Career Strategy Podcast with Sarah Doody | UX, Product Design, UX Research

This episode of the Career Strategy Podcast features Sarah's interview on the Awkward Silences Podcast by User Interviews. In this episode, Sarah Doody is interviewed by Erin May, the CMO of User Interviews, and John-Henry Forster, who at the time of recording was the SVP of Product at User Interviews. Join them as they dive deep into treating your UX research career like a product and the pivotal strategies to become a UX research manager.

🧠 6 Key takeaways

1) Treating Your Career as a Product

Your career should be managed like a product, focusing on continuous improvement, setting goals, and building a road map. Consider the skills, experiences, and networks you want to develop for your future roles.

2) Creating a Career Road Map

Just like products have roadmaps, your career should have one too. Create a timeline of your career, noting your happiness, satisfaction, work-life balance, and other personal values.

3) Do some UX Research on Yourself

Conduct a self-assessment to map out where you’ve been in your career. Seek feedback from past colleagues to identify your strengths and areas of improvement.

4) Minimum Viable Resume and Portfolio

Focus on creating a "minimum viable" resume and portfolio to quickly test their effectiveness. This involves starting with a good enough version to see if it generates interviews, and then iterating based on feedback.

5) Relevance in Applications

Ensure your resume and portfolio are tailored to highlight experiences and skills relevant to the job you’re applying for. Avoid creating generic applications that don’t adequately showcase your suitability for the role.

6) Job Market Insights

Despite recent layoffs in tech companies, the long-term demand for UX roles is expected to grow as businesses continue to prioritize digital transformation.

⏰ Timestamps

• Discussing treating your career like a product: 00:00:59
• Identifying the importance of creating a career road map: 00:04:35
• How to do user research on yourself: 00:07:23
• Creating a minimum viable resume and portfolio: 00:16:21
• Insights on the current job market: 00:10:45
• Treating your application strategy as a marketing effort: 00:04:23
• The importance of having questions for your potential employer: 00:38:35
• Statements on learning vs. earning: 00:44:00
• Parting advice for listeners: 00:48:43

🎯 How I can help with your UX job search

📋 Get my UX case study template

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This is a reminder that enrollment opens TODAY (Jan 29) at 4pm ET Career Strategy Lab's 3-month UX Job Search Accelerator. Here is the page to learn more or join: www.careerstrategylab.com/sprint ... enrollment will close on Fri, Jan 31 at 8pm PT.

Career Strategy Lab helps you optimize and finish your resume, portfolio, LinkedIn, etc and position yourself for a 5-figure salary increase, just like these people did:

• A Senior UX Researcher from Denver got hired at an insurance company with a salary increase of $15,000
• A UX Designer from Washington DC got hired at a digital strategy company with a salary increase of $25,000
• A Senior UX Researcher from San Francisco got hired at a real estate company with a salary increase of $75,000
• A Senior Product Designer from Seattle got hired at an e-commerce company with a salary increase of $19,000

Career Strategy Lab is the ONLY program that addresses everything in the UX job search and helps you look at it holistically  ... so you can stop having one-off calls, getting conflicting advice on Reddit and LinkedIn, and finally stop the second-guessing that's caused you to re-do your resume, portfolio, etc 15 times (or more?!)

Here is the page to learn more or join: www.careerstrategylab.com/sprint ... enrollment will close on Fri, Jan 31 at 8pm PT.

Questions? Send me a DM on LinkedIn or email me at [email protected]

🎯 How I can help with your UX job search

📋 Get my UX case study template

👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube

In this inspiring episode of the Career Strategy Podcast, Sarah sits down with Steven, a Career Strategy Lab (CSL) alum who transitioned from uncertainty to launching his own UX research agency. Steven reflects on his journey, from overcoming self-doubt as a career switcher to building confidence, leveraging mentorship, and creating a sustainable business model. Sarah and Steven explore the role of community, structured career tools, and storytelling in navigating the job search and scaling an agency.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How to balance career switching and climbing in your professional narrative.
• The power of mentorship and community in building confidence and finding opportunities.
• How CSL’s structured resources and critiques accelerate career progress.
• Tips for marketing and storytelling as a freelancer or agency owner.
• Why action, not perfection, is key to career success.

