What if you’ve been doing everything “right” and still can’t figure out why the job keeps slipping through your fingers?
In this episode, Natalie sits down with Colleen, a former teacher who made a bold leap into UX design — only to find herself stuck in a cycle of promising interviews that kept ending in rejection. Four interviews with the same company. Solid portfolio. Strong materials. And still, no.
Instead of giving up, Colleen got curious about the why.
What followed was a transformation that went far deeper than interview prep. Colleen didn’t just change what she was doing — she changed how she saw herself. And when she finally walked into the right conversation, something shifted. The interview ran over time. The word that kept coming up? Fun. Three days later, instead of a second round invitation, she got an offer.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why being smart and working hard still isn’t enough — and the one missing piece that changes everything
- The powerful end-of-interview question that made the hiring manager visibly smile (and you can steal it)
- How Colleen used her own rejections as data to completely rewire her interview approach
- Why waiting to feel confident until after you land the job is the trap that keeps most people stuck
- The difference between advice that tells you what to do — and the insight that finally explains why it’s not working
This episode is for anyone who’s been grinding in silence, wondering why their effort isn’t translating into results. The answer might surprise you.
🎧 Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and if this one resonated, send it to someone who needs to hear it today.
Listen to the Full Episode:
SUBSCRIBE FOR WEEKLY INSPIRATION ON
APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY
Featured on the Show:
-
- If you leave me a review, I’ve got a freebie for you. My 8 Reasons Why You Get Interviews But No Offers course is usually $97. However, if you leave me a review on your favorite podcast app, I will give you access to this course that has been responsible for landing people offers. All you have to do is email me a screenshot of your review!
- Check out my YouTube Channel!
- Let’s connect! Add me on LinkedIn or send me an email.
- 40 Best Career Coach Podcasts
- 20 Best Canadian Career Podcasts
DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT
Hey there, I’m Natalie Fisher. I’m a six-figure business builder, a mom of a two-year-old, the recoverer of a ten-year narcissistic relationship, and now in a super healthy one. And most of all, I’m a human who’s figuring this out with you. This podcast is about how to use your mind to thrive in your career and create the subconscious breakthroughs that you need to get there. The subconscious blocks that you don’t even know you have to achieving your highest levels of earning and your best zone of genius. moments and days in the flow. That is my goal for you. Let’s dive into the episode. And before we dive into today’s episode, I want to remind you that I’m the coach who is always going to point you back in the direction of your own wisdom. And so before we get started, I want to remind you, listen to your own wisdom first. This means listen to yourself first and me second and anyone else for that matter. Take what resonates and throw away what doesn’t unapologetically. I won’t be mad, I won’t be offended, in fact I will be proud of you for doing so. Because I know from a lot of personal experience that anything is only as effective as the amount of resonance that it has within your uniquely built brain. And something is only going to work if it feels right to you and if you believe in it. Or if you want to do the work to believe in it. And that’s what I’m here to help you do. Your inner wisdom is infinitely more valuable than mine when it comes to getting your outcomes and for what you are here to do on this planet. So I’m here to help you steer that wisdom in the most powerful way possible. I’m so happy you’re here. I’m so glad you’re here part of this. I’m so glad we’re here on the planet at the same time. Let’s dive into today’s episode. We’re going to get into the good, bad, the ugly, everything that… Colleen has been through since she came to me and our journey working together. Colleen, introduce yourself. Tell us a bit about what you do and anything you want to share to kick us off. I think Natalie, I can’t believe I’m here doing this. This is so exciting. I am a, currently I’m a UX designer and I basically transitioned careers. I was a teacher for many years and I knew I got to this point where I was like, this isn’t for me. But what do I do next? So I found myself on YouTube, like I tend to, and I eventually landed on UX design. And so that led me to signing up for this bootcamp program that had a money back guarantee saying if you went through a program and you applied to jobs every single week for six months and you didn’t get anything, you would get your money back. I was like, okay, let’s do it. Sounds like a good deal. I graduated from the bootcamp program and then. And I was just applying for jobs. My first interview came in January and oh man. But thinking back to what I was thinking, the way I was feeling in that very first interview was just mountains away from how I feel about it now. I found you Natalie because I was rejected from that first interview. And I found your YouTube channel, which led me to your podcast, your podcast on rejection. That was life-changing for me after that interview. And then I managed to sales my way into a