How this UX Designer escaped UX portfolio burnout and rebuilt his entire UX job search strategy

Sarah Doody [00:00:00]: When I created career strategy lab, I was thinking, like, how do we save people time and energy and just frustration in making their portfolio? And having this portfolio presentation, it can be used, as we’ve heard, when you apply for the job, and the same document can be used when you go to an interview. Hey there. I’m Sarah Doody, host of the career strategy podcast. Many professionals are seeking more impact, flexibility, growth, and let’s face it, getting paid what they’re worth. But how do you unlock this in your career? It starts with strategy. I’m taking you behind the scenes of what’s working for my career coaching clients. You’ll hear strategies and actionable, yet sometimes against the grain, advice for how you can be the CEO of your career and stop dreading

Erin [00:00:59]: Hey. This is Erin. I am one of the coaches inside of career strategy lab, and I wanna let you know that this episode you’re about to listen to, number one is awesome, and number two is actually from our open house. So in this conversation, you should know that there were other people on this call, and there was a live audience. So if some of the editing seems a little bit weird or abrupt, that’s why. It should still make sense for you. There’s so many gems of wisdom to grab from this episode. So we hope you enjoy.

Erin [00:01:25]: And if you do like this format where you really can get to know someone and learn more about their career journey, please let us know. You can send Sarah a LinkedIn message, or you can email hello@SarahJudy.com. We love the feedback, and we wanna create more of what you enjoy and find helpful. Alright. Let’s get into the episode.

Sarah Doody [00:01:43]: Welcome, everyone, to our January open house for career strategy lab open house slash QA about the UX job search. Why do we do these? Well, number one, there is a lot of doom and gloom on LinkedIn, and, frankly, I’m so sick of seeing it. And, yeah, the job market is tough, and at the same time, people are getting hired. And I think sometimes the doom and gloom kind of gets elevated on social media and in our circles, and so we do these open houses to share the stories of people who’ve recently got hired and or who are in the middle of a job search so that you can hear some positive stories, hopefully, some encouraging and uplifting stories from these people and a chance to kinda see and hear behind the scenes of what goes on in Career Strategy Lab, our three month UX job search accelerator, and have a chance to ask our team questions, ask other people questions who’ve been a part of career strategy lab. So what we have lined up for today, we have John So. That’s our game plan. And I’m gonna pull up my notes here because we have a lot to cover, and I wanna keep myself on track because sometimes I go on tangents. John, tell us about your journey so far, because John is still in the middle of career strategy lab.

Jon [00:03:24]: Yep. Yep. But yeah. So I’m John. I’m in Austin, Texas. I’ve been a product designer for about twelve years, and I’m currently seeking, like, principal product designer roles. Let’s see. I I had gotten laid off in May, and I think I’ve spent, like, the first three months after the layoff, like, spinning on my portfolio.

Jon [00:03:43]: And, I mean, I think everybody has done this where you, like, redesign it, and you’re like, it’s not good enough and redesign it again, And then a third time and what you realize at some point is you you just don’t have any feedback from the job market. Like like, maybe you’re not getting responses or the companies just aren’t that interesting. And it’s like, why is this happening? I have no idea. Like, I don’t actually know what people are wanting to see in this market. Like, the last time I got hired was 2022. So my portfolio was okay for that market, but but it wasn’t for this one. And so I joined career strategy lab in September, and I think the the thing I noticed was that, like, you step away from your portfolio as opposed to, like, approaching that first, and you really get down to, like, the framework. You’re, like, writing down, like, what what project did you work on? Like, what did you do in that project? And that would it was something that I hadn’t done on my portfolio.

Jon [00:04:37]: But as a product designer, you do this stuff all all the time, but it’s just like there’s something about it. Your portfolio, for some reason, you treat differently. And so it it was I think that was, like, a really helpful approach because not only does it give you, like, the breadth of what you’ve done in your past, it also just, like, brings up a lot of details that I had forgotten. Like, oh, yeah. I did that. Oh oh, yeah. Like, this is great. Like so I think, actually, I got a lot of confidence from just writing all this stuff down.

Jon [00:05:02]: Even before I approached, like, the portfolio and resume writing part, I felt like I approached it with more confidence. So and then what I noticed after I I got, like, a much better, what I would call better portfolio in, I think, like, November, I immediately was able to interview with kind of, like, better companies, companies that were, like, more suited to what I wanted to do had, like, more mature design offerings. Like, I I noticed a change. Like, there was very definitely a change. Like, before, I was interviewing with kind of, like, low maturity dot design orgs. And then after, I think the the the maturity I’m I’m able to approach and who are interested in me has gotten a lot better. So I I see that as a sign that, like, the work that I did on the portfolio and, like, the framework has really helped. So, yeah, so right now, I’m I’m interviewing with two companies for a principal product designer role.

