, collaboration, and communication influence hiring āļø Why decks often outperform portfolio websites in UX interviews āļø How AI tools like Lovable are changing expectations for prototyping āļø The role of āweak tiesā in landing jobsāand why relationships matter more than applications āļø Red flags candidates should avoid during interviews and outreach āļø Why being ānice to work withā is a real career advantage Links From This Episode: Patrick's Book: uxGPT: Mastering AI Assistants for User Experience Designers and Product Management Professionals Patrick's Article: Whatās makes an effective UX professional Patrick's Article: Whatās your Ideal Designer Profile? The Strength of Weak Ties: A Network Theory Revisited The ADP Checklist: Resources about Resumes, Portfolios and Interviews for UX Professionals Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Sarah Doody and Career Strategy Lab 00:38 Welcoming Patrick Neiman: Insights into UX Hiring 01:19 Patrick's Background and Experience 04:19 The State of the UX Job Market 07:21 The Importance of Writing Skills in UX 08:49 Applicant Tracking Systems and AI in Hiring 13:28 Contract Roles in UX: Myths and Realities 14:42 Standing Out as a UX Candidate 17:48 Soft Skills: The Superpower of UX Professionals 22:05 Tips for Early Career UX Designers 24:15 Prototyping vs. Figma: The Future of Design 24:28 The Value of Personal Projects in Portfolios 24:57 Challenges in Redesigning Complex Systems 26:10 Misconceptions About Hiring Software 27:23 The Six-Second Resume Test 29:16 Networking and the Power of Weak Ties 33:10 Tips for Advancing in Your UX Career 41:46 Balancing Figma and AI-Assisted Design Tools 43:21 Final Thoughts and Advice for Job Seekers šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 154: How This Senior UX Designer Got Hired After Losing Her Mojo And Confidence | 22 dƩc. 2025 | 00:18:50 | |
In this episode, Sarah talks with Allie, a Senior UX Designer with over a decade of experience, about what it really looks like to lose your confidence mid-career, and how to rebuild it without rushing, panicking, or burning yourself out. After navigating years of instability, repeated layoffs around her, and slowly losing her sense of confidence at work, Allie joined Career Strategy Lab feeling disconnected from her own value. Through foundational work like career inventory, 360Ā° feedback, and the Compass Statement, she rebuilt clarity around her strengths, rediscovered her story, and landed a new role at PepsiCo with confidence restored. This episode is a powerful reminder that confidence isnāt something you āshould already have.ā Itās something you rebuild through clarity, structure, and self-trust. What Youāll Learn in This Episode: āļø What it actually feels like to ālose your mojoā after years in UX āļø Why giving yourself grace is a strategic career moveānot a weakness āļø How taking inventory of your work restores confidence fast āļø The role of external feedback in uncovering hidden strengths āļø Why trying to rush ahead in your job search often backfires āļø How watching othersā critiques can improve your own portfolio and storytelling āļø Why treating your job search like a real project changes everything Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Sarah Doody and Career Strategy Lab 00:38 Episode Overview and Open House Context 02:29 Meet Allie: A UX Journey 03:59 Confidence and Career Strategy Lab 08:19 Mindset Shifts and Lessons Learned 11:18 Impactful Feedback and Storytelling 13:40 Final Thoughts and Advice 16:58 Conclusion and Podcast Outro 17:38 Special Message for Job Seekers šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 153: 5 Things Hired UX People Do That Work in Today's UX Job Market | 15 dƩc. 2025 | 00:23:26 | |
Still applying to dozens, or hundreds, of UX roles and not hearing back? Itās not the number of applications that gets you hired. Itās the strategy behind how you position yourself. In this rapid-fire episode, Sarah breaks down the five things she consistently sees among UX candidates who are getting hired right now. Whether youāve applied to 50, 100, or 200+ jobs without results, these are the shifts that will change your job search immediately. This episode is your wake-up call: Stop applying to more roles and start fixing these five root issues. What Youāll Learn in This Episode: āļø Why applying to more jobs wonāt fix your job search āļø How to optimize your LinkedIn so recruiters find you āļø Why most candidates dramatically undervalue their skills āļø The danger of getting feedback from people who aren't involved in hiring