Key Takeaways:

• Mentorship Creates Opportunities: Proactively seeking mentorship can open doors to projects and collaborations you may not have anticipated.
• Community Matters: A supportive environment accelerates learning, boosts confidence, and helps you see new possibilities for growth.
• Storytelling Sells: Strong communication and storytelling skills, honed through CSL, are vital for job seekers and agency owners alike.
• Action Over Perfection: A bias toward action—leveraging critiques and taking small steps—yields measurable results in the job market and beyond.
• Structure is Transformational: Tools like the career roadmap and portfolio critiques help organize thoughts and focus efforts for maximum impact.

Timestamps

00:30 Meet Your Hosts

01:08 Episode Overview and Audience Context

02:03 Steven's Career Journey

02:55 Navigating Career Challenges

07:57 Building Confidence and Community

12:30 Applying Career Strategy to Business

16:19 Final Thoughts and Advice

18:50 Conclusion and Farewell

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Career Strategy Lab – Transform your job search with step-by-step support and actionable insights.
• Connect with Sarah: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter.

Share Your Feedback:

Did you enjoy this episode? Let Sarah know! Email her at [email protected] or tag her on social media. Don’t forget to rate us on Spotify or review us on Apple Podcasts if you found this episode helpful.

🎯 How I can help with your UX job search

📋 Get my UX case study template

👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube

In this episode of the Career Strategy Podcast, host Sarah Doody dives into the transformative journey of Leon, a Career Strategy Lab (CSL) participant who navigated the ux jobs search after an unexpected layoff. Leon shares insights into how creating a career roadmap, leveraging a standout resume and portfolio, and embracing community support helped him secure a role in UX design at a government contractor. Sarah and Leon discuss actionable strategies, including the importance of aligning your job search with a clear vision, the value of mindset work, and breaking the myth of needing multiple projects in your portfolio.

Timestamps

01:01 Meet the Coaches

01:12 Open House Insights

03:14 Career Roadmap Creation

06:43 The Importance of Community

09:31 Tactical Resume and Portfolio Tips

16:33 Navigating the Job Market

20:11 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How a career roadmap can serve as your "North Star" in the job search.
• The impact of combining tactical elements (resume, portfolio) with mindset and confidence-building.
• Why one excellent portfolio project can trump multiple mediocre ones.
• The importance of persistence and deliberate job applications.
• How community support and structure can keep you motivated during challenging times.

Key Takeaways:

• Focus on Vision: Start with a career roadmap to clarify your direction before tackling resumes or LinkedIn profiles.
• Quality Over Quantity: A single well-crafted portfolio project can land you your dream job if it clearly highlights your skills and fit.
• Stay Structured: Treat your job search like a job or school to maintain routine and productivity.
• No Shortcuts: Success comes from following proven, structured approaches rather than chasing hacks.
• Community Counts: Sharing struggles and wins within a supportive group builds confidence and accountability.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Career Strategy Lab – Learn more about Sarah’s program that helps professionals level up their job search.

Share Your Feedback:

Did this episode resonate with you? Tag Sarah on social media or email at [email protected]. If you found this episode helpful, don’t forget to rate us on Spotify or review us on Apple Podcasts. 

🎯 How I can help with your UX job search

📋 Get my UX case study template

👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube

In this episode, Sarah Doody delivers a hot take on a common mistake in UX portfolios: focusing too much on showcasing the product and not enough on showcasing the designer. Drawing on her experience reviewing thousands of portfolios since 2017, Sarah explains why it's critical to highlight your decision-making process, iterations, and problem-solving skills to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers.

