124: Why Sarah Doody's UX portfolio framework still works after 20 years

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Welcome to the Career Strategy Podcast with Sarah Doody, a UX Designer & UX Researcher with 20 years of experience who founded the UX job search accelerator, Career Strategy Lab. She's been doing UX career coaching since 2017.

Follow Sarah on: LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram

In this special solo episode, Sarah Doody shares the real story behind her first UX portfolio—and the costly mistakes she made that kept her stuck in interview limbo. From printing screenshots into a binder to learning how to treat her portfolio like a product, Sarah walks you through what finally changed the game and led to job offers, consulting gigs, and even interviews at Google.

This episode isn’t just a walk down memory lane—it’s a powerful reminder that timeless UX principles always outperform trends, and that your portfolio is more than a set of case studies—it’s your career’s most important product.

Whether you're reworking your portfolio, struggling to get offers, or feeling burnt out by conflicting advice, this episode will give you clarity, focus, and a fresh way forward.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ Why Sarah's first UX portfolio got interviews—but not offers

✔️ The mistake that kept her stuck (and how she fixed it with UX strategy)

✔️ Why your portfolio isn’t just a website—it’s a storytelling tool

✔️ The five most common portfolio mistakes—and how to avoid them

✔️ Why timeless principles beat trendy templates or AI-generated case studies

✔️ How Sarah’s 2006 portfolio framework still helps people get hired today

Timestamps:

00:15 Sarah Doody's Career Journey

00:57 Struggles and Strategies in UX Job Search

01:26 Transforming the Portfolio

01:57 Early Career and Freelance Work

04:11 Portfolio Evolution and Lessons Learned

06:36 Modern Portfolio Strategies

13:35 The Importance of Timeless Principles

20:04 Common Portfolio Mistakes

24:55 Final Thoughts

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