Jon [00:05:55]: And yeah. Like, it’s it’s been a minute. And I’m I’m practicing my interviewing skills and kind of, like, every piece of this, you just work really hard at it from the resume and the portfolio and now to interviewing. It’s just like there’s no like, in this market, there’s no you can’t just waltz in and be like, here’s my history and here’s a couple projects. So you you gotta be really on point, especially for the more senior roles. I mean, I guess at any role, I I feel like the the community has helped a lot in getting feedback about, like, what I should expect, how I should prepare, stuff like that. So that was a rambling response to that.

Sarah Doody [00:06:34]: No. Thank you for sharing that. I think it’s it’s so valuable for people to hear your experience as someone who is literally day by day, week by week in the middle of your job search. And the the difference that, like you said, stepping back from just your portfolio and zooming out to really look at the details and depth of what you did so so that, number one, I think you can believe that you did those things and then articulate that more clearly in your portfolio. And I I remember I think you said this because John presented a project from his portfolio at our demo day a couple of weeks ago. We do these portfolio demo days once a month where people get to practice presenting their portfolio. And I think you’d previously presented that in an interview a few days prior, and you received, like, really great feedback about it. Right?

Jon [00:07:35]: Mhmm. Yep. So Yeah. Yeah. No. It it was yeah. The demo was was helpful, just like a good practice run through. And then there were some, like, feedback that I was able to, like, make some, I don’t know, corrections just like, hey.

Jon [00:07:48]: The narrative’s a little sticky here, or, like, I think you’d explain things better here. And that was helpful, like, going into interviews because I’m, like, I feel even more confident about kind of, like, what I’ve got. So and, yeah, just, like, talking publicly kinda gets your stress level up a little bit, and it it it does a decent job of, like, duplicating the stress of an interview. So I I think that is really helpful as well, like, to be able to, like, stress yourself a little bit because that’s what it’s like in an interview is is it’s a stressful situation.

Sarah Doody [00:08:17]: Right. Right. Yeah. I I love these kind of just quick back stories, if you will, because it helps set the context of your situation. And I think it would really be valuable for people to hear a little bit more about kind of the before and after stories. And so maybe we can shift focus a little bit into talking about, like, thinking back to before you joined career strategy lab, what were you struggling with? That could be tactical stuff, like this, this, and this with my resume, or it could be more confidence and mindset stuff. But I’m curious if anything jumps out to you.

Jon [00:09:01]: Yeah. Let’s see. I I had gone through a couple, like, redesigns and revisions of my portfolio website, and I was working full time essentially on trying to get this portfolio and resume to a good level. And I think at the end of the end of, like, three or four months, I was just, like, burned out. And I was like, I I just I kinda felt like I don’t even know what to do next because I’ve I’ve put so much energy into this, and people aren’t responding. So, obviously, I’m not there’s something I’m not doing, but I I don’t know what it is because I’ve tried a bunch of different things. You know? So I think I was just experiencing some burnout and just feeling like as a as a product designer, you you’re used to being able to talk to your users. And even though I had reached out to recruiters and hiring managers, like, nobody was getting back to me.

Jon [00:09:53]: So I was just like, I I have no context for the work that I’m doing. I have no framework for understanding how it’s how it’s being perceived, and I have no way to iterate it to a better place. So, yeah, I think that that was a place where I was at. I was probably there for a month, I think, And then I joined Chris. And may and maybe the obvious thing in in hindsight was stepping away from, like, design work, like like, trying to lay this out in Figma or even, like, writing the project, like, on like, my site is on WordPress. So I was, like, writing and, like, laying in images and even doing that work, stepping back from that even further and developing the framework of the project. So I think I think breaking the project down into, like, these minute details, like, helped me see the project from, like, a much higher level, and then it helped me reconstruct the narrative in a way that I think was way more interesting. And then what my feeling was a little resistant to the PDF portfolio.