Timestamps

00:44 Understanding the Recruiter's Perspective

02:41 Key Elements to Highlight in Your Portfolio

03:00 Showcasing Your Decision-Making Process

03:49 The Importance of Iteration and Trade-offs

06:42 Collaboration and Learning from Projects

08:40 Conclusion and Additional Resources

Key Takeaways:

1. Sell Yourself, Not Just the Product

• Your portfolio should showcase how you think, not just the shiny end results.
• Recruiters and hiring managers are the users of your portfolio, and their needs differ from internal stakeholders.

1. Common Portfolio Pitfalls

• Reusing slides and presentations designed for team meetings or stakeholder updates.
• Treating your portfolio like an investor pitch deck, focusing on visuals rather than process.

1. What Recruiters and Hiring Managers Want to See:

• Decision-Making Process: Explain why you chose specific methods or solutions.
• Iterations and Evolution: Show how your designs evolved and improved.
• Trade-offs: Highlight how you handled constraints like budget, time, or team capacity.
• Challenges: Share how you navigated setbacks or unexpected problems.
• Collaboration: Demonstrate how you worked with peers or across departments.
• Lessons Learned: Reflect on what you gained from the project and how it informs your future work.

1. Reframe Your Portfolio:

• Treat it as a showcase of your thinking and not just your output.
• Avoid the temptation to make it a "Shark Tank" pitch for your project.

Resources Mentioned:

• E91:  No, you don’t need 3-5 projects in your UX Potfolio to apply for a job
• E85: Q&A about UX portfolio formats, case studies, tailoring your portfolio, & more
• E60: Create a portfolio that stands out by focusing on your benefits, not features as a candidate
• Blog: 8 UX Portfolio Website Mistakes To Avoid
• Career Strategy Lab: A 3-month UX career coaching program to help mid and senior-level professionals navigate their job search and secure roles with five-figure salary increases.

Connect with Sarah:

• Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn: @SarahDoody

Enjoyed the Episode?

• Share it with a friend or colleague!
• Rate us on Spotify or review us on Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for listening! Catch you next week. 🎙️

🎯 How I can help with your UX job search

📋 Get my UX case study template

👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube

In this special "Open House" episode, Sarah sits down with Career Strategy Lab alum, Kristin, a former graphic design professor turned UX professional, who joined Career Strategy Lab (CSL) as a “switcher”—someone transitioning to a new role or industry. Despite her extensive experience, Kristin found herself stuck in a role where her creative skills were underutilized. After 165 days in the program, Kristin successfully landed a government contract position with the Department of Energy, achieving a 25% salary increase and a significant shift in her responsibilities. In this conversation, Kristin shares insights on how she leveraged CSL’s structured approach, community support, and resources to transform her career trajectory.

Key Highlights

• Career Roadmap: Kristin explains how creating a detailed career roadmap helped her clarify her goals, target her job search, and develop a focused strategy for her resume, LinkedIn, and portfolio.
• Community Support: The importance of accountability, shared experiences, and inspiration from the CSL community in staying motivated and improving her work.
• Portfolio Design: Why you don’t need five projects in your portfolio to land a job—quality and clarity trump quantity every time. Kristin shares how she successfully showcased her skills with just two solid case studies and a smaller management-focused project.
• Mindset Shift: How CSL's mindset coaching calls provided support through the ups and downs of her job search, transforming feelings of inadequacy into confidence and resilience.
• Lessons Learned: Kristin’s advice for future CSL participants: embrace structure, take feedback, and focus on progress over perfection.

Takeaways for Listeners

• A career roadmap is essential for clarity and strategic job searching.
• Community and accountability can boost confidence and help you refine your work.
• Tailoring portfolios and resumes to hiring managers’ needs leads to better results.
• Mindset work is as critical as tactical execution in a successful job search.

Kristin's Advice for future CSL Members

1. Embrace the Process: “The structure and critiques were key for me. Any little bit of progress is progress, so take advantage of the feedback and focus on moving forward.”
2. Leverage the Templates: “The templates provided a foundation that made my work more focused and impactful.”
3. Join the Community: “The mindset calls and peer feedback were game-changers for staying motivated and refining my approach.”
4. Be Open to Growth: “It’s okay to ask for help, and it’s okay if it’s not perfect. Focus on progress over perfection.”