second interview with that company, although it was for a different department. finished the continue interviewing with that same company. landed myself three more interviews with that company, but it ultimately ended in rejection. When I was rejected after those four interviews. with the same exact company, that was like a new love for me. didn’t know what to do with myself. I was toying with that idea of signing up program right around then. told myself that if I didn’t get it, that I would sign up. And I reached out to you on LinkedIn. And I think I had asked you something about that. I ended up getting the no and signing up. I’m glad you brought that up because I feel like a lot of people have that same thought. They’re like, I’m waiting to get a yes. I’m not sure if I will. The program is so much more than just you’re getting the job. Tell us a little bit about how you’ve evolved and how you’ve facilitated that involvement of who you were when you joined and now that’s more than just you getting the job, which we will talk about your celebration, of course, at the end. Tell us a little bit more about the involvement of you as a human. I know it’s come a long way because I hear your voice when I’m in other situations or this isn’t even a work scenario. I’m like, Natalie would tell me this. I know also because I tell other people the same things that you tell me or that I’ve heard you say that I now know are a hundred percent true and are completely helpful in getting me to be successful ultimately and to be hired. And so when I think about what it is besides getting a job. It has to do with confidence. I’ve definitely noticed even in some of my mentors, the way that they speak, even people who did get hired, I would hear peers of mine say things like, Oh, I don’t know why they hired me. can’t believe they hired me. And I found it shocking because once someone hands you the thing that you supposedly want, right? But these people I knew who had what they wanted or thought they had what they wanted, and they were still having these thoughts and these saying these things and feeling really. down and I was surprised and I was thinking by the time I get hired, like I don’t feel that way or I don’t talk that way because I want to be way more confident and I know that I am now. It’s great that you brought that to the conversation because so many people think that once I get the thing, then I’ll be happy once I get. the job once I get the pay, once I get to my goal, then I’ll be happy. I noticed something really clear there. It’s not about that because there are so many people that you saw that had that already and were still not happy about their next level of problems. Well, now how am going to do it? How did I even get it? Was it a mistake? Imposter syndrome kicks in and it’s because they haven’t managed that root problem of their thoughts and their feelings aligning and then that confidence and sense of certainty that comes from themselves. which is something that I know you worked on really hard because you implemented the work, especially in the beginning with the intentional self-confidence. And that’s where you set the foundation for being able to handle whatever happens with your success or if you get rejected, because it’s really about your thoughts and feelings that create how you feel, not the external circumstance. saw so many people on your website. commenting, they’re giving the rating on the program and they’re commenting. I was at this level of job or I had this executive level position and I was still dealing with these things. I was thinking like, wow, that’s pretty profound, right? Here I am trying to break into this industry and get a junior level design job, right? I’m thinking, wow, when these people are in charge or I hear people on our calls who talk about negotiating million dollar deals. can’t wrap my mind around it, but yet in the background. they’re still having these issues and I think, wow, like… Yeah, and it’s totally preventable. You can feel happy in any situation. You can feel confident and certain in any situation. It’s not about the external circumstance and that’s really what needs to be addressed. And that’s what isn’t really being addressed in other programs. We always talking about changing the circumstance and taking the action instead of focusing on the thought and the feeling. And that’s exactly why I knew… That it didn’t matter what field I was interested in or what I was doing. Humans are humans. Jobs are jobs. My thought was she might not have even heard of this field I’m trying to do, but does that even matter? Good point. It did happen a lot where people were like, well, have you ever coached someone in data science or have you ever coached a lawyer? Or I would say I haven’t, but you know your profession. You know that I helped you get the wisdom out that you need to kick ass at your profession. Exactly. Yeah. That is a great point. It does not matter, people. If you’re thinking like, it’s not for you because you have some weird job somewhere, I’m going to say right now, like, that’s not true. It’s definitely the mindset. So what do you think your biggest fear was that you had to overcome in saying yes and joining us inside the program? Yeah. I… Whoa. Good question. Maybe you didn’t have that many fears. I think for me it was I wanted to believe… that I was smart enough to do it on my own. Me and that person that I’ve got a master’s degree. I’m like, I’m going into this program, doing this bootcamp thing on my own. Like I’m super smart. I can figure it