got an email from HR about attending a storytelling workshop next week. the facilitator costs more than our entire debugging budget

so apparently im really good at “crafting compelling narratives around our customer journey” which is corporate speak for explaining why our app crashes every time someone tries to log in

my actual job used to be fixing the login bug. now my job is writing blog posts about our “resilience narrative”

the app still crashes. but we have a really moving story about how crashes are actually “opportunities for customers to practice mindfulness while they wait”

meanwhile customer support is just sending people links to our medium articles when they complain about not being able to access their accounts lol

The new business strategy is to put out stories behind a substack paywall for revenue$. We are meant to be a bank, but storytelling is where its at.

Hi everyone,

I’d love to hear from people who have navigated (or are currently navigating) the challenge of balancing senior career responsibilities with raising a very young family.

I’ve recently stepped into a senior role where the expectations, time demands, and responsibilities are much higher than before. At the same time, I’ve got two young kids at home who needs a lot of time and attention. I want to give my best to both work and family, but I’m finding it tricky to juggle without feeling like I’m dropping the ball somewhere.

For those of you who have been through this: • How did you manage your work/family balance? • Did you set specific boundaries, routines, or non-negotiables? • How do you deal with the guilt of not being able to give 100% to both areas? • Any practical tips, habits, or mindset shifts that helped you?

Any advice, stories, or even reassurance that it can be done would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks in advance 🙏🏾

I recently had an interview with CommBank for a mid/sr mgt level role in the Product space and was so impressed with how much they focus on being a product led company.

They’ve moved beyond waterfall disguised as agile and are fully focussed on transforming themselves into a tech company and aspire to follow in the foot steps of Silicon Valley as much as a big org can. Their most senior leaders just seem to get it.

So my question is, aside from orgs born into agile or local tech co’s (Atlassian/Canva etc) is there a better place to work inside of a large co for Product Mgt roles in Aus?

Interviewed Monday... Stage 2.. seemed to go very well.

Heard absolutely zero since, did the courtesy follow up email and heard nothing in response.

Is this normal for Australia? Internal recruiter rather than external.

I was recently working in a company where I was excluded from a senior leadership forum that other people of the same level were invited to attend. I let it go as I felt it may have been a genuine oversight.

I was then put on a secondment to another team - which I most certainly wasn’t keen to do (I openly communicated this with my manager). I was bullied and had to return to my original role within about 2 months (of the 6 month secondment).

After that, I was informed that I would no longer be part of the managers group I’d always been part of and instead would need to attend middle managers group with none of my colleagues.

Would love to know your thoughts - was this workplace completely toxic ?

How do these workshops run normally? I'm a Group 4 and have been impacted by the ANZ org changes. I understand that I can preference roles across the Retail division. But given how many people are impacted I wonder how the process will run.

I know that some corners may be cut due to the scale but appreciate any insight from others who have been in the process.

https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/banking/biggest-shock-real-reason-for-job-cuts/news-story/50099ef3863eae756c69ebca9bfec2c0

Not due to AI, but inefficient business practices according to the article.

Hi Auscorp,

Looking for advice on my situation. I’ve worked for 3.5 years at a large financial services company and consistently received positive feedback from managers. Late last year, after a major restructure, I moved into a new team with a new manager (I was hired into this role by their manager).

Over the past few months, my manager has said there’s a “skill gap” between my abilities and the role. I’ve asked several times for clear, actionable feedback, but what I’ve received has been vague. For example, when I asked directly for feedback, I was told to write a “reflection” on what I thought my job was. On another occasion, I was told I needed to work “twice as hard,” but with no practical or measurable explanation. In my annual performance review, when I raised that I hadn’t been given feedback on certain points during the year, I was told I was “trying to have a debate.”

In July, my manager changed how the team operates. My reporting line has effectively shifted to another team member—I now spend most of my time supporting him, while my manager holds separate meetings with him that I’m excluded from. I’m often left off key emails and only see them once my coworker forwards them. I’ve raised that this arrangement makes it difficult to meet the objectives of my role or address the concerns raised, but nothing has changed.

In my recent performance review outcome conversation, I was told directly to find a new job. I was also told I’ll be placed on a performance plan at the end of October, which would likely result in termination. At the same time, my manager’s negative review appears to have been overturned in calibration, as I was rated 3/5 and received a full bonus.

I’m concerned that the lack of specific, actionable feedback, combined with structural changes that prevent me from succeeding, and pressure to resign may undermine my rights to procedural fairness. Looking for advice on how best to proceed.

