118: 3 things your UX job search has in common with soap operas

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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

You might think soap operas have nothing to do with your UX job search, but in this episode, Sarah Doody shows you why that thinking might be keeping you stuck and invisible.

Back in the 1930s, Procter & Gamble created soap operas to sell, well… soap. But what they really created was one of the most effective audience engagement strategies in marketing history. And today, you can apply the same four principles to dramatically improve your visibility and momentum as a UX job seeker.

Whether you’re on the job hunt now or preparing for the future, this episode will reframe how you think about visibility, consistency, and strategy—and show you exactly where you might be going wrong.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ Why visibility, not just talent, gets you hired

✔️ The 4 key takeaways from Procter & Gamble’s soap opera strategy

✔️ How to show up where your audience (aka recruiters & hiring managers) are already hanging out

✔️ Why timing and repetition are critical to your job search success

✔️ What most UX portfolios and resumes get totally wrong

✔️ The mindset shift that turns your job search from passive to powerful

Resources & Links Mentioned:

📌Avoid this mistake when writing your LinkedIn profile headline (Podcast)

📌How commenting and posting on LinkedIn can land you more interviews and opportunities (Podcast)

📌 What to post on LinkedIn to increase your visibility in your job search (Podcast)

📌 LinkedIn mistakes to avoid & how to optimize your LinkedIn profile (Podcast)

📌Stop Sending Recruiters Cold Emails & Get Them To Reply By Doing This Instead (Podcast)

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Timestamps:

00:33 Unlocking Career Success with Strategy

00:55 Soap Operas and Your UX Job Search

01:24 The Birth of Soap Operas: A Marketing Masterstroke

02:13 Applying Soap Opera Strategies to Your Job Search

03:49 Lesson 1: Go Where Your Audience Is

05:53 Lesson 2: Design for Your Audience

08:26 Lesson 3: Repetition Builds Trust

10:59 Lesson 4: Timing Matters

13:05 Conclusion: Applying the Soap Opera Strategy

15:11 Final Thoughts and Contact Information

🎬 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.