What happens when a UX leader who’s built billion-dollar systems for Fortune 500 companies gets ghosted by recruiters and told they’re “overqualified”? In this episode, Dray sits down with Chris Nelson – former Head of Design at Walmart Fulfillment Services – for a raw, unfiltered conversation on layoffs, LinkedIn noise, AI chaos, and the exhausting ritual of job searching in 2025.
Chris shares stories from Verizon to JCPenney, explains why he left startups behind, and gives insight into the shifting world of user experience and design. They break down how AI is being used (and misused) in the hiring process, the emotional toll of recruiter ghosting, and how networking is more critical than ever.
If you’ve ever yelled “JUST TRANSFER ME TO A HUMAN,” questioned if your resume is cursed, or felt stuck in the black hole of job applications—this one’s for you.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Relocation layoffs and corporate restructuring
- The “dating app” energy of recruiting
- Overqualification as a silent rejection tool
- Using AI in job search (without replacing your humanity)
- Starting your own thing after corporate burnout
Connect with Chris on LinkedIn
🎧 Listen in. Share it with someone who needs to hear it. And remember—you’re not alone in this mess.
💼 Partner: Jobhire.ai — Apply to jobs while you sleep. 30% off in Sept. 2025 with code DRAY30 → jobhire.ai/job-matcher/?imutm=dray (you must use that link)
👉 Follow on TikTok
👉 Subscribe on YouTube
👉 Connect on LinkedIn
👉 Buy me a coffee or leave a tip to support the show 💸
🎧 All links: https://linktr.ee/draycation
Thanks for supporting The Reboot Era — every follow, share, and tip helps me keep making content for anyone navigating layoffs, pivots, and everything in between.
Everything shared on this podcast is based on personal experience and opinion. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, no content should be considered professional, legal, or career advice. Any mention of companies, products, or individuals is done in a personal capacity and does not represent the views or endorsements of those organizations or people. If a sponsorship or paid partnership is ever included, it will be clearly disclosed during the episode.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.