114: From Laid Off to Senior UX Designer: How Sarah Landed Her Dream Role

Want to get hired in UX faster? Click here.Welcome to the Career Strategy Podcast with Sarah Doody, a UX Designer & UX Researcher who also founded the UX job search accelerator Career Strategy Lab. She's been doing UX career coaching since 2017.Follow Sarah on: LinkedIn | YouTube | InstagramIn this special Open House episode, Sarah Doody sits down with Career Strategy Lab (CSL) alum Sarah Page to discuss her journey navigating the UX job market. From being laid off as a creative director to landing a Senior UX Designer role in health tech, Sarah shares the mindset shifts, job search strategies, and portfolio insights that helped her stand out.She also reveals the unexpected format of her interviews, how she positioned her diverse experience to appeal to hiring managers, and why letting go of what’s out of your control is a game-changer in your job search.If you’re struggling with rejection, resume gaps, or feeling “overqualified” and “underqualified” at the same time—this episode is for you!What You’ll Learn:✅ Why job rejections often have nothing to do with you (and how to move forward)✅ The power of a well-structured portfolio—and why Figma slides worked better than a website✅ How to confidently position diverse experience (even across industries!)✅ The mental shift that helped Sarah stay motivated through uncertainty✅ How social proof (from hiring managers, peers, and CSL feedback) builds confidence✅ The real role of interviews (hint: sometimes it’s just a vibe check!)✅ Why finding the right company fit matters more than tweaking your resume endlessly✅ How Sarah strategically approached salary negotiation and total compensationTimestamps01:50 Open House Overview03:22 Success Stories and Strategies05:47 Navigating the Job Market09:15 Interview Experiences13:45 Negotiating Job Offers17:08 Advice for Job Seekers20:45 Conclusion and Farewell🎬 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.

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A third of our lives, or about 70,400 hours, are spent at work. At some point, you’ve likely found yourself stuck in your career and felt underpaid, undervalued, unfulfilled, underutilized, or unsure of where you’re headed and what you’re doing. Being stuck in your career is not your fault! Most career advice feels like it’s stuck in the 80’s and 90’s. The Career Strategy Podcast with Sarah Doody, Founder & CEO of Career Strategy Lab, will help you apply timeless design, marketing, and sales strategies to your career. Each episode has actionable steps that will take the overwhelm and stress out of advancing your career regardless of what stage you’re at.