out. I spent hours on YouTube, on these blogs, everywhere you can look for free. And then it clicked in my mind. I’m still not where I want to be. I could probably learn something from this woman and a lifetime membership. I totally think that’s worth it. I can figure it out. Yeah. Yeah. And I love that you said that you’re super smart. I love people who say that about themselves, because that just makes it so much easier for you to come in and be like, I’m really smart. I can make that work. Now with the right tools, I can make it work even faster and I can be even with them. I think that’s one of the biggest things too. A lot of people intellectually are super smart, but they’re still not where they want to be. And I think that’s the key distinction. If you’re super smart and you know you’re not where you want to be. That’s when you know that you need support. An outside perspective from somebody who resonates with you, someone who can give you something different than what you have already been going around in your own head with. Exactly. So that’s what it was for me. I’m really glad that I decided to jump in and jump in I did. So what do you think was worth most of the time? So the program has a lot of different components. It’s got the modules, it’s got the weekly live coaching calls, it’s got the community. Where do you think you spent most of your time? How do you think you made it work the best for you? That shifted. So in the beginning, it was definitely in the videos. It soon very quickly shifted to the live coaching calls because that’s where I was showing up and that’s where you were doing such a good job of holding up this mirror of what I was saying to you and then able to from a video is great, but I didn’t. really need those videos until I was in that stage. I needed the interview videos, but I wasn’t there yet. I heard the confidence module in the beginning, but just hearing it wasn’t enough. had to come to the calls and I had to get through with you. I’ve definitely watched that first call replay of myself talking with you and. What you said to me, I was like, wow, I can’t believe I didn’t see it at the time. Now I can see it from a mile away. I know exactly what she’s talking about. In the moment I was nodding my head. Yeah, I guess. And it took a while for it to click. Yeah. And that’s very normal. And I buy it came out of left field, but you’re like, no, it’s right on your face. Like I can see it. oh Oh, I thought it was hiding that so well, but clearly I wasn’t. think of coaching as like, if you’re sitting in a jar and you’re trying to read the label from the inside and it’s upside down and backwards and blurry, you can’t see it. But if I’m on the outside of the jar, I can see the label really clearly and then I can just read it to you. And then you can be like, oh, okay. Cause an outside perspective is helpful. If you’ve been in your own head with the same stuff for a long time, that outside perspective is what people need to just shift. So let’s move to talking about your job offer and what you think the key was that ended up sealing the deal for that. Thinking back, since I’ve joined, I thought back to there were really four main turning points for me. One of those was definitely figuring out what I was doing wrong in my interviews. As I mentioned, I had over four interviews in the beginning. Looking back, it was really that I had really solid materials, portfolio, resume, all that was getting me. really good results. So in those four interviews, looking back at what I did wrong was huge. Giving myself the feedback that I didn’t get from them. Then she called me and I assumed I didn’t get it because I assumed if I had gotten it, someone else would have bothered to reach. By the time she called me and told me the news, I asked what it was. She really didn’t have any feedback for me because… I had invested all this time and energy and I felt like I killed it and, and then it just fell flat. You released those eight videos. reasons why you don’t get the job. And yes, exactly. And then I was able to identify which of the reasons. And again, they were different each time. That, that result was different from the first interview and the energy I had in that interview was way different. And the thing I identified is what I. quote did wrong in the first interview was different from what I think wrong in the fourth. Having that knowledge alone, gave me so much control. I was so out of control of everything that was happening. I had a list of the things I wanted to say. I was about, oh, I have these stories. I want to make sure I tell them these teaching stories and this educational company. They were hiring for designers. I was like, I have to make sure I talk about this. I had two goals. said, I wanted to. uh Land two interviews. wrote that down. There was a Facebook post in a group I belong to. It’s like a meetup group locally. There was a post where someone was basically looking, it was a small business. He’s the CEO. He’s looking for senior designers. And he replied, the interview was great. It was really chill. I didn’t feel like he was drilling me in any way. asked me really basic questions. By the end. You know, I remember using the word fun a lot. Oh, this is fun. Yeah. Or he would say something and I’m like, oh, that sounds like fun. I remember saying that word a lot. And I remember that at the very end, he asked me if I had any questions for him. And of course I busted out the ultimate recommendation question you give in the program. Should I say it? Yeah, go ahead and share. You