Episode 332 - Natalie Moore joins me to explore what leaders and professionals need most in 2026: courage, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and space to think. We also discuss burnout, work design, hybrid work, and how career pivots can happen through small, intentional steps.

The themes in this week's podcast episode are not really about personal reinvention in the lifestyle sense, but they're also not hot takes about work culture. They sit at the intersection, as so many issues do when it comes to career and our personal lives. How to we reinvent leadership, organisational design, career strategy, and human behaviour so we can cope with the new ways of working?

That is where many of my clients live. They are not junior workers trying to “find their passion.” They are experienced corporate professionals, senior managers, and executives trying to make good decisions in a labour market that has become harder to read, less forgiving, and more emotionally demanding.

Here is what I keep seeing in my coaching work.

My clients are not simply struggling with job search mechanics. Yes, they need resumes, LinkedIn positioning, networking strategies, and interview preparation. But those are not the only things making this moment difficult. Many are also dealing with return-to-office mandates they did not choose, leadership cultures that speak the language of wellbeing without redesigning work, and AI-driven hiring processes that make the market feel more opaque than ever. LinkedIn reported in January that nearly two-thirds of people say finding a job has become more challenging, while U.S. applicants per open role have doubled since spring 2022. At the same time, 93% of recruiters say they plan to increase their use of AI in 2026.

Those are not small shifts. They change how people experience work, how they think about security, and how they approach career planning.

In my conversation with Natalie Moore on The Job Hunting Podcast (332), what emerged most clearly was that professionals who are coping best right now are not necessarily the most confident. They are the ones who are able to think clearly under pressure, notice when an environment is no longer working for them, and act with intention before their options narrow.

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Timestamps to guide your listening:

• 00:00 – Welcome Back: Natalie Moore Returns
• 01:11 – Reinvention After Closing a Business
• 03:10 – Headline Hopes for the End of 2026
• 06:42 – How Leaders Can Stop Reacting and Start Responding
• 08:59 – True or False: Can Resilience Training Fix Burnout?
• 09:47 – True or False: Will Good Workers Naturally Adapt to AI?
• 10:55 – True or False: Do Career Pivots Require a Big Leap?
• 12:42 – Three Questions to Ask When You Feel Flat at Work
• 16:45 – What Stress and Burnout Really Look Like in High Performers
• 21:45 – Listening to Your Body and Noticing Your Triggers
• 24:03 – What We’re Leaving Behind in 2026
• 25:22 – Showing Up Differently in Business and on LinkedIn
• 28:40 – Why Workplace Wellbeing Still Feels Surface-Level
• 30:32 – Is It Time to Redesign the Workday?
• 32:55 – When Training and Development Add to Burnout
• 35:19 – The High-Performance Habits That Need to Go
• 36:50 – Why White Space Matters at Work and in Job Search
• 38:08 – Natalie’s Career Change Story and the Power of Slow Pivots
• 39:21 – What Matters Most in 2026: Confidence, Courage, or Clarity?
• 41:43 – AI, Human Work, and What Still Makes Us Valuable
• 43:34 – The Human Capabilities Professionals Need Now
• 45:44 – Final Thoughts and Where to Find Natalie

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Natalie Moore's LinkedIn Profile
• Follow Josh Piterman on Instagram to find out when he's running breathwork workshops in Melbourne
• Josh Piterman Inside Timer
• Episode 130 - Post-pandemic Stress and Other Factor Affecting Your Wellbeing at Work, with Natalie Moore and Lisa Saunders
• Episode 72 - Systemic Gender Biases, Double Standards, Mental and Physical Dangers Affecting Women in the Workplace - with Hannah Piterman Ph.D.

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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