Jennifer Speciale β Designing the Career You Actually Want
Jennifer Speciale helps leaders rewrite the rules of career growth π, redefine executive presence π§ , and build unapologetic clarity in an uncertain market πβsharing why designing your career is the ultimate act of leadership π―.
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Episode Chapters:
00:00 β Why You Are the Prize Β
01:15 β Welcome and Introduction Β
03:12 β Living in Italy and Training for a Marathon Β
06:45 β Discovering Sicilian Roots and the Aeolian Islands Β
13:25 β Learning from Strong Women in Italian History Β
16:32 β Coaching Leaders Through Career Crossroads Β
19:55 β Why "Open-Minded" Job Searches Fail Β
26:29 β Helping Leaders Find Hidden Career Options Β
30:11 β Rebranding LinkedIn for Strategic Career Moves Β
33:24 β What Recruiters Really Look for on LinkedIn Β
37:02 β Why Job Descriptions Are Designed to Be Vague Β
42:32 β The Hidden Risks of a Bad Interview Β
47:19 β Using Flattery Authentically in Networking Β
51:36 β Flipping Interviews into Conversations Β
56:47 β Believing You Are the Prize (Without Arrogance) Β
1:01:13 β How to Stop Over-Apologizing in Interviews Β
1:03:05 β Closing Reflections and Where to Find Jennifer
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Who is Jennifer Speciale?
Jennifer Speciale is the Founder and Executive Leadership Coach at Speciale Executive Leadership, helping ambitious leaders transition into executive roles and unlock new opportunities π.
She has:
Led executive recruiting for design at Amazon Β
Built a global Experience Design team at McKinsey Β
Helped leaders at Google, Amazon, and McKinsey land executive roles Β
Coached over 100 leaders into executive positions, delivering over half a million dollars in salary growth in 2024 β¨
Through her proven frameworks, sheβs changing the way leaders navigate executive transitions.
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Find Jennifer Speciale here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferspeciale/ Β
Website: https://www.jenniferspeciale.com
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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:
Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
The Space InBetween Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
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1:04:51
Dave Hoffer β Empathy, Courage, and the Future of Design
Josephine Wong challenges us to design with intention, build cultures that care, and recognise the quiet power of everyday interactions to create truly meaningful work.
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Episode chapters
00:00 β Welcome and Introduction
04:42 β Joβs Unexpected Start in Advertising
09:26 β A Multicultural Upbringing in Hong Kong
14:18 β From Melbourne to Apogee: Founding a UX Consultancy
21:35 β Building a Life and Business Partnership with Dan Szuc
26:04 β Understanding Systems: Politics, Economics, and Research
33:50 β The Problem with Feature-Centric Thinking
40:44 β Opening Stakeholder Minds Without Judgement
49:16 β What Deng Xiaoping Taught Jo About Leadership
58:33 β East Meets West: Bridging Philosophical Differences
1:06:18 β Make Meaningful Work and the Power of Micro-Interactions
1:13:57 β Bringing Human Skills to Kids Through Sparkle Studio
1:22:42 β The Contribution We Owe the World
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Who is Josephine Wong?
Josephine Wong is a co-founder and principal at Apogee, a pioneering user experience consultancy founded in 1998 with a vision to bring human-centred design to Hong Kong and the wider region. Over the past 25 years, Apogee has played a significant role in advancing UX across Asia.
Sheβs also the co-founder of Make Meaningful Work, a studio and learning platform helping people unlock their potential by focusing on meaningful work in environments where they can learn, improve, and thrive together.
If that wasnβt enough, Jo is also the co-founder of UX Hong Kong, an annual learning event that brings together passionate practitioners from across product and service design to explore and celebrate exceptional experience creation.
A committed and influential contributor to our field, Jo has shared her expertise on global platforms including Beat Camp, We Can Do Better, the Reorient podcast, and UXpod.
Her work is deeply informed by her multicultural upbringing and global perspective, allowing her to bridge cultural nuance and inspire designers and researchers around the world.
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Find Josephine here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-wong-6801922/
X: https://x.com/igiwong
Apogee: https://www.apogeehk.com/
Make Meaningful Work: https://www.makemeaningfulwork.com/
UX Hong Kong: https://uxhongkong.com/
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Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).
