Episode 321 - The job market in 2025 has been flat, competitive, and emotionally draining for many professionals. In this episode, recruiter Geoff Slade and I unpack what’s really happening behind the scenes and what job seekers can do to stand out, especially when everyone’s application starts to look the same.

If 2025 felt harsher than you expected, you were not imagining it. As a career coach, I’ve watched experienced professionals, including senior leaders, get caught in longer hiring cycles, more competition, and a colder tone in recruitment communication. In this episode of The Job Hunting Podcast, I sat down with Geoff Slade, Chairman of the Slade Group, for our end-of-year reflection and forward-looking conversation.

Geoff has a rare vantage point. His group operates across multiple recruitment brands and covers everything from entry-level roles through to senior executive appointments. He’s also been in the recruitment industry for decades, which gives him pattern recognition that most job seekers never get access to.

In this blog post, I’m summarising and unpacking key points from our conversation, with a focus on what corporate professionals and executives can do right now. We discussed the flat job market, the rise of interim roles, the reality of negotiating salary and flexibility, and how AI is changing the way applications look and feel. Most importantly, we talked about how to market yourself so you stop blending in.

Read the full Blog on the Website

31 Days of Action for Job Seekers

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Timestamps to guide your listening:

• 00:00 Overview of 2025 Job Market Dynamics
• 05:07 Ruthlessness in Recruitment Communication
• 07:49 Impact of Layoffs on Job Seekers
• 10:17 Demand for Interim and Temporary Roles
• 12:59 Negotiating Flexibility in a Tough Market
• 15:32 The Future of Hybrid Work
• 18:12 Tectonic Shifts in Employment Trends
• 21:04 Negotiating Salary in a Challenging Environment
• 23:54 Navigating Job Offers and Salary Negotiations
• 26:56 The Impact of AI on Job Applications
• 29:43 Building Confidence in Job Applications
• 35:09 Strategies for Job Seekers in a Competitive Market
• 40:02 Proactive Job Searching Techniques
• 42:53 The Importance of Action and Accountability

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode with Talent Acquisition Manager Leanne Brannigan
• Contact me if you need help leading hybrid work environments
• Interview with Anita Ziemer, Executive Director, Slade Group

Episode 320 - Discover the idea of “productive cringe” and how the slightly embarrassing moves you avoid are often the exact moves that unlock new roles, better opportunities, and a more sustainable career.

Over the past few months, a phrase has appeared again and again in my coaching sessions with senior professionals.

• “I know I should post on LinkedIn, but that feels cringe.”
• “I know I should reach out to that person at my dream company, but that feels cringe.”
• “I know I should negotiate, but I do not want to be that person.”

At first glance, these might sound like small worries. In reality, they tell us a great deal about how mid-career professionals are relating to their work in 2025. Cringe has become a powerful, if unspoken, organising force in many corporate careers. Not the justified embarrassment that comes from genuinely unprofessional behaviour, but the anticipatory discomfort we feel when we imagine colleagues rolling their eyes at our ambition.

Read the full Blog on the Website

31 Days of Action for Job Seekers

Find Your Talents: Learn About Your Strengths, and Watch Your Career Grow

Join 5,000+ Readers of The Job Hunting Newsletter: Subscribe Now

Lear More About Renata's career coaching and courses



Timestamps to guide your listening:

• 00:00 The Cringe Factor in Career Advancement
• 00:53 Understanding Cringe and Its Impact
• 07:21 Overcoming Cringe in Job Search
• 12:06 Networking and Cold Outreach Cringe
• 19:29 Negotiating Salary and Ambitions
• 24:38 Reinventing Yourself and Embracing Change
• 26:09 Learning from Leaders: Embracing Cringe

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Subscribe to My Newsletter
• Join my RB Lnkdn Club
• The LinkedIn post about being unemployed during the holiday season
• Work with me to have a clear narrative
• Article about cringe and Gen Z
• Article about LinkedIn and cringe

About the host, Renata...

Episode 319 - When a role disappears or a career stops feeling right, most professionals reach for more control, more effort and more doom scrolling. In this conversation, Professor Stephen G Post explains why generosity, service and “pure unlimited love” are powerful tools for coping with job loss, protecting mental health and realigning your career with a deeper sense of calling.

Recording this episode with Professor Stephen G Post felt very different from my usual conversations about job search strategy. We did not talk much about keywords, ATS or networking scripts. We talked about love, service, calling and what happens to you on the inside when your role disappears or your career stops feeling right.

As you know, most of my clients are senior professionals who have done everything by the book. Good schools, strong performance, promotions. Then something happens. A restructure, a new CEO, a bad boss, burnout. Suddenly the path that once felt stable looks very fragile.

Read the full Blog on the Website

31 Days of Action for Job Seekers

Find Your Talents: Learn About Your Strengths, and Watch Your Career Grow

Join 5,000+ Readers of The Job Hunting Newsletter: Subscribe Now

Lear More About Renata's career coaching and courses



Timestamps to guide your listening:

• 00:00 Navigating Job Market Challenges
• 09:37 The Journey to Finding One's Calling
• 13:27 Advice for Late Bloomers
• 21:18 The Essence of Pure Unlimited Love
• 28:59 Balancing Altruism and Self-Care
• 31:47 The Impact of Meaningful Volunteering
• 33:27 Healing Through Kindness
• 37:51 The Power of Morning Routines
• 39:41 Connecting with Nature
• 47:32 Understanding Happiness and Flow

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Stephen G. Post's book, Unlimited Love
• Stephen's LinkedIn
• Episode 268 - Career Transitions: A Guide for Corporate Professionals Seeking Change
• Episode 303 - Kyle Samuels returns to share his personal health journey, the lessons it taught him about leadership, and the hiring trends shaping today’s job market. We explore recruitment trends, networking strategies, and how to handle career gaps with confidence.

About the host, Renata Bernarde

Hello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of