138: From Recruiter to Product Designer: How Ellie's taking 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 | InstagramWondering how to stand out in UX without burning out? Former technical recruiter Ellie shares her story of switching into product design—and how Career Strategy Lab helped her get her confidence back.In this episode, Sarah interviews Ellie, a former technical recruiter turned UX designer, who joined Career Strategy Lab while navigating new motherhood, burnout, and the unpredictable job market. Despite landing interviews, Ellie felt stuck—and knew she needed a structured, supportive way to rebuild confidence and stand out.You’ll hear how she overcame perfectionism, reframed her job search, and built career habits that now extend beyond her portfolio and into her life.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✔️ Why Ellie left tech recruiting to pursue UX—and doesn’t regret it✔️ What made her say “yes” to CSL (and why she wishes she joined sooner)✔️ How the Compass Statement gave her clarity and saved her time✔️ The unexpected life shifts that came from doing the work with intention✔️ Tips for breaking perfectionism and building habits that stick✔️ What it’s like to join CSL while navigating new parenthood and burnoutTimestamps:00:00 Introduction to Career Strategy Lab00:38 Episode Overview and Open House Context02:23 Meet Ellie: From Technical Recruiter to Product Designer05:19 Ellie's Career Journey and CSL Experience09:16 The Impact of Career Strategy Lab18:47 Advice and Final Thoughts21:32 Conclusion and Next Steps⭐ 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.

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