Timestamps

02:11 Kristin's Current Role and Background

03:54 Creating a Career Roadmap

07:30 The Importance of Community and Accountability

11:28 Tactical Advice for Job Seekers

14:03 Final Thoughts and Advice

18:02 Conclusion and Farewell

Resources Mentioned

• Career Strategy Lab

Connect with Sarah Doody

Follow Sarah on Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn for more career insights. Tag Sarah with your takeaways from this episode or send her a DM!

🎯 How I can help with your UX job search

📋 Get my UX case study template

👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube

This special episode of the Career Strategy Podcast features an episode of the Insights Unlocked Podcast powered by UserTesting. 

In this episode, Sarah Doody is interviewed by UserTesting’s CEO, Andy McMillan. They discuss navigating your UX career over the next one to two years and dive into crucial themes that resonate with UX researchers, designers, and product managers from coping with tech layoffs to understanding the impact of AI.

Key Topics Covered:

1. The State of UX Careers in 2024
2. Insights from UX professionals on career satisfaction and challenges.
3. Exploring opportunities beyond traditional tech companies.
4. Impact of Layoffs and AI on UX Careers
5. How tech layoffs and the rise of AI are reshaping career trajectories.
6. Leveraging AI as a tool rather than a threat.
7. Building a Career Roadmap
8. The importance of long-term planning and acquiring transferable skills.
9. Timeless skills like communication and critical thinking as career accelerators.
10. Opportunities in Non-Tech Industries
11. High-impact roles in healthcare, government, and education sectors.
12. The growing value of research-first mindsets in non-tech companies.
13. Practical Advice for Career Growth
14. Keeping your resume, portfolio, and LinkedIn profile updated.
15. Building business acumen and aligning research with organizational strategy.
16. The Role of AI in Research
17. AI’s potential in idea generation and data synthesis.
18. Why human context and critical analysis remain irreplaceable.

Actionable Takeaways:

• Create a career roadmap to strategically build skills for long-term growth.
• Regularly update your career materials to be ready for new opportunities.
• Expand your impact by developing business acumen and aligning UX practices with company strategies.
• View AI as a tool to enhance efficiency, not as a replacement for human expertise.

Time Stamps:

01:36 UX Professionals Share Their Career Insights

03:41 Navigating Layoffs and Economic Challenges

05:21 Exploring Opportunities Beyond Big Tech

09:49 The Role of AI in UX Research

14:30 Building a Resilient Career Strategy

18:54 Opportunities and Challenges in UX

26:31 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

🎯 How I can help with your UX job search

📋 Get my UX case study template

👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube

This is a special episode of the Career Strategy Podcast that features an interview with Sarah on the AIGA Design Podcast with host Lee-Sean Huang.

In this episode, Sarah and Lee-Sean dive deep into the innovative concept of treating your career as a product. Sarah shares practical strategies for creating a "career roadmap" and "compass statement" to align short-term goals with long-term ambitions while balancing professional growth and personal life priorities.

Sarah reveals how applying design principles like research, iteration, and systems thinking can help job seekers and professionals stand out, avoid career plateaus, and make meaningful, intentional choices. Whether you're navigating a career transition or striving for your dream role, Sarah's actionable advice on continuous research, leveraging unique skills, and fostering authentic professional relationships is sure to inspire.

Key Takeaways:

• Why your career is the most important "product" you'll ever work on.
• How to use a "career roadmap" for strategic goal setting.
• The role of a "compass statement" in attracting the right opportunities and filtering out the wrong ones.
• The value of continuous research in recalibrating your career vision.
• Building genuine professional relationships without the stress of traditional networking.

Timestamps 

01:00 Treat career as a product for success.

03:58 "Treat careers like a strategic product roadmap."

08:12 Journey map visualizes experiences and emotions.

10:46 Continuous research is crucial for informed decisions.

16:25 Domain experience stands out in career switches.

19:32 Prioritize life's needs for career planning.

20:47 Vision clarifies goals; compass guides decisions.

25:44 Optimize LinkedIn headline for relevant searches.