told us to ask for the person who’s hired in this role. What would this person need to do? in order to blow your mind. And I asked it and it noticeably made him smile. We were on the camera call, but I saw him smile and I laughed. sat back and he thought about it for a minute. And then he basically told me his answer was, I want my customers to be blown away. I want to under promise and over deliver these changes I want to implement. was like, crazy. I’m totally on board with that. And I could just tell he really cared about his customers and his quality. person in that sense. do think that it’s a question that people do not hear very often and it really shows that you’re thinking about them and you want to see if you align because the answer to that question is obviously going to tell you a lot which it did and then you were able to get on the same page about a key value that you both had. Which was putting the customers first and having that under promise over deliver which is not something that all companies are focused on. So I was like, yeah, I’m totally on board with that. Even though I was lost in terms of the business itself and what they do and, you know, who their clients are, that part was totally foreign to me. But of course I’ve had to figure it out these past few weeks and learn it. It’s no big deal. You’re not expected to know all of it before you go in. I’m being pretty gracious with myself and asking questions when I need and taking the approach of I want more understanding, asking for what would help me get my job better. None of that was. in my mind before this program. Yeah. It’s just your next step of growth and your next step of evolution. One of the strengths you have in the program is evaluating yourself effectively. One of the things that you came to the calls and said that you had done was I watched myself back or I took note of what I said. You were able to pinpoint those reasons yourself. Oh, man. um So yeah, talk about your mindset and what got you to make those shifts so quickly. Yeah. Real quick, I wanted to say that interview we did lasted a little over time. guess in his mind, we were only going to talk for 45 minutes or so. were talking for like an hour. He said, he was like, oh gosh, we’re like over time. I remember asking him, are you going to do another round or what is, you know, and he said, yeah, I think so. It was three days later, I got an email and they were asking me what my rates would be. And I was confused because I was like waiting for a second interview. But instead that came and then I went to your program because I was like, I don’t know what to say. I remember there was a module talking about this. I responded with what you said. Then I set up a meeting and then it was like, okay, if comes to this, like we can talk about it. Then the next day there was an email with an offer. I was a little confusing to be honest, cause I was ready for round two, like cool then if they want to bring me back, right? But yeah, that’s how it ended up happening. this your first UI paid contract since you transitioned into the field? I anything. I know it’s so weird. I’ll myself that now online. It’s happening. It’s happening. Yeah. And then, and yeah, this is the first of many opportunities that you’ll get to work in this field and to up level and to learn and do more. It’s such a big thing. You, you made this big Switch education to UX, UI tech. Huge. had signed up for coaching and other things. It was like back when I was a yoga instructor. And so I had a mentor and I knew the value of mentorship. knew if I signed up for this program, I knew I would be coming every week. I knew I would be emailing you. I would be doing that in order to really get the value and the benefit. The value you get out of it is much more than what you end up investing. in beginning, this being a contract position I have right now, I know I’m going to have to go out and find another position eventually. I know I’ve done it and I know I could get more coaching. This position is the foundation for the next better position with everything that you’re doing here. What would you say to people who are not in the program? They don’t really know how it works. How would you share what it’s like? Even if you’re a person who doesn’t want to be in the spotlight, you’re going to reap many benefits. Just watching the replays of the calls was a big one for me because I dug into the vault and I dug into it. When you first started doing the call and watching these random strangers talk about their problems. I would put that on in the background on the days, but I didn’t feel like a hundred percent in mentally. would listen. Thanks for sharing that. I’m thinking about all those. the coaching calls and I’m thinking, wow, there was a lot of calls there. And it’s also, it’s really cool because you get to see some of those people who now did podcast interviews with me. They shared about their success. You get to go back and see they did this, they had these shifts and seeing someone else’s journey. It also cements in that is going to be me. That is going to happen for me. That was a big part of it. Believing it was going to work. Trusting it was going to work. And those people, their success stories, all the people on your website that had great things to say about you, those were the things in the end that made me just really sit back and think. They did it. They got what they wanted. That means there’s gotta be a way that I can work the same thing. Especially because you’re super smart. I had one of my