Frankie's Journey to Becoming a Senior UX Designer & Her Mission to Demystify the UX Space

Frankie Kastenbaum shares her journey into UX, job search strategies, portfolio tips, and how to avoid burnout while growing your design career.

Episode Summary

In this episode of Cristian Talks Product Design, I sit down with Frankie Kastenbaum, a senior UX designer and content creator, to explore her journey toward a thriving design career. Frankie shares how she found her way into UX design and how she’s navigated her career, sharing valuable tips along the way.

Frankie offers actionable advice on job searching in today’s competitive market, how to apply for roles beyond your experience level, and the power of leveraging communities like Slack groups to find opportunities. She also talks about the importance of avoiding burnout and maintaining work-life balance as a designer.

We also discuss her recently released UX Portfolio E-Book (The UX Portfolio Sandwich Method)—a practical guide to crafting case studies that capture hiring managers’ attention.

If you're looking for inspiration on breaking into UX, growing your career, or refining your portfolio, this episode is packed with valuable insights.


Episode Highlights & Timestamps (Updated)

  • [00:00] Introduction & Guest Welcome

  • [00:01:40] From Engineering to UX: Frankie's Pivot into UX

  • [00:05:00] Entrepreneurship & Frankie's Tees

  • [00:10:50] The Role of Bootcamps

  • [00:17:00] Landing Early UX Roles & Overcoming Job Search Challenges

  • [00:18:20] Job Search Tips and Slack Groups

  • [00:24:24] Years of experience and how they impact the job search

  • [00:29:20] Agency Vs. Corporate Vs. Freelance

  • [00:33:40] Generalists in Today’s Market

  • [00:37:50] Avoiding Burnout and Maintaining Work-Life Balance

  • [00:44:40] Frankie’s Journey to Sharing UX Career Advice and Content

  • [00:46:42] Announcing Frankie's UX Portfolio E-Book


Stay Connected

🔗 Frankie Kastenbaum’s LinkedIn
🔗 Frankie’s UX Website (It's Frankly UX)


Links & Resources Mentioned

📘 Frankie’s UX Portfolio E-Book – The UX Portfolio Sandwich Method
💬 Designer Slack Community – A curated list of Slack groups for UX designers
🗽 The Support Group (NYC UX Community) – A community for designers in and outside NYC🌍 Democracy Lab – A volunteer platform for UX professionals
🛠 UX Rescue – A platform for volunteering and gaining UX experience


Closing Notes

Thanks for tuning in to Cristian Talks Product Design! If you enjoyed this conversation with Frankie, consider subscribing, rating, and sharing the podcast with your network.

To stay updated on future episodes, subscribe to my Substack where I share new podcast episodes, UX insights, and career resources.

See you next time!