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

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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

Episode 318 - I answer real questions from professionals who are worried about a prolonged job search. We talk about whether to use the LinkedIn Open To Work banner, how to cope when your job search has stretched past a year, and what to do when employers say you are “too senior”.

In my inbox and on my Zoom screen, the same faces keep appearing. They are senior managers, directors, heads of function, sometimes C suite executives. They are in their forties, fifties, and sixties. They have built careers inside large companies, delivered turnarounds, navigated crises, and led hundreds of people.

Now they are sitting at home with a LinkedIn tab open, hovering over a tiny feature that has come to carry enormous emotional weight: the “Open to Work” banner.

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:

• 03:49 Introduction to Job Search Questions
• 12:46 Social Network and Job Advice
• 18:01 Dealing with Seniority and Ageism
• 27:05 Presenting Employment Gaps
• 29:08 Unique Job Roles and Search Strategies
• 32:12 International Coaching and Support
• 35:24 Concluding Thoughts and Final Question

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Holiday Job Search Sprint
• RB Lnkdn Club
• Episode 72 - Systemic Gender Biases, Double Standards, Mental and Physical Dangers Affecting Women in the Workplace - with Hannah Piterman Ph.D.
• Episode 162 - What Happens After We Quit Our Jobs: An Interview with Sara McElroy, Wall-Street Journal’s Poster Girl for the Great Resignation
• Callings.ai

About the host, Renata Bernarde

Hello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress.

Watch the Episodes on...

Episode 317 - Losing a job or having a terrible job can pull you straight into survival mode. In this conversation with Jon Rosemberg, we unpack how to move from white-knuckle coping to a more intentional, agentic way of designing your next chapter.

Survival mode is a nervous system response, not a personal failure.

In this podcast conversation, I spent time unpacking what survival mode actually is with my guest, Jon Rosemberg, who has studied applied positive psychology and worked as a COO in high-pressure environments. It is easy to forget that our bodies are old hardware running new software.

From a nervous system perspective, losing a role or facing long-term unemployment can register as a threat to survival. Identity, status, and income are deeply tied to our sense of safety. When that safety is shaken, the body reacts.

Read the full Blog on the Website

Job Hunting Made Simple

Reset Your Career - Fast-Track Your Job Search in One Weekend

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

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Job Searching Through the Holidays Webinar
• Jon's personal website
• Jon's firm

About the host, Renata Bernarde

Hello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress.

Watch the Episodes on YouTube

Follow Renata on Social Media:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
• X / Twitter

Episode 316 - Dr. Sheila Gujrathi discusses how to build real influence, find sponsors, and move into executive roles without losing yourself. We unpack how fear shows up and what to do when you aren’t the “obvious” candidate.

I recorded this episode to answer a question many experienced professionals wrestle with: How do you keep advancing when you do not fit the traditional mold for senior leadership? My guest is Dr. Sheila Gujrathi, a biotech executive, physician, and scientist who has led programs from idea to approval, served as a CEO and board director, and built platforms to support leaders across the health and life sciences sector. She is known for a high-impact TEDx talk on brave, inclusive leadership with more than a million views, and she co-founded a peer community that connects and develops biotech CEOs. Our conversation is a practical discussion about sponsorship, fear, authentic influence, and the specific moves that help underrepresented leaders rise without losing themselves.

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 Introduction to Sheila Gujrathi
• 04:58 The Journey of Leadership and Advocacy
• 08:13 The Importance of Role Models and Mirrors
• 10:57 Preparing for Success: Mindset and Routine
• 14:16 Grounding Techniques for High-Stress Situations
• 17:11 Building Trust and Authenticity in Leadership
• 20:11 Navigating Executive Presence
• 23:19 Engaging in Conversations and Resetting Dynamics
• 26:19 Trust and Relationship Building
• 29:07 The Future of Leadership and Advocacy

Links mentioned in this episode:

• TEDx talk “Shattering the Glass Ceiling by Finding the Right Mirrors.”
• Sheila's LinkedIn
• The Mirror Effect (book + workbook)

About the host, Renata Bernarde

Hello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress.

Watch the Episodes on YouTube

Follow Renata on Social Media:

Episode 315 - Crisis expert Edward Segal maps the first moves leaders should make when something goes wrong, who to call, what to say, how to brief the media, and how to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Most professionals I speak to who are experiencing a career crisis did not see it coming, and almost all of them did not prepare for it. Corporate professionals still treat crisis management as something that happens to other people, like the CEOs in the headlines and the companies and brands trending on social media for all the wrong reasons. In reality, crises are not confined to boardrooms or news cycles. They unfold quietly in inboxes, performance reviews, and unexpected phone calls from HR.

When I sat down recently with Edward Segal, an expert on crisis management, I was reminded that “it’s not if, it’s when.” Every professional, no matter how senior or secure, will face defining career moments that test their judgment, values, and resilience. The challenge is not to avoid these moments, but to prepare for them and respond well when they arrive.

Read the full Blog on the Website

Job Hunting Made Simple

Reset Your Career - Fast-Track Your Job Search in One Weekend

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 Introduction
• 03:01 Crisis Management Insights from Experience
• 05:00 Understanding Crisis Triggers
• 08:00 Crisis Management in Educational Institutions
• 11:04 Communication Strategies During a Crisis
• 13:55 The Importance of Media Training
• 16:45 Crisis Management for Professionals
• 20:05 Lessons from High-Profile Crises
• 23:09 Final Thoughts on Crisis Preparedness

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Edward Segal's LinkedIn profile
• Link to Edward Segal's book
• Episode 304 - In this episode of The Job Hunting Podcast, TV journalist and confidence coach Ashleigh Paholek shares how to project authority and trust in interviews, presentations, and boardrooms. From mastering silence to improving your virtual presence, these strategies will help you influence with confidence — even when you don’t feel it.
• Episode 309 - Beyond the headlines, workplace scandals reveal deeper lessons about governance, disclosure, and accountability. In this episode, I share strategies for overcoming missteps and rebuilding your professional...

Episode 314 - Recruiter-turned-Founder Georgie Hubbard unpacks how to pivot with confidence, optimize your resume and LinkedIn, and ditch “spray & pray” for targeted strategies that actually get results.

After dozens of conversations with senior professionals over the past few months and the discussions in my latest podcast episode, I keep coming back to the same conclusion. The people who are progressing in this year’s job market are not the ones applying faster or to more roles. They are the ones who have adapted to a hiring system that is more algorithmic and more cautious than it was a year ago. The question is whether your job search strategy reflects this as well.

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 Career Boldness and Reinvention
• 03:48 Overcoming Fear and Paralysis by Analysis
• 08:20 Cultural Shocks and Resilience in New Environments
• 11:28 Navigating Career Pivots and Transferable Skills
• 16:01 Adapting to Modern Recruitment Challenges
• 22:43 Visibility and Networking in a Competitive Market
• 25:03 Overcoming Precision and Embracing Boldness
• 29:39 The Fear of Regret and Career Transitions
• 33:51 Monetizing Skills and Building a Business
• 39:49 Navigating the Early Stages of Entrepreneurship
• 42:30 Empowering Women in the Age of AI

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Georgie's Linkedin
• Georgie's website

About the host, Renata Bernarde

Hello, I'm Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I'm also an executive coach, job-hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress.

Watch the Episodes on YouTube

Follow Renata on Social Media:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
• X /...