clients say, I started thinking, why not me? Why not me? It started becoming like, yeah, of course me, why not? And then there was no reason why not. And then it just starts, you took what you needed. When someone joins, they don’t have to listen to all the past calls. They don’t have to watch all the videos. They can come and get one shift from a coaching call, watch other people get coached, get what they needed, or they can raise their hand and get coached themselves. What do you think is next for you? What are you looking forward to? What are you most excited about moving forward? Oh man. It’s just cool that I know I have something. really solid. There’s so much going on around us right now and people losing jobs left and right and economy that economy that and I feel extremely solid in one. Yeah. And your ability to get something else because it’s true and I got you brought that up. There’s a lot of scary stuff in the news while those things are happening. I’ve seen both. I’ve heard both. And right now I am honestly just too busy to pay any attention to mind at all. I am pretty darn focused on what needs to happen at my job and how to be the best person that they hired and how I can, like he said, blow those clients out of water in the end. with that mentality, you will always be in demand because no matter where we’re at economically, people are still going to need value. uh being in your new role, how is life different? I’m in a room now that we essentially we turned into an office. Okay, so you got an official, designated an official office space. Exactly. We found this great desk at Costco that like fit perfectly. You’re getting paid now, so you’re bringing in income. Yeah, exactly. Now, instead of listening to your podcast, I’m listening to these books or these things that relate to my work. I always like to listen to something. It keeps me motivated. I always still listen to this podcast when you put it out there. but I’m not going through the archives like I was. It’s really different and it’s just really cool. I feel like it happened so quickly, but also it felt like forever at the scene. Yeah, it does that, doesn’t it? The thing is you’re thinking all day anyway. You could be taking a physical break from doing actions or sending physical messages, but you’re never taking a break from thinking. You might as well be thinking in a way that’s going to make what you want to happen. That is something the program supports everybody in is helping them align their thinking from the beginning so that then when they go take those actions, the actions are going to be effective. You get to skip a lot of the emotional suffering that a lot of people are going through. Yeah. And you’re supported through it. So you’re not alone. That’s a big part. It’s not a problem that it’s there sometimes either because we are humans and that’s okay. I got to the point where like my husband can only say so many things to me. I’m emotional or I’m feeling really upset or sad and he’s not a professional. Yeah. So actually that’s a really good question I have for you because you sound like you’re really social. You’ve got lots of friends. You’ve got a great husband. What would be the difference between advice your friends or husband could give you versus being in this program and taking in what is offered in the program? Oh man. I’m all about smaller circles of quality. I feel like a lot of what you get to is the why. A lot of what people will tell you is the what. Applying for jobs sucks. Everything sucks. It’s really hard. Or yeah, you got rejected. Like, I’m so sorry. That’s the what. But the why part, I remember in your podcast when you were talking about being hard on ourselves, that was a big one for me. Because you were talking about how to talk to yourself and why we’re hard on ourselves, why we put pressure on ourselves, things like that. No one, no friend, no family member, regardless of how much they loved me or what their intentions were, no one could identify that for me. That was the why. And so that for me, yeah, that for me was like where the gold was lying in the value of the program. I love that. Yeah. Why are you getting those results? Yeah. I worked. with a lot of other coaches in the past that would help me like, do this, do this, the what? Like send out more applications. Oh, you got rejected? Oh, that’s fine. Just get over it. Send out more. Do more. I did that. I was one of those people who would do like a hundred things and get more frustrated because it wasn’t working. And I feel like that’s what led me to this deep journey on I need to figure out why. Then I can help other people discovering that for them. And that’s what could set them free and in getting their own results. Thanks. Yeah. Yeah. why I asked you that. Yeah. think that’d be what it is. And I remember saying that to my husband one day because I heard some interview podcast you did and, yeah, you talked about why we’re hot on ourselves. And of course he’s telling me like, well, don’t beat yourself up. Yeah. Well, I am. Yeah. It’s like, just don’t do it. Just don’t do it. You could just. If you could just stop doing it, then we would all just stop doing it. Thank you so much for sharing all that you have shared and congratulations. And I’m super excited to see what’s going to be next because the possibilities really are unlimited. All right, so we’re going to sign off. Thank you so much for listening.
- Don’t miss an episode, follow the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or RSS.
- Leave me a review in Apple Podcasts.

