005: 5 Lessons from hiring managers

In this episode of The Career Strategy Podcast, Sarah talks to hiring managers from Gusto, Meta, Shopify, IBM, and a recruiter who works in the field of user experience to share some of their top advice to avoid making major mistakes and increase the chances that you stand out in the sea of candidates.

1:20 You have to think of the users or stakeholders involved in the hiring process and just like users and stakeholders of projects you work on.

1:47 The three stakeholders in the hiring process.

1:54 Stakeholder 1: Human resources and recruiters

3:06 Stakeholder 2: Hiring Managers

3:53 It's crucial that your cover letter, resume, and LinkedIn are filled with rich examples of what you've already done.

4:04 Stakeholder 3: Interviewer

4:57 People who are from other teams are less focused on your qualifications and more focused on your character.

5:34  Tip 1: Cover letters make a difference.

5:40 Amy Thibodeau, Head of Creative at Gusto on the power of cover letters.

7:14 Tip 2: Customize your materials and connect the dots.

7:32 McClean Donnely, Professor of UX Design at SCAD, on the principle of, "don't make me think" and how that principle applies to your job search.

8:49  The value of adding video to your career materials.

11:20:  Tip 3: Sweat the details of layout and design.

12:21 Tyler King, Senior UX Researcher on being cognizant of font, typeface, weights, etc.

12:57 Tip 4: Job descriptions are a wishlist.

13:04 Alec Brundrett, a product manager at Meta, on how job descriptions are written, why sometimes they aren't written very well, and why candidates need to see job descriptions as a wishlist and not a hard set of requirements.

15:09 Tip 5: Your career materials and interview skills are a preview of how you'll perform on the job.

16:40 Your portfolio is another deisgn asset with Lois Siegal, Director of Recruiting at UX Hires.

17:03 Your portfolio is just never done, you're always tweaking it, but get it to a point where you're proud of it.

18:40 Regardless of what you're interviewing for, you have to think about the steps that you're taking through the process and be able to articulate it.

🎬 Watch our free UX Job Search Workshop and learn how to stand out in 2025

👉 Join Career Strategy Lab, a UX job search accelerator for UX and Product people.

👋 Say hi and follow our host, Sarah Doody, on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.