142: How Laura Landed a Principal UX Design Role Without Applying (and With Only 1 Project in her UX Portfolio)

You don't need the perfect UX portfolio and hundreds of job applications to land a senior UX role. In this episode, Sarah Doody talks with Laura, a former physician turned UX designer, about how she landed a Principal Product Design role, without even applying (and in only 47 days).

After re-working her UX portfolio, resume, and LinkedIn, Laura shares how she accepted a contract job at Cisco as a Senior Product Designer which turned into a 2.5 year role.

Laura also shares how keeping her resume, portfolio, etc ready made all the difference when her UX contract ended. After the contract ended, she was hired within 2 weeks as the Head of Design because the VP of Product found her on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ How Laura pivoted from medicine to UX and built her confidence along the way

✔️ Why having just one solid case study was enough to land multiple interviews

✔️ The key mindset shift that helped her stand out—even in a competitive market

✔️ How staying visible on LinkedIn led to a job offer without applying

✔️ Why portfolio perfectionism keeps talented UXers stuck

✔️ The benefit of specializing in a niche like cybersecurity or networking

✔️ How CSL’s frameworks helped her lead, mentor, and present more confidently

Timestamps:

02:06 Laura's UX Career Journey and Success with Career Strategy Lab

05:23 Importance of Testing and Networking

09:06 Specialization and UX Job Search Strategy

12:53 Applying Career Strategy Lab Skills in the Workplace

17:39 Final Thoughts and Advice for UX Job Seekers

19:29 Conclusion and Podcast Information

20:09 Special Message for UX Job Seekers

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