28:00 Transitioning to product design from art direction.

32:44 Schedule regular engagement and post interested content.

37:32 Cover letters help capture recruiter's attention.

38:28 Use specific examples in your cover letter.

More about Lee-Sean

Lee-Sean Huang is a designer, educator, and storyteller who brings engaging conversations to the forefront of the design world on the AIGA Design Podcast.

Stay Connected:

Follow the AIGA Design Podcast for more thought-provoking episodes exploring the intersections of design, creativity, and professional development.

🎯 How I can help with your UX job search

📋 Get my UX case study template

👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube

In this milestone 100th episode of the Career Strategy Podcast, we sit down with Jaden, a Career Strategy Lab alumni, who shares their transformative journey from apparel design to landing a senior product designer role at Zipline as a Senior Product Designer with a 15% pay increase from her previous role.

Sarah and Jaden discuss the struggles of job searching, the importance of a strong LinkedIn presence, navigating a career gap, and the power of storytelling in portfolios. Jaden emphasizes the value of investing in oneself and the benefits of the Career Strategy Lab curriculum, which helped shift their mindset and secure a job quickly. 

01:04 Celebrating Episode 100

01:37 Listener Engagement and Support

03:01 Case Study: Landing a UX Job

03:18 Introduction to Career Strategy Lab

03:39 Jaden's Career Journey

07:37 The Importance of Owning Your Story

09:18 Key Sprints in Career Strategy Lab

14:31 Advice for New and Prospective Members

17:10 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

17:38 Closing Remarks

🎯 How I can help with your UX job search

📋 Get my UX case study template

👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube

Don’t forget! Don't miss Sarah's upcoming workshop on December 11, where she'll share detailed strategies for standing out in the UX job search funnel. Visit careerstrategylab.com/events to register.

In this episode of the Career Strategy Podcast, Sarah dives into the art of standing out in a competitive job market, especially when it comes to UX roles. With practical insights drawn from her experience coaching thousands of candidates and hiring across various industries, Sarah breaks down the "UX job search funnel"—a step-by-step process from applications to job offers. She explains how thinking like a UX designer can transform your approach to job searching, helping you tailor your materials, impress recruiters, and leave a lasting impact at every stage of the hiring process.

Sarah emphasizes the importance of specificity, strategy, and user-focused thinking in your job search. She shares actionable tips on crafting resumes that grab attention, acing screener calls, and preparing for panel interviews. By treating recruiters and hiring managers as "users" of your job search funnel, you can strategically design each interaction to showcase your unique value. This episode is packed with advice that will empower you to move from being one of hundreds of applicants to the one who lands the offer.

Quotables

"When you are average, you blend in. You need to stop talking about your skills and experience in vague, generic terms and start selling the unique product of you." – Sarah

"Think of your job search like a UX problem: design for the recruiters and hiring managers by understanding their journey and pain points." – Sarah

Helpful related episodes

E88: Troubleshoot your resume with these 11 questions

E80: How to include numbers on your resume even if you think you don’t have them

E64: Interview with Cheryl Platz: UX Portfolios, Storytelling, & Hiring Process Insights

E42: Do hiring managers and recruiters spend six seconds on your resume?

E05: 5 tips from hiring managers and recruiters about your job search and more

Timestamps

00:33 The Importance of Strategy

01:16 Understanding the UX Job Search Funnel

01:24 Challenges of Average Candidates

02:22 What is the UX Job Search Funnel?

03:16 Steps in the UX Job Search Funnel

04:26 Using Your UX Superpower

05:10 Avoiding Average: How to Stand Out

07:52 Quick Tips for Each Funnel Step

09:52 Preparing for Screener Calls

11:51 Nailing the Hiring Manager Interview

13:30 Panel Interviews: What to Expect

15:27 The Offer Stage: Final Steps

20:48 Building Visibility on LinkedIn

25:37 Key Takeaways and Final Thoughts

27:10 Upcoming Workshop and Closing Remarks

🎯 How I can help with your UX job search

📋 Get my UX case study template

👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube