weekend intensive
CAREER CLARITY DAYS
A weekend of workshops to help you find your next design or UX role with confidence.
online • AUGUST 22 & 23
Throughout your career, you’ve followed the prescribed path: Refine your craft. Prove your value. Chase the next promotion.
But as design and UX have changed, career next steps feel fuzzier. Should you stay the course? Reposition yourself? Pivot into something totally new? You may wonder if you even have the luxury of making these kinds of decisions now with so much uncertainty everywhere.
Our answer? You do! But it’s more important than ever to be clear about what you want—and know how to position your experience in ways that make the case for you.
That vision for the next stage of your career—and the language and materials to share it with the world—is what you’ll develop at Career Clarity Days.
This weekend intensive is designed to help you get clear on what you want (and don’t want)—and learn how to tell that story to your colleagues, professional connections, and hiring managers… even if it feels new or scary.
You’ll walk away not just knowing your why—but also how to communicate it through your resume, portfolio, and other job application materials.
Stop spiraling about your portfolio or the state of the market. Start positioning yourself in ways that actually work right now.
Career transformation coach and director of coaching programs at Active Voice. Former UX director and hiring manager.
Facilitated by
Author of Good Job: Designing Interviews & Interviewing in Design. Experience at Lyft, Twitter, Peloton, Facebook, and Google.
Design recruiter and career coach. Former chair of the Master of Interaction Design program at California College of the Arts (CCA).
Free book with registration
You’ll also get a copy of Good Job after the event.
career clarity days
One weekend. Three experts. Two days of hands-on workshops, powerful coaching, and personalized office hours.
Saturday & Sunday, August 22-23
WHAT’S INCLUDED
✓ Two half-day sessions full of clarifying, action-oriented programming held over the weekend—so work won’t be a distraction.
✓ Peer-to-peer discussions and collaboration sessions designed to help you build yourself a community of support.
✓ Hands-on time to gather and refine your best career stories and integrate them into job application materials that resonate.
✓ Office hours with your facilitators between and after the workshops to answer questions and give feedback on your job search.
Saturday: focus & frame
Get clear on what you want next in your career—and learn how to show off the skills that will get you there.
YOUR CAREER SELF-ASSESSMENT
Facilitator: Jen Dionisio
Let go of who you’re supposed to be—and own what you really want and need instead
You know you’re ready for something new—but what that looks like feels fuzzy. It’s hard to imagine a future worth pursuing when your head is full of doubts: I’m not talented enough. I’m not legible enough. I’m too old. I’m too burned out. The market’s too weird.
These are all great arguments for staying stagnant. But that’s not what you want. You want a career that feels meaningful, supportive, and achievable. One that builds on all the experiences and knowledge you’ve cultivated over the years. One that doesn’t make you feel like you’re just treading water until the perfect opportunity falls into your lap—or you hit retirement.
In this session, Jen will show you how to move past all those fears and doubts, and actually define what you want next instead.
what we’ll do
Unpack the limiting beliefs and internal stories making you feel stuck and uncertain
Get clear on your wants and whys—beyond the “musts”and “shoulds”
Develop a clear vision for your career future
Set actionable, measurable goals for your career in both the near and long term
Strategic Storytelling for Designers
Facilitator: Margo Stern
Get specific about your strengths and skills—then uncover the right stories to show them off
You and your career are full of stories: things you learned, triumphs you had, obstacles you overcame. But for most of us, when we’re asked, “So tell me about yourself…”, we can’t seem to find the plot. It’s not that the stories aren’t there—it’s that we’ve never been taught how to find them, let alone tell them well. But we can design these stories strategically, with repeatable patterns, that are fully authentic to your voice and experience.
In this session, we’ll get specific about your strengths and skills as a designer, then construct the stories from your experience that show them off. We’ll cover how to turn those stories into formats that scale from screener interviews to full-length case studies. In the end, you’ll have a robust repository you can draw from for the rest of your career.
What we’ll do
Name your core strengths and skills as a designer—not just what you did, but what you love to do
Mine your past work for the projects that best show off those strengths
Learn how to shape a project into a case study, including the STAR format
Build a story bank you can pull from for interviews and your portfolio
SuNDAY: PITCH & PRACTICE
Get comfortable touting your experience—and making sure your stories resonate in your application materials.
PRACTICE YOUR STORY
Facilitator: Margo Stern
Get the expert guidance and peer feedback you need to make your story shine
At the end of Saturday’s workshops, we’ll give you tools to further expand your story bank—and assess which stories are the best fit for your career goals. Then we’ll reconvene on Sunday to focus in on one of your most powerful stories—and make it ready for the spotlight.
During this session, you’ll get tips and advice from Margo on how to make your story sing—plus peer feedback from people who actually understand what you do.
You’ll also hear how others are framing their stories—which is one of the most powerful ways to get new ideas to improve your own.
What you’ll learn
Techniques for touting your accomplishments… without feeling like a fraud
How to choose which details to highlight so your story connects with your audience—and your career vision
Compelling story structures that keep your audience engaged—and position you at your best
PITCH WITH PURPOSE
Facilitator: Josh Silverman
Pitch yourself—and communicate your vision—with courage and clarity
You’ve got the clarity, the internal alignment, the drive, and the story assets—now it’s time to take that show on the proverbial road. This session will help you get super tactical about how to adapt your newfound story assets into job searching materials and make visuals that support your pitch.
