Episode 325 - In a world that celebrates hustle, rest can feel counterintuitive. But for ambitious professionals, learning to pause is not optional. It’s a strategic necessity.

Rebroadcasting as Episode 325 during our holiday break, this episode (originally released as Episode 298) continues to be one of the most practical and impactful guides for professionals feeling burned out at work.

If you’ve spent the last few months feeling more exhausted than usual, struggling to focus, or wondering why your motivation has gone missing despite a looming job application or promotion deadline, you’re not alone. In my coaching work with experienced professionals, these themes are everywhere. And they’re not the result of laziness, lack of ambition, or poor time management. They are the hallmarks of burnout, which is now a routine part of corporate life.

Burnout isn’t new. But its spread among high-performing professionals is growing quieter, deeper, and more normalized than ever. The World Health Organization gave it official status as an “occupational phenomenon” in 2019, describing it as the result of chronic workplace stress left unmanaged. Yet the language around burnout still lags behind the reality: many professionals don’t realise they’re burning out until their relationships suffer, their health declines, or their job search stalls despite their best efforts.

You don’t need to be working in a hospital during a pandemic to feel burned out. Today, it’s just as likely to show up in the corner office, the Zoom window, or the resume file named “final_final_FINAL.pdf”. From senior executives navigating hybrid workplaces to job seekers attempting to “optimize” every aspect of their applications, the common thread is emotional depletion disguised as diligence.

And the real danger? Burnout thrives in silence.

Read the full Blog on the Website

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Timestamps to guide your listening:

1. 00:00 Understanding Burnout
2. 02:02 Defining Burnout and Its Impact
3. 07:40 Strategies to Combat Burnout
4. 15:55 The Role of Rest in Career Success

Links mentioned in this episode:

1. The Times article

Episode 324 - If you've ever felt frustrated by job search advice that doesn’t seem to work for you, this episode will help you understand why, and what to do instead.

This episode is being rebroadcast as Episode 324 during our holiday break. It originally aired as Episode 277, and it remains one of the most useful episodes I’ve recorded for professionals who feel stuck in their job search.

If you spend any time on LinkedIn these days, you’ll find no shortage of job search success stories. Posts from professionals who landed a new role in record time are often presented as if they hold the ultimate secret formula. The implication? If you’re still struggling to land your next opportunity, you must be doing something wrong.

But the reality of job searching, especially for experienced corporate professionals, is far more complex than these polished narratives suggest. As a career strategist and coach, I work with professionals every day who are trying to navigate a labor market that has changed drastically. Their frustrations, struggles, and triumphs reveal an inconvenient truth: job search success is rarely as simple as social media makes it seem.

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:

1. 00:00 Debunking Job Search Myths
2. 06:08 Understanding the Real Cost of Job Search Advice
3. 15:10 Identifying Your Unique Job Search Strategy
4. 21:36 Creating Your Own Success Story

Links mentioned in this episode:

1. Learn more about working with me
2. Book a consultation with Renata
3. The Job Hunting Made Simple
4. Episode 117 - The Job Hunting Experience, with Amber Knight
5. Episode 55 - From City Life to Tropical Paradise: A Positive Redundancy Story Update, with Alistair Freeman

About the...

Episode 323 - I break down why experienced corporate professionals are struggling to regain control of their careers and share three practical steps to accelerate your job search

This episode is being rebroadcast as Episode 323 during our holiday break. It originally aired as Episode 275, and it remains one of the most useful reset episodes I’ve recorded for experienced professionals who feel stuck in their job search.

The job market has been tough over the past few years. Whether you were impacted by the pandemic or faced the challenges of the post-pandemic economy, job hunting is no easy feat. If you're an experienced professional, you're likely feeling stuck, frustrated, or overwhelmed. The good news? You don't have to navigate this process by yourself anymore.

In this episode and blog, I’ll walk you through three essential steps to help you regain control over your job search. These are actionable, proven strategies that go beyond the clichéd advice of "posting more on LinkedIn" or "mastering the STAR interview technique." As a career and executive coach, I’ve helped counThis episode is being rebroadcast as Episode 323 during our holiday break. It originally aired as Episode 275, and it remains one of the most useful reset episodes I’ve recorded for experienced professionals who feel stuck in their job search.

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:

1. 00:00 Navigating the Job Market Challenges
2. 09:11 The Importance of Self-Knowledge in Job Search
3. 15:16 Strategies for Effective Job Hunting
4. 21:06 Coaching for Career Advancement

Links mentioned in this episode:

1. Learn more about my private coaching program
2. Join the waitlist for the Job Hunting Made Simple Program
3. Book a consultation with Renata
4. Episode 322 - Are your job search efforts failing short? Discover the 5 critical mistakes that could be stopping you from landing your next role, and how to correct them.

About the...

Holiday Replay Episode 322 - Are your job search efforts failing short? Discover the 5 critical mistakes that could be stopping you from landing your next role, and how to correct them.

This episode is being rebroadcast as Episode 323 during our holiday break. It originally aired as Episode 275 and it remains one of the most useful reset episodes I’ve recorded for experienced professionals who feel stuck in their job search.

This is the kind of episode that lands differently when you’re tired, discouraged, or overthinking your next move. If this year didn’t go to plan, use this as a practical reset: mindset, interview presence, upskilling signals, and the small etiquette details that quietly cost offers.

When job seeking, while external factors played a role, it’s crucial to focus on the aspects within your control. In this podcast episode, I explore the five main reasons why you may not have secured a job and, more importantly, what you can do differently.

Drawing insights from renowned experts, as well as my own experience as a career coach, I will guide you through key mindset shifts, practical job search strategies, and essential interview techniques that can transform your career prospects. In this blog I will summarize the key points from this episode.

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:

1. 00:00 Welcome and Introduction to 2025 Job Market
2. 02:09 Reflecting on Job Search Challenges
3. 04:36 Mindset: The Invisible Force in Job Success
4. 20:54 Common Mistakes in Job Applications
5. 31:02 Actionable Steps for Job Seekers in 2025

Links mentioned in this episode:

1. Job Hunting Made Simple Program
2. Book a consultation with Renata
3. 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.

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

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 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.

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