Apple Podcast
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Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here:
Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn
The Space InBetween Website
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59:23
Roberta Dombrowski β Redefining Leadership and Thriving at Work
Roberta Dombrowski invites us to rethink success, tune into our intuition, and lead with intention βsharing how mindfulness, healing, and self-compassion can transform the way we work and live.
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Episode chapters
00:00 β Welcome and Introduction
04:25 β Being a Transracial Adoptee and Finding Voice
14:11 β The Restless Career Journey and Job-Hopping
22:54 β Lessons from Anxiety, Burnout, and Slowing Down
32:25 β Mindfulness, Somatic Work, and Coaching Practice
42:46 β The Challenges Facing UX Researchers Today
50:42 β Systemic vs Individual Burnout
58:10 β How to Navigate Red Flags in Hiring
1:06:01 β The Role of Intuition and Inner Wisdom
1:15:51 β Rediscovering Fun and Joy at Work
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Who is Roberta Dombrowski?
Roberta Dombrowski is a certified leadership coach and experience strategist, dedicated to transforming the way people live, learn, and work.
She is the founder of Learn Mindfully, a coaching and training company she launched in 2022. Since then, Roberta has supported hundreds of leaders from companies such as Adobe, Instacart, ServiceNow, Zapier, and Zoom.
Previously, Roberta was a Research Partner at Maze, where she helped clients maximize the platformβs potential. Before that, she was VP of User Research at User Interviews, where she built and scaled the research function while tackling the meta-challenge of researching researchers.
Roberta is also the author of Consciously Crafting Your Career Path, a self-reflection and career planning workbook designed to help people shape fulfilling and intentional careers. Her insights have been featured on podcasts like Lead the People and BLOC, and at events such as Rosenfeld Mediaβs Advancing Research conference.
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Find Roberta here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertadombrowski/
Company website: https://learnmindfully.co/
Personal website: https://robertalearns.com/Β
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Subscribe to Brave UX
Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).
Apple Podcast
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Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here:
Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn
The Space InBetween Website
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1:18:16
Gloria Osardu - Slowing Down to See the System
Gloria Osardu urges researchers to slow down, understand the business, and partner with intentionβsharing why empathy, alignment, and asking the right questions are the foundation for research that matters.
Highlights include:
05:02 β How did your parents shape your worldview and curiosity?
15:22 β Why is success as a research leader about facilitating others?
24:26 β What does βunderstanding the businessβ really mean?
30:43 β What does βskin in the gameβ mean for stakeholders?
45:24 β How has embracing slowness changed your approach to leadership?
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Who is Gloria Osardu?
Gloria is a Senior Director and Global Head of UX Research, Brand, and Consumer Insights at Yahoo!, where she leads initiatives to deepen Yahooβs understanding of consumer behaviour, aligning the companyβs brand, product, and marketing strategies with these insights.
Before joining Yahoo!, Gloria was Senior Director and Head of UX Research and Insights at Gusto, where she built and led Gustoβs Global Product Experience Research Team, overseeing both research and research operations professionals.
She has also held senior research roles at Amazon Web Services, where she led UX Research Operations and Programs, and at Capital One, where she headed UX Research for their Enterprise AI and ML Platforms.
With extensive commercial experience in customer insights and analytics, Gloria also brings an impressive academic background, holding a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction, a Master of Science in Applied Health Informatics, and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.
A committed contributor to our field, Gloria is a long-standing mentor with the Computing Research Association and has been featured in User Weekly, as well as on podcasts like Black Stories and Saving UX.
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Find Gloria here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloriaosardu/
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Subscribe to Brave UX
Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).
Apple Podcast
Spotify
YouTube
Podbean
Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!
LinkedIn
TikTok
Instagram
Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here:
Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn
The Space InBetween Website
Welcome to the Brave UX with Brendan Jarvis podcast, your go-to destination for exploring the intersection of UX research, design, and product. Do you share a passion for developing and launching products that deliver superior and ethical experiences? If so, join your host, Brendan Jarvis, as he talks to industry and thought leaders in UX, product management, and product design. Get inspired and informed, and challenge yourself to become a better leader and think outside the canvas, both in what you do and occasionally in who you are.