Then we’ll dive into where and how to use these materials through your career exploration. We’ll unpack the different kinds of interviews where you’ll tell your stories—informational interviews, screenings, portfolio loops, and more. We’ll also talk about all the players and roles you may encounter in the interview process and how to show up to those conversations with confidence.
What YOU’LL LEARN
How to design and structure case study materials and portfolio assets
Which asset helps you unlock the next stage of the interview process at each step
The difference between telling and selling (yourself!)
Staying focused in your purpose even during presentation practice
Tips for networking, intros, and building relationships as you go
office hours
Get personal support from one of your facilitators—or even all three of them! Your ticket to Career Clarity Days also includes access to three sets of office hours with Jen, Margo, and Josh.
Personal support
Office hours are the ideal place to get individual advice and personalized feedback directly from your facilitators.
intimate setting
Too shy to ask during the workshop? Bring your burning questions to office hours and get help in a smaller setting.
multiple time slots
We’ll hold office hours three times: after Saturday’s session, before Sunday’s session, and after the main event wraps up.
Throughout the weekend, you’ll also forge real connections with your peers—going past small talk and easy answers, and building relationships that will continue supporting your career development.
WHO SHOULD JOIN US
✓ You work in any flavor of UX or product design, including research, content, design ops, or strategy
✓ You’re mid-career or higher—and feeling like you’ve hit a professional wall or glass ceiling
✓ You’ve been thinking hard about what’s next, but feel too overwhelmed to take action
✓ You want to reimagine your design career—not a full pivot into a new field
✓ You want to be able to position your past experience to match what you’re seeking
✓ You feel isolated in your job search—and want to connect with other job seekers in the field
your facilitators
JEN DIONISIO
Director of coaching programs at Active Voice
Jen is the director of coaching programs at Active Voice, where she helps designers heal from burnout and people-pleasing and rethink their relationships to work. She is an ICF-certified coach who earned her certification from Leadership That Works. Jen has more than a decade of experience helping 1:1 clients, direct reports, and teams get clear on their career direction and growth goals.
MARGO STERN
Staff content designer and author of Good Job
Margo Stern is a staff content designer and author of the book, Good Job: Designing Interviews and Interviewing in Design. It’s a two-sided book offering practical, informed advice for hiring managers and job-seekers alike. She’s worked as a manager and IC at Google, Twitter, Facebook, and Peloton, and is currently loving her role at Lyft.
JOSH SILVERMAN
Founder at PeopleWork Partners, career coach, and former chair of the Master of Interaction Design program at CCA
Josh helps founders, CEOs, and design teams hire well, build culture, and find their footing. As Founder & CEO of PeopleWork Partners, he's placed emerging leaders at Netflix, OpenAI, Cisco, Target, and beyond—and advised early teams at Sequoia Design Lab and Sutter Hill Ventures. For 30 years he's worked at the intersection of entrepreneurship, design, and education.
DETAILED agenda
Saturday: Focus & Frame
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We’ll kick off with a coaching session designed to clarify where you’re stuck and get you focused for the weekend.
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Learn how to stop playing defense and set an inspiring career vision.
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We’ll spend the second half of day 1 focusing on how to frame our past experiences to align with our new career visions. We’ll show you how to identify the stories that make you stand out—and support your career aspirations.
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Clarify any questions or get personal support with your challenges by jumping into office hours with Jen, Margo, or Josh.
(Optional)
SUNDAY: Pitch & Practice
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Before Day 2 kicks off, Jen, Margo, and Josh will host a second set of office hours.
(Optional)
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We’ll open day 2 by focusing in on one career story—and practicing making it shine.
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Your final workshop will focus on developing tactical skills for translating your stories into materials that resonate with hiring managers.
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We’ll close day 2 by reflecting on what’s shifted for you—and what you’ll do next.
You’ll leave with a clear action plan for the next phase of your search—and a group of peers to cheer you on.
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After the sessions end, each facilitator will host one final set of office hours to answer questions and give feedback.
Career Clarity Days will be held virtually on August 22 and 23, 2026.
Your ticket includes:
Two half days of workshops and coaching.
The curriculum runs from 12pm-4pm ET (9am-1pm PT) each day.Three sets of office hours (optional).
These take place outside of the main program: From 4:15-5pm ET on Saturday, from 11-11:45am ET on Sunday, and 4:15-5pm ET on Sunday. You can attend as many as you’d like.A free paperback copy of Good Job.
You’ll receive your copy after the event.
Register now
Early-bird Ticket
$359
Snag your ticket at the early-bird rate and save $70. Through August 4 only.
NEED-BASED Ticket
$149
We have 10 tickets available at a discounted price for people experiencing financial hardships. Sold out.
STANDARD Ticket
$429
From August 5 until registration closes on August 20, 2026.
FAQ
Need something not answered here? Send us a note—we’d love to answer it personally.
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Registration will close on August 20, 2026, or when we hit event capacity. We’ll let you know when tickets are limited.
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We allow for ticket transfers up until 48 hours before the event, and partial refunds up to 28 days before the event. Please see our official ticketing and refund policies for details.
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Yes! Please send us an email at throughline@activevoicehq.com with any specific information you need included on your invoice and we’ll do our best to accommodate.
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We had a limited number of tickets available for attendees currently experiencing financial hardship due to layoffs without severance, extended unemployment, or other extenuating circumstances. They have all been claimed.
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All attendees will receive a free copy of Margo Stern’s book, Good Job: Designing Interviews and Interviewing in Design. We’ll collect your mailing address during/after the intensive and send your copy of the book after.
Design your career with insight, strategy, and heart.
Join us AUGUST 22 & 23.
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