Started a new role and found yourself quietly wondering whether you’ve made a terrible mistake? You’re far from alone. In this episode, we talk about new job buyer’s remorse: that sinking feeling that hits six days, six weeks or six months into a role that looked perfect on paper. It’s something we see constantly, with Jacqui’s clients in their first 90 days and with Pam’s clients who want to get back on the job market fast.

We look at why it happens, from the boss who seemed brilliant at interview to roles that changed shape before you’d even worked your notice. Pam shares her own experience of dreading going into work, and we talk through how to work out whether you need to give it time or plan your exit, without panicking about how it looks on your CV.

Key points from this episode

• Normalising new job regret
• The hidden reasons senior roles shift between offer and start date
• Moving away from something vs moving towards something: the trap that catches so many good candidates
• The first question to ask yourself when doubt sets in
• Why a short stint in a role is far less of a problem than you fear

00:00 Introduction: new job buyer’s remorse

01:00 How common this is (and when it tends to hit)

03:20 When the organisation isn’t what was sold to you

05:30 The interviewer vs the boss under pressure

09:00 Undefined, new or shifting roles

12:00 Reporting to someone without your expertise

12:50 Moving away from vs moving towards

16:20 Redundancy and taking the first offer

17:30 Giving it time vs deciding it’s not right

19:20 Rebuilding your network and influence from scratch

21:20 Getting specific about what’s actually wrong

23:10 Job hopping fears and explaining a short tenure

25:40 Focusing on what you can control

28:00 Final thoughts

Useful Links

Connect with Pam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelalangan/

Connect with Jacqui on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-jagger/

Follow the Catalyst Careers LinkedIn page for career tips and advice

Interested in working with us?

Get in touch about career or leadership development, outplacement workshops or recruitment support via the Catalyst Careers website

Have you ever been told you’re “not quite ready yet”, or that you need more gravitas, without anyone saying what that actually means? In this episode, we talk about the communication habits that can make capable, experienced people come across as more junior than they are. It’s feedback hardly anyone gives you directly, and it can quietly cost you promotions, job offers and a seat at the table.

From our work with coaching clients and leadership teams, we share four patterns we see again and again, and why fixing them is often far simpler than people expect. We finish with three practical ways to make sure the way you communicate matches the level you’re working at.

Key points from this episode

• Why being capable and visible isn’t the same as being seen as senior
• The interview habit that keeps experienced candidates getting pipped to the post
• How staying quiet to protect your reputation can end up damaging it
• What “looking up and out” means, and why communicating only for your own function keeps you small
• A simple structure that stops you saying too much or too little

00:00 Introduction: Why Communication Shapes How Senior You’re Perceived

01:00 The Feedback Nobody Gives You

03:25 Pattern One: Saying Too Much

07:05 Interview Answers That Miss the “So What”

08:55 Storytelling Without Going Round the Houses

13:25 Pattern Two: Saying Too Little

17:30 Is This the Right Meeting for You?

22:15 Pattern Three: Too Narrow a Lens

25:15 Looking Up and Out

27:30 Pattern Four: Not Reading Your Audience

29:55 Tailoring Presentations to the People You Need to Influence

31:25 Tip One: Ask for Specific Feedback

32:35 Tip Two: Prepare Rather Than Wing It

33:15 Tip Three: Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)

34:30 How We Can Help and Close

Useful Links

Connect with Pam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelalangan/

Connect with Jacqui on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-jagger/

Follow the Catalyst Careers LinkedIn page for career tips and advice

Interested in working with us?

Get in touch about career or leadership development, outplacement workshops or recruitment support via the Catalyst Careers website

When leaders say they want their team to "take more accountability", it often lands as a hunt for whose head will roll. In this episode, we unpack why that version of accountability actually gets in the way of delivery, and what a genuine culture of accountability looks like instead: high standards, clear commitments and a team that surfaces problems early rather than hiding them.

Drawing on our recent work facilitating leadership teams, we share the simple exercise that exposes how aligned (or not) a team really is on its priorities, Jacqui's honest reflection on her own head-down habit earlier in her career, and a practical feedback framework you can use in your next team meeting to build peer-to-peer accountability.

Key points from this episode

• Why "whose head will roll" is the fastest way to undermine accountability
• The three-priorities question that leaves most leadership teams surprised
• Why your best performers might be the ones not flagging risks
• A simple feedback exercise that stops teams giving each other a get-out-of-jail-free card
• The balance of challenge and support that gets people delivering more

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction: why we're talking about accountability

01:00 What accountability is and isn't

03:30 Why accountability starts before something goes wrong

04:00 The top three priorities exercise

07:30 Ranking priorities and understanding individual capacity

09:00 Surfacing risk early and the role of psychological safety

10:30 Jacqui's head-down habit and what it cost her

13:30 Moving from manager-led to peer-to-peer accountability

16:00 The AID feedback framework

18:45 Why you can't explain yourself, but you can ask questions

20:15 High challenge, high support

22:15 Recognition as part of accountability

23:30 Final thoughts

Useful Links

Connect with Pam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelalangan/

Connect with Jacqui on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-jagger/

Follow the Catalyst Careers LinkedIn page for career tips and advice

Interested in working with us?

Get in touch about career or leadership development, outplacement workshops or recruitment support via the Catalyst Careers website