Jon [00:10:50]: But then, like, as I started working on it, as I started working on it in slides, I kinda realized that there’s, like, a little more control. There’s, like, a linear nature to a PDF document, and you have a little more control in terms of telling a story, like, that people kinda have to scroll past versus a website. I think I think people just ping around a little bit. I’m like, I have no idea if people are, like, making it through the whole narrative or not, and that’s pretty frustrating. Like, I I want I I I need a little bit control when they’re, like, looking at this. And I think I think the PDF gives you just a little bit more, like, linear scrolling or something like that. So yeah. So I I I, like, I had done three versions of my website and then did a whole now my case my, portfolio is, like, a 28 slides with three case studies, and they’re just the case studies are way better than they were on my website.

Jon [00:11:41]: But I think a lot of that is just the work it takes to, like, break it down into the minute detail and then build it back up. And then I think you have us focus on the imagery, like, the very last step. It’s like, okay. Write the headlines. Now write the sub headlines. Now write some body copy. Okay. Finally, lay the head lay the image in.

Jon [00:11:58]: I was like, oh, I was doing this all backwards. So, yeah, I just think the whole process was, like, helpful to step through. And and then I don’t know. It also a lot of work. I’m not gonna I’m not gonna say it wasn’t challenging or just like like, again, it was, like, another three months of a full time role. I just, like, put that much into it, and so it kinda took the month of December off a little bit. It’s not like it wasn’t applying. I just was was, like, less active than CSL.

Jon [00:12:24]: And so now I’m back kind of, like, really focusing on the, like, the job search, being active on LinkedIn, and then interviewing, like, interviewing skills and and how to be a a successful presenter.

Sarah Doody [00:12:36]: Right. Yeah. Thanks thanks for sharing that. I I think it’s so helpful for people to hear what your experience was before and, like, as you are in the trenches of of your CSL experience. And and I think that that point you made about portfolios is really interesting, and you articulated it so well in saying that this concept of a portfolio as a presentation, versus a website allows you to have more control because as you said, like, someone lands on your website or your dribble page or whatever, and, like, they’re hopping around who knows where. Right? And at least with a with a presentation, yes, of course, they could go from page seven to twenty one and three and who knows what. But Mhmm. In reality, most people are gonna go in a more linear way.

Sarah Doody [00:13:27]: And I think too, another reason that the portfolio presentation is very powerful, really, I make this recommendation really from, like, a product management standpoint. Because when I created career strategy lab, I was thinking, like, how do we save people time and energy and just frustration in making their portfolio? And having this portfolio presentation, it can be used, as we’ve heard, when you apply for the job, and the same document can be used when you go to an interview. So some people choose to make a shorter version, fine, do whatever you want, but so many people in career strategy lab are using the same version that they’re applying to the job with when they go to the interview, which I think is such a mindset shift from what is kinda, like, blasted all over LinkedIn, etcetera. This whole job search thing, like, you really have to put on your product manager hat, and you only have a certain amount of time and energy. Right? And so I think as some of you have articulated, like, having this step by step by step process to follow kind of takes some of the decision making out of you sit down on a Thursday night and you think, I’m gonna work on this, and then you spend forty five minutes thinking, oh, what am I gonna do? You know?

Jon [00:14:53]: Yeah. I mean, I I think it was maybe, like, emotionally easier just because I felt like, okay. I’m I’m finally doing the right thing. But in terms of, like, the work I put in, like, the the amount of work was relatively the same for, like, what I had done in the past and what I had done for this, but I felt like the end output was, like, a much, much it was a portfolio that was just getting me better outcomes. Mhmm. Yeah. So you still work hard. It’s not like a shortcut, but but I think the the framework is what makes it so, so helpful.

Jon [00:15:23]: And I know I I never felt like I’m working on something that’s just not gonna be successful, or I’m working on something that is gonna go into the void. As it started to take shape, I was like, oh, damn. Like, this is probably the best presentation myself that I’ve ever done. So I think I think there was some, like, pride and confidence that came out of, like, that process of, like, building a portfolio up for sure. And the and the resume as well, but, like, I feel like the framework that you do at the beginning, like, the writing kind of, like, translate into both the resume and the portfolio. Anyways, rambling.

Sarah Doody [00:15:56]: No. Thank you for sharing that. And I think too, like, I feel like today’s theme is really around it is so important to do the research on you, which the irony of this. Right? Like, step back and do some user research on yourself to figure out what do you want to do in the future, what have you done in the past, and have you maybe only skimmed the surface of what you’ve done in the past? Because that is what we see so many people do, not because they didn’t put great effort into trying to make the first version of their portfolio or their resume or whatever, but because when you do this in a isolated scenario or in a silo, it’s very easy to downplay your experience, and I think it’s very easy to get into that comparison trap. Right? You see some case study on Medium. You see some portfolio on LinkedIn, etcetera. And then you start to think, oh, maybe I’m not as good as at design systems as I thought or at research as I thought, and you go tweak your portfolio for three hours on a Saturday. Right? And so I think it’s really important to do that research on yourself upfront as we’ve heard today.

