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

This week’s episode is hosted by CSL Coach Erin Lindstrom with special guest, Malavika Oak, a CSL Alumni! Tune in to hear what led Malavika to UX and her career journey from working at startups, getting laid off, and with the help of Career Strategy Lab, landing a new role that she describes as a “dream job.” 00:38 Intro with Erin 01:55 Meet Malavika 04:51 Looking for mentorship in the UX world 07:26 Being the only designer at a startup 11:25 Her new role 14:29 Slowly getting better and better at interviews 17:03 Tips for parents and other who are juggling multiple responsibilities 19:25 But why UX?🎬 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.

Learn how to optimize your LinkedIn presence to land job interviews and opportunities faster. Discover the importance of engaging with recruiters, posting on your profile, and increasing visibility. Gain strategic tips to showcase your skills, experience, and engage effectively for career success.

Recruitment expert Sarah debunks the myth that recruiters only spend 6 seconds on resumes. Tips include putting yourself in the recruiter's shoes, focusing on design, and detailing accomplishments. Learn how to stand out and increase your chances of landing an interview.

If you’re considering a career in UX but not sure how you can leverage your previous experience to help you stand out as a candidate we want you to know it’s absolutely possible. In this episode, Sarah talks through how to build a bridge from your current situation to a UX career. 0:55 You may be tempted to apply to lots of jobs 1:24 You might be competing for jobs with people with more UX experience than you 1:49 Here’s how to start thinking strategically about this 2:35 When you do this, your experience gives you a competitive advantage 4:17 You’re not destined to stay in that industry forever if you don’t want to 4:59 Think of it as a stepping stone🎬 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.

The internet is FULL of information, but not all of it is as helpful as you may think. This week Sarah speaks to some of the flaws of trusting everything you read and hear online and how to discern if advice is worth listening to. 01:17 What do you do when you have a question? 02:52 Start asking questions about your source! 03:53 Is the advice you’re getting even relevant to today’s job market? 04:57 We tend to worry so much about messing up, that we doubt ourselves.🎬 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.

This week’s episode is a Q&A session with Sarah! Tune in to hear how to start your job search when you’re brand new to UX, looking for opportunities to grow from within your company, and the importance of your portfolio! 01:16 If you’re early in your career, of course you want to apply to everything! 03:01 How do you approach finding your first job? 06:46 Make the most of performance reviews 08:54 Spell. Check. Your. Resume. 10:20 Curate your resume to each job you apply to 12:10 The best way to approach cold emailing? Warm things up! 17:37 How important is a portfolio at the start of your career? Very important. 20:48 Never worked in UX? You still have skills you can use to apply to UX positions. 22:32 How do I use classified work to promote my skills?🎬 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.

Why aren’t you making the progress you’d like to in your career? 🤔 Maybe, just maybe, you’ve fallen victim to one of the biggest sources of procrastination in the job search? This week, Sarah discusses how sometimes it’s best to stop looking for more info and advice, and just act! If you want to make TRUE progress in your job search, listen in! Also, check out flowapp.info to help keep yourself on track! 01:14 At some point you need to stop seeking information and start taking action 02:04 More information often leads to contradicting information 02:42 Be careful of a false sense of progress, or FSP for short! 04:35 Get into the habit of notice when you’re procrastinating taking action 05:36 At the end of your day, take the time to make a plan of action for tomorrow🎬 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.

Learn strategies for managing and regulating emotions during a job search. Acknowledge your emotions to avoid them getting in the way. Have an emotional outlet and don't let rejection define you. Maintain perspective and grace when receiving bad news and leverage relationships for future opportunities.

Yes or no?! 🤔 Everyone wants to know whether or not it’s recommended to put projects that didn’t launch in their portfolio and if it’s worth talking about during interviews. Here’s the quick version; when creating your portfolio and resume, use every amazing example of your skills you can. Why would you avoid using a project that didn’t go public? If you did the work, then show it off! Launching isn’t the only part of the story. Tune in to episode 36  to learn more about how to talk about your unlaunched projects with power. 00:58 The short answer, yes! 02:00 Stop thinking about why you can’t, and start thinking why wouldn’t you? 04:35 Projects don’t launch ALL THE TIME. 04:58 Be professional. Don’t use an interview to complain about the failed launch. 05:40 A quick recap🎬 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.

In this Q+A, Sarah, a UX bootcamp instructor, discusses topics such as how your bootcamp portfolio won't work with recruiters, the importance of asking questions during interviews, the myth of the one page resume, using confidential work in your portfolio, and the importance of being active on LinkedIn for job opportunities.