āļø The truth about UX portfoliosāand why yours should not be a website āļø Why clarity about what you want is the real job search shortcut Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction and Purpose 00:38 Common Job Search Mistakes 02:07 Leveraging LinkedIn for Job Search 04:18 Valuing Your Skills and Experience 07:22 Overcoming the Unhirable Mindset 10:46 Creating Effective Portfolios 14:18 Clarity in Career Goals 17:57 Recap and Final Thoughts 19:28 Career Strategy Lab and Workshops 20:56 Podcast Reviews and Closing šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 152: How Steven Built a UX Consultancy After Being Laid Off After 17 Years At The Same Company | 08 dƩc. 2025 | 00:21:20 | |
In this interview, Sarah sits down with Steven, a longtime UX leader who spent 17 years at the same digital agency before an unexpected layoff forced him to re-evaluate everything. With no portfolio, no updated resume, and low confidence, Steven joined Career Strategy Lab, and everything changed. Today, Steven is thriving as a fractional product design director, long-term contractor, and consultant helping companies elevate their UX teams and integrate AI into their workflows. In this conversation, he shares how Career Stratgegy Lab's UX job search accelerator helped him rebuild his confidence, tell a clear story about 20+ years of experience, streamline his job search, and even reinvent himself as a business owner. Whether you're mid-career, coming out of a layoff, or curious about consulting, Stevenās story is a grounding reminder that clarity, strategy, and community can completely change your UX career trajectory. What Youāll Learn in This Episode: āļø How Steven went from 25% confidence to 80% confidence in his job search āļø The myth he had to unlearn: your portfolio is not the first step āļø Why clarity + foundational work = faster, less stressful job search āļø How CSLās community accelerated his progress and kept him motivated āļø The mindset shift that helped him stop applying blindly to jobs āļø How he now uses CSLās frameworks to land consulting and contract roles āļø Why your ācareer operating systemā needs ongoing updates āļø How knowing your values helps you choose the right opportunities Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Sarah Doody and Career Strategy Lab 00:38 Episode Overview and Open House Context 01:26 Sarah Doody's Background and UX Career Coaching 02:31 Steven's Journey and Career Strategy Lab Experience 04:13 Building Confidence and Telling Your Story 06:25 The Power of Community and Networking 09:55 Mindset Shifts and Career Value Criteria 13:03 Freelance and Consulting Success Tips 16:01 Final Thoughts and Advice 18:53 Conclusion and Next Steps šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||
| 151: Want to get hired in UX in Q1 2026? Start with these Q4 UX career essentials | 01 dƩc. 2025 | 00:20:44 | |
In this special coach takeover episode Erin, one of the coaches inside Career Strategy Lab's UX job search accelerator, breaks down the three most important things UX and product professionals should focus on in Q4 to set themselves up to get hired in Q1 of 2026. Whether you're feeling stuck, doubting your materials, overwhelmed by your portfolio, or unsure what support you actually need, this episode gives you a strategic and human approach to moving your job search forward. Erin shares what she and the CSL team are seeing every week while reviewing resumes, portfolios, and LinkedIn profilesāand the biggest patterns that determine whether someone gains traction or stays stuck in place. What Youāll Learn in This Episode: āļø Why you must rethink who youāre getting job search feedback from āļø How inaccurate feedback erodes confidenceāand what to do instead āļø The āback to basicsā portfolio reset that outperforms flashy trends āļø Why hiring managers want clarity over cleverness (and no, you donāt need animations) āļø How to build trust through your case study storytelling āļø How to determine what level of support you actually needāstructure, community, coaching, or therapy āļø Why Q4 is the perfect time to prepare for Q1 hiring surges Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Career Strategy Lab 00:38 Three Key Strategies for Getting Hired in Q1 2026 01:11 Assessing Feedback on Your Career Materials 05:50 Back to Basics: Improving Your Portfolio 09:19 Getting the Support You Need 16:04 Recap and Final Thoughts 18:49 Conclusion and Additional Resources 19:32 Special Message for Job Seekers šÆ How I can help with your UX job search š Get my UX case study template | |||