​Sarah Doody knows many designers feel stuck, and it has nothing to do with talent. We explore how designers can apply their own UX process to their careers, create clarity through “compass statements,” and build a roadmap that actually leads somewhere.

What would happen if you stopped treating your portfolio like the product and started treating yourself like the product?

Most designers will spend 40+ hours a week researching users, mapping journeys, and making sense of complexity…

But when it comes to their own career, they wing it.

🚫 No research.
🚫 No clarity.
🚫 No roadmap.

Just panic-tweaking portfolios and praying to the LinkedIn algorithm gods for mercy.

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And then they wonder why they feel stuck.

This week on Beyond UX Design, I sat down with Sarah Doody, from The Career Strategy Lab, to talk about one of the most common (and painful) patterns in our industry:

👉 Designers don’t apply their own UX process to themselves.

Sarah calls it identity fog: that moment when you can’t describe the value you bring, you don’t know what you’re aiming for, and every job application feels like throwing darts at the wall.

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Sarah and I dig into:

➡️ Why your anxiety is coming from lack of clarity, not lack of talent
➡️ How to build a career compass statement that guides every decision
➡️ Why comparison culture destroys confidence (and how to fix it)
➡️ How to run experiments on your own job search instead of guessing
➡️ The life roadmap that should come before the career roadmap

If you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure how to move forward in your career…

This conversation will give you your power back.

The Product of You: Design,... Nov 20 · Beyond UX Design 66:19   ​

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1️⃣ Create a “compass statement” to guide every decision in your career: Most designers freeze when asked, “Tell me about yourself.” That’s a sign of identity fog. Your one-sentence summary of who you are, what you do, and how you create value anchors your job search. It tells you which jobs to apply for, which projects belong in your portfolio, and which skills you need to build next.

2️⃣ Treat your career like a UX project and start with research: You would never ship a product without deep research, but designers routinely skip this step in their own careers. Document your skills, evaluate your strengths, collect feedback from trusted peers, and look for patterns you’ve overlooked. Then research the companies you want, the roles you’re targeting, and the expectations on those teams.

3️⃣ Track your metrics instead of tweaking endlessly: If you’ve applied to 50+ jobs with 0 interviews, you don’t have a job-market problem, you have a signaling problem. Before you redesign your entire portfolio again, track the basics: how many applications you’ve sent, how many interviews you’ve received, and which materials recruiters saw before contacting you.

4️⃣ Tailor the parts that matter: Don’t rewrite your resume from scratch for every job. Make strategic adjustments that take minutes, not hours. Swap in a more relevant compass statement. Reorder case studies. Choose the two or three examples that best match the job description. Update your LinkedIn headline with a clearer value signal.

5️⃣ Build a life roadmap before you build a career roadmap: Success isn’t landing a “dream role.” It’s designing a life that works for you. Designers often take jobs that look good on paper but completely clash with the life they want. A life roadmap helps you filter roles, ask smarter questions, and avoid choosing a job that pays well but drains everything else.

Listen to episode 139 now!

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