Jon [00:17:15]: Just one last thing. I know I’m talking a lot, so I’ll shut up that box. But I would say that, like, I think the reason, at least for me, why I didn’t do the, like, the self reflection was, like, I’m like like you said on LinkedIn, I’m like, okay. Doom and gloom, the job market is, like, crazy. I have to just take whatever is out there versus, like, no. I still need to be really selective about the type of company I go to that I’m gonna be successful in. Because chances are if if you see you’re gonna be successful, like, that’s interesting to the interviewer and interesting to the recruiter and, like, that whole funnel, I think, gets stronger when when you have that strong awareness of, like, really what you’re looking for. But I think just yeah.

Jon [00:17:55]: Anyways, so I think for me, the market kinda dictated how much I was willing to be, like, selective or, like, what do I really want?

Sarah Doody [00:18:03]: Alright. Our last question that I wanna wrap up with is really around what would you say to someone who’s considering joining career strategy lab? And we could also sprinkle in if you have any have any advice for them. So maybe if they’re on the fence.

Jon [00:18:21]: Yep. Yeah. So advice yeah. I mean, I would say, like, obviously, like, there’s a pricing, and if you’ve been laid off, like, money can be tight. So I I I think the question you always ask yourself is, like, okay. Like, regardless of price, like, what’s the value that I’m gonna get out of this? And, like, just for transparency, like so I joined the three month. I’ve now re upped for a fourth month, and I’ll probably end up doing a fifth month as well. Hopefully, fingers crossed, like, that will be the last month that I’ll need it, but we’ll see.

Jon [00:18:53]: Yeah. So so I I just think the question you always have is, like, behind the veil, is the value gonna be there for me? But that’s the question I was asking. And I can tell you after, like, three or four months, like, it’s it’s been a huge value. And I feel like, like I said, like, I’ve gotten to a place where I’m, like, at the best possible presentation of myself that I’ve ever had to the point where I’m like, look. If this can’t give me a job, like, I don’t know. May maybe, like, the world needs more HVAC repairment or something. Like so I I think it just really helped me really helped me improve my self presentation. And, like, there’s no question in my mind that the value I that I got from whatever the initial amount was to to get in has been more than repaid.

Jon [00:19:35]: And then I think that’s from, like, the coursework, like, the opportunities to, like, demo, and then from the community as well. Like, community is a really valuable part of it, that we haven’t really talked about. But, like, you get access for to a lot of people who are just, like, in the same boat that you are, kind of, like, negotiating with employers in the same way. And so it’s just like, you feel alone when you do it alone, and and it’s just nice to have a group of people that you can talk to about stuff. So, yeah, I I don’t think there’s any question in my mind that, like, would you do it again, or would you recommend it? Like, the answer to both is, like, a % yes.

Sarah Doody [00:20:06]: Thank you for bringing up the community too because how the heck did I forget that? But, yes, the career strategy community is so powerful and magical. Am I can I say that? But the reason it’s magical is this, because we’re now at the point where people who got hired six months ago, one year ago, four years ago are coming back to the community and saying, my team’s hiring. Send me your resume with the subject line blah blah blah, and I’ll consider you type thing. Like, we just had two of them this week, I think, posted in the community. So the community is helpful, like, in the the workflow of doing your resume portfolio, etcetera, and getting that support and feedback and camaraderie with people. And it continues even after you leave career strategy lab. So, yes, it’s very magical to see those posts. It’s, like, just very full circle for me to see this finally starting to happen after so many years and just have the volume of people to have this happening pretty consistently now.

Sarah Doody [00:21:18]: So alright. That wraps up this open house where I’m going to let Sean go back to whatever you’re doing for the rest of the day. I know everyone really appreciates you taking the time to share your stories. So, thank you so much. So that’s all, guys. Thank you for spending your afternoon or morning or evening, wherever you are. And we’ll see you again sometime somewhere. So that’s all.

Sarah Doody [00:21:45]: Bye, everyone. Thanks for listening to the Career Strategy Podcast. Make sure to follow me, Sarah Doody, on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn. If anything in today’s episode resonated with you, you, I’d love to hear about it. Tag me on social media or send me a DM. And lastly, if you found this episode helpful, I’d really appreciate it if you could share it with a friend or give us a quick rating on Spotify or review on Apple Podcasts. Catch you later.