For many professionals, the most uncomfortable part of a career transition isn’t uncertainty — it’s networking. Particularly for people in mid- to late-career, networking can feel artificial, self-promotional, or misaligned with how they’ve built their reputation over decades. Many have never needed to “network” in a formal sense; their roles came through performance, reputation, and [...]
There was a time when building your network meant building it inside one organisation. If you stayed long enough, worked hard enough, and built the right internal relationships, promotion followed. Your future sat within the walls of your employer. That world has changed. Today, job tenure is shorter. Restructures are common. Industries evolve rapidly. Loyalty [...]
Australia is in the middle of a demographic shift that is far more profound than it first appears. By 2029, every baby boomer will have reached retirement age. On paper, that sounds like a neat milestone. In reality, it marks the beginning of a much more complex chapter for individuals, employers and the broader economy. [...]
Redundancy hits hard. Even when people know it’s coming, the moment it becomes real can leave them stunned, embarrassed, or simply overwhelmed. Yet there’s an interesting pattern we see across the outplacement industry: Left to their own devices and without direct communication a low percentage of people reach out for support. So the question is: [...]
Across many organisations, a quiet shift happens as employees move through their late-50s and into their 60s. They care less about titles. They’re less interested in competing. They’re more interested in giving something back. They want to share what they know, support younger colleagues, contribute to culture, and feel useful beyond KPIs. In psychology, this [...]
AI in the Job Hunt: Tool, Trap, or Competitive Edge? I recently reviewed a cover letter that stopped me in my tracks—not because it was bad, but because of the final paragraph. The candidate openly stated that the cover letter had been written with the help of AI. She explained to me that English was [...]
Why organisations are exhausting their people—and what leaders can do about it Modern organisations operate in a VUCA environment: volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Strategy cycles are shorter, restructures are frequent, and employees are asked to adapt—again and again—often while doing more with less. Two related but distinct forms of exhaustion sit quietly beneath the [...]
Let’s call it like it is: losing your job sucks. Redundancy often feels personal, even when you’re told it isn’t. The rug gets pulled out, the security disappears, and your brain starts doing loops. Why me? What did I do wrong? Who made the call? Some people get angry. Others go quiet. But a common [...]
As people near the end of their careers, many imagine retirement as the golden reward — a time of freedom, leisure, and personal choice. But for a surprising number of retirees, something unexpected and unsettling creeps in: a lingering sense of being left behind, overlooked, or no longer needed. This feeling has a name — [...]
We always say that there are 3 main things an interviewer is looking for during an interview: Can you do the job? Can you do the job here? Do I like you? All the research shows that there is zero correlation between how someone performs in an interview and their success in the role, you [...]
Dr Susan Roberts says: