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

Sarah Doody from Career Strategy Lab
  • 5.0 (3)
  • CAREERS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to the Career Strategy Podcast, with Sarah Doody, a UX Researcher & Product Designer with 22 years of experience who is helping UX and Product people design their careers. You’ll learn how to advance your UX or Product career including how get hired in UX, stay hired, get promoted, and build a personal brand and visibility. You’ll also hear no BS tips to optimize your UX resume and portfolio, navigate your UX job search, and prepare for UX job interviews so you can stop being invisible and be seen as an in-demand UX professional. Get ready to UX your career, ironic, right?!

  1. 6 DAYS AGO

    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

    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: ✅ How to get your application through a UX recruiters initial filter ✅ What portfolio format impresses UX recruiters more than a polished personal website ✅ The questions to ask a UX recruiter that the job description won't answer ✅ Why UX recruiters want to see failed tests and pivots, not just polished outcomes ✅ The panel interview move that almost always advances candidates to the next round ✅ How to include a canceled project in your UX portfolio without it hurting your chances ✅ Home Depot's UX career ladder explained and how contractor roles can open the door ✅ How Jeni uses peer feedback as a hiring manager Links From This Episode:Home Depot Careers Contractor Depot 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 💸 See how I help UX & Product people get 5-figure salary increases in my UX job search coaching program 👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube.

    1hr 2min

  2. 27 APR

    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

    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. In this episode of the Career Strategy Podcast, Sarah Doody sits down with Alexander Zeh, a design leader with over 20 years of experience who has scaled UX teams from 5 to 43 people. Alexander is refreshingly direct about what he's looking for and what sends candidates straight to the 'no' pile. 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: ✅ Why Alexander treats team diversity as a design decision ✅ The grading criteria that lets hiring managers make a confident call ✅ Why clear writing and articulation matter more than Figma fluency ✅ How constraints and failed projects can make a stronger case study than a polished outcome ✅ How claiming to do it all might be a red flag to hiring managers ✅ Whether UX job seekers in different countries need different portfolios  ✅ How to handle NDA-protected work ✅ Why showing your thinking at every fork in the road matters more than the final product Links From This Episode:ManyChat Careers Page Metaview CSL Podcast Episode Archive 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 💸 See how I help UX & Product people get 5-figure salary increases in my UX job search coaching program 👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube.

    55 min

  3. 20 APR

    171: The 6-Word Post-It Note To Speed Up & Fix Your UX Job Search

    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: ✅ The 6-word question a business coach told Sarah to write on a Post-It note ✅ Why "being busy" in your job search is not the same as making progress ✅ How to identify what your job search actually needs right now ✅ Why tweaking your portfolio for the fifth time probably isn't the answer ✅ How to create your own Post-It note filter for your UX job search ✅ 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 💸 See how I help UX & Product people get 5-figure salary increases in my UX job search coaching program 👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube.

    11 min

  4. 13 APR

    170 - Finding Your UX Niche: Jonathan's Journey From UX Layoff to UX Executive in Higher Education

    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: ✅ Why applying to everything actually slows your job search down ✅ How getting more specific and intentional led to significantly more callbacks ✅ The power of peer accountability and working sessions in a community ✅ How to think about your portfolio presentation vs. your website ✅ Why two versions of your resume matter in today's ATS-driven hiring landscape ✅ 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 💸 See how I help UX & Product people get 5-figure salary increases in my UX job search coaching program 👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube.

    28 min

  5. 6 APR

    169 - 3 ways to stop wasting time in your UX job search

    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: ✅ Why waiting around after applying or interviewing is costing you opportunities ✅ How to follow up without seeming desperate ✅ Why the "numbers game" approach to job applications backfires ✅ How tailoring your resume and UX portfolio helps you apply to fewer jobs but get more interviews ✅ Why cold messaging on LinkedIn almost never works ✅ 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 💸 See how I help UX & Product people get 5-figure salary increases in my UX job search coaching program 👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube.

    18 min
  6. 168 - UX Hiring Insights: Steph McDonald UX Design Recruiter at HubSpot on AI in Hiring, Portfolios & What Gets You Hired

    30 MAR

    168 - UX Hiring Insights: Steph McDonald UX Design Recruiter at HubSpot on AI in Hiring, Portfolios & What Gets You Hired

    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 💸 See how I help UX & Product people get 5-figure salary increases in my UX job search coaching program 👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube.

    58 min

  7. 23 MAR

    167 - Stop Asking How: Speed Up Your UX Job Search With This One Question

    If your first move when updating your resume, building your UX portfolio, or preparing for an interview is to Google "how do I…" — 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 — 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: ✅ The "Who Not How" framework from Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy ✅ Why Googling "how to get a UX job" keeps you spinning your wheels ✅ The hidden time and money cost of DIYing your job search ✅ How high performers think differently about getting help ✅ A 3-step exercise to identify where you're stuck and what to do about it ✅ 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 💸 See how I help UX & Product people get 5-figure salary increases in my UX job search coaching program 👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube.

    21 min
  8. 166 - UX Hiring Insights Dan Maccarone on Thinking Over Tools & UX Career Reinvention

    16 MAR

    166 - UX Hiring Insights Dan Maccarone on Thinking Over Tools & UX Career Reinvention

    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: Why Dan has hired people who didn't know Figma — and doesn't careWhat curiosity and a humanities background signal to a hiring managerWhy Dan prefers to conducts interviews with candidates over coffee or drinks, not in conference roomsHow he uses observation and empathy cues to evaluate candidates (the same way you'd do user research)Why he hates design assignments and considers them insultingWhat "career reinvention" looks like after 25 years in UX and how to know when it's timeThe real requirements for going fractional (and why it's not for everyone)Why your identity and hobbies outside of work actually make you better at your job\How he's re-invented his own UX career multiple times 💸 See how I help UX & Product people get 5-figure salary increases in my UX job search coaching program 👋 Follow me, on LinkedIn, Instagram, & YouTube.

    1hr 6min
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Welcome to the Career Strategy Podcast, with Sarah Doody, a UX Researcher & Product Designer with 22 years of experience who is helping UX and Product people design their careers. You’ll learn how to advance your UX or Product career including how get hired in UX, stay hired, get promoted, and build a personal brand and visibility. You’ll also hear no BS tips to optimize your UX resume and portfolio, navigate your UX job search, and prepare for UX job interviews so you can stop being invisible and be seen as an in-demand UX professional. Get ready to UX your career, ironic, right?!

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