128: How this 30 year UX veteran went from feeling irrelevant to in control of her career

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

Sarah Doody from Career Strategy Lab

155 episodes

13 hours ago

Welcome to the Career Strategy Podcast, with Sarah Doody, a UX Researcher & Product Designer with 20 years of experience who is helping UX and Product people design their careers. You’ll learn how to advance your UX or Product career including how get hired in UX, stay hired, get promoted, and build a personal brand and visibility. You’ll also hear no BS tips to optimize your UX resume and portfolio, navigate your UX job search, and prepare for UX job interviews so you can stop being invisible and be seen as an in-demand UX professional. Get ready to UX your career, ironic, right?!

All content for Career Strategy Podcast with Sarah Doody | UX, Product Design, UX Research is the property of Sarah Doody from Career Strategy Lab and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

128: How this 30 year UX veteran went from feeling irrelevant to in control of her career

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

19 minutes 16 seconds

4 months ago

128: How this 30 year UX veteran went from feeling irrelevant to in control of her career

Applied to 50+ UX or Product jobs & still no interviews or offers? Get UX job search help.

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

Nancy Leslie has over 30 years of UX experience—and yet, before joining Career Strategy Lab, she felt irrelevant, overlooked, and unsure of how to position herself in today’s market. In this honest and uplifting open house conversation, Nancy shares how she moved from self-doubt to spaciousness, and why she finally feels like herself again—professionally and personally.

Whether you're later in your career or just feeling disconnected from your value, Nancy’s story will remind you that it’s never too late to rewrite your narrative and re-energize your future.

What You'll Learn This Episode:

✔️ Why years of experience can make job searching harder, not easier

✔️ The emotional toll of being a runner-up again and again

✔️ How Nancy reframed “aged out” into “experienced pioneer”

✔️ The surprising career impact of mindset and community

✔️ Why CSL didn’t box her in—but actually set her free

✔️ How showing up, experimenting, and getting feedback changed everything

Timestamps:

00:58 Episode Overview and Special Format

01:42 Introducing Nancy: A UX Veteran

02:10 Nancy's Journey in UX

03:16 The Impact of Career Strategy Lab

04:47 Mindset Shifts and Career Growth

12:04 The Role of Community and Coaching

15:56 Final Thoughts and Advice

17:20 Conclusion and Podcast Outro

18:04 Special Message for Job Seekers

⭐ Support the show! Leave a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple Podcasts to help more UX professionals find this podcast.

🔔 Follow & Subscribe for weekly strategies and stories to help you grow in your UX career—without the burnout.

🎬 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.