The Dispatch
No XLVIII · Career · 6 min
The day you get made redundant
What to actually do in the first 24 hours after a redundancy meeting, from someone who's been in the chair twice.
No XLVII · CAREER
Understanding your redundancy rights
What you're actually owed under the NES, what you can negotiate, and when to call a lawyer before you sign.
26 Apr 2026 · 7 min
No XLVI · CAREER
How to job-search after 40
The job-search playbook changes after 40. Network, recruiters, contracting, and what stops working at the front door.
26 Apr 2026 · 8 min
No XLV · CAREER
The LinkedIn rebuild
What to fix on your LinkedIn after redundancy, why the headline matters most, and the half-day rebuild plan.
26 Apr 2026 · 7 min
No XLIV · CAREER
Contracting or permanent, after redundancy
The real maths on day rate vs salary, when each makes sense after redundancy, and the hybrid most people miss.
26 Apr 2026 · 7 min
No XLIII · CAREER
Talking about being made redundant
How to tell your partner, kids, mates, and network without spinning, panicking, or burning bridges you'll need.
26 Apr 2026 · 7 min
No XLII · CAREER
The mid-career pivot decision
Forty-five, fifteen years deep in a career you no longer recognise, and the question won't sit still. Pivot, or stay and bank the super? Here is the framework I use when a friend asks.
28 Apr 2026 · 8 min
No XLI · CAREER
The six-month runway after redundancy
Six months sounds like plenty until you start spending it. Here is how the runway actually behaves in Australia, what burns it, and the month-four moment where the market starts reading your gap differently.
28 Apr 2026 · 7 min
No XL · CAREER
The first week after the call
Seven days. Don't sign anything. Don't email everyone. Don't tell the kids yet. Here is what to do, what to avoid, and how to let your body come down off the shock before you make a single decision.
28 Apr 2026 · 6 min
No XXXIX · CAREER
The two weeks after the call: what to do
Days eight to fourteen. Read the offer properly. Engage a lawyer for $300. Update the CV. Map the network quietly. No public announcements. Here is the order that actually works.
28 Apr 2026 · 7 min
No XXXVIII · CAREER
The CV rewrite for men over 45
Most CVs at 45-plus are bad in the same predictable ways. Too many words, too much history, too little outcome. Here is the rewrite, the structure, and what to leave off.
28 Apr 2026 · 8 min
No XXXVII · CAREER
The first interview after five years
Five years in the same job and the interview muscle has gone slack. The "tell me about yourself" question lands like a punch you forgot to slip. Here is how to dust it off without humiliating yourself.
28 Apr 2026 · 7 min
No XXXVI · CAREER
When the recruiter ghosts you
Roughly four in five recruiter conversations end in silence. Here is why, what to do about it, and the frame that stops it bruising your ego more than it should.
28 Apr 2026 · 6 min
No XXXV · CAREER
Starting your own thing after being let go
The urge to start your own thing after redundancy is half real signal, half grief in disguise. The six-month test, the AU setup mechanics, and the mortgage broker conversation nobody warns you about.
28 Apr 2026 · 8 min
No XXXIV · CAREER
The second redundancy
The first redundancy is a shock. The second one is a question. Less crying, more staring at the ceiling at 4am. How to read it honestly when you are now fifty.
28 Apr 2026 · 7 min
No XXXIII · CAREER
The counter-offer question
You resigned. They came back with a counter-offer. Most are accepted. Most accepted counter-offers end with the person leaving anyway within a year. Here is how to read yours honestly.
28 Apr 2026 · 7 min
No XXXII · CAREER
Pivoting from corporate to trades
The fantasy of leaving the spreadsheet for the toolbelt is real, common, and not always a mistake. The cost is real too. Here is the honest map of what a 45-year-old corporate man actually faces if he wants to retrain as a sparky, plumber, chippie or chef.
28 Apr 2026 · 8 min
No XXXI · CAREER
The network you thought you had
Redundancy is the moment most men learn that LinkedIn is not a network. Two thousand connections, eight return calls. Here is the five-people rule, and how to actually rebuild a network that picks up when you call.
28 Apr 2026 · 7 min
No XXX · CAREER
Breaking into a new industry at 45
The transferable-skills argument mostly does not work at 45. Hiring managers want domain experience and a credentialled signal. Here is what actually breaks the wall: a project, a peer, a referral, and twelve months of patience.
28 Apr 2026 · 8 min
No XXIX · CAREER
The week you take off after redundancy
The instinct after redundancy is to start the search on Monday morning. The instinct is wrong. Take a deliberate week off. Sleep, walk, talk to your family, sit with the loss. The quality of the next role is decided in that week, not the week after.
28 Apr 2026 · 6 min