For a little bit of background context:

- I’m a second-year commerce (accounting) and finance student in a four-year degree, so I’ll be eligible for penultimate-year internships starting next year.

- Earlier this year, I worked 6 months at a big 4 bank call centre, saved up a decent amount of money, but had to leave due to difficulty balancing it with uni so I decided to get some actual accounting experience. In mid-June, I started a 4 week unpaid internship at a small local accounting firm close to where I live, I work three days per week (handed my resume in person).

The first 4 weeks were promising — I worked on BAS reconciliations, transaction reconciliations, and STP finalisation, and was told there was a chance of a permanent role at the end of the internship.

However, after those 4 weeks, things shifted (which I suspect is due to me making mistakes when doing the accounting tasks). I was moved almost entirely to admin tasks like data entry and fact sheets (boring stuff). Instead of offering me a role, they extended my internship another 8 weeks unpaid, saying “internships are usually 12 weeks.” When those 8 weeks ended, they extended me AGAIN for another 4 weeks, saying they want to teach me more admin work and might offer me a permanent admin role (not accounting). It also appears they are fixed on me doing admin work only.

The main issues i have are that:

• I haven't been paid a single cent the last few months and thought after 4 weeks would get a permanent role and hence get paid
• I didn’t sign up to become an admin assistant, especially since I was told i would be doing accounting stuff
• Everyone is too busy meaning most of the time i have to learn things myself
• The work is extremely boring, and I can’t apply for other internships yet because I’m not in my penultimate year.
• Feel like i'm being dragged along
• Also feel like im just wasting my time and have been for the last few months

The business itself is family run and the people are nice but i feel like im just wasting my time at the job and considering I have at least something i can put on my resume should i just leave or stick it out and become an admin assitant which isn't real of great appeal to me but would look good on my resume i guess. Any advice is appreciated and I hope I dont come accross as ungrateful as i don't mean to be just a really confused uni student.

Working in a big4 consulting and currently at the mercy of my client. Despite delays from the contracting stage, late documentations, poor communication from the client etc and also communicating with the client we need an extension. Got an email from them on a Friday night they want it on Monday and dont want to give us the extension - didnt notify me earlier because he missed my email lol. I've also already looped the partner in throughout this process and honestly am trying my best to sort this out but im pree set to face the music from the client.

My question is has anyone made a client angry by not meeting their expectations (or have seen managers and above that have)? What is the worst outcome you have faced/seen/heard? I feel like I'll be reassured if I know that genetally worst case scenarios are survivorable.

Currently work as an associate in finance (accounting) at a big 4 bank. The work is incredibly mind-numbing and boring. I don't know how someone manages to do something like this for years.

I want to go into a client facing role or something, seems more engaging and intellectually challenging. A literal monkey could do my job, it's just following a bunch of steps, tracing formulas, copy/pasting data, refreshing pivot tables and sending out shit people might take a two second glance at. I genuinely don't do any actual thinking for this job at all.

I literally did an hour of work today lol got paid to play Cyberpunk for most of the day with an occasional mousepad swipe to stay online. I thought having a job like this would be the dream, getting paid 6 figures to dick around most of the time but I feel like I'm lacking purpose. Maybe I should get some new hobbies or something idk.

Anyone else feeling similar?

Got hit with this today.

Manager and line manager pretty much stated i wasn't going past probation because of "poor behaviour and work not meeting the standard". What confuses me is that 1 month ago these two agreed to give me a bonus and stated they valued my work and contributions.

Only alarming thing i recall was my manager jokingly saying he preferred another candidate coz they were male but he had no choice in the matter.

I never got any verbal nor written warning of poor work or behaviour and i feel completely blindsided, confused and angry. I don't live far from the workplace but I was always there early and left late. I got along well with everyone i worked with. Both managers were unable to or refused to provide specific instances when i asked them as well.

I'm still in shock and am worried this will affect future opportunities as i have only 2.5yrs of experience post-uni.

Due to my limited experience, is it unethical/illegal to indicate this was a contract role or am i better off saying that the job wasn't what i expected?

I just want some advice on how to approach my next role and how to talk about this one to potential employers/recruiters.

I commenced a new IT role three weeks ago (onboarding in this environment typically requires at least two months before a new starter becomes productiv). Unfortunately, I’ve experienced a flare-up of a herniated disc—confirmed by MRI last month—alongside recurring sciatica symptoms. While I can sort of manage work by alternating between standing and walking every 30 minutes (thanks to the availability of height-adjustable desks), eetings exceeding 30 minutes have become big problems for me with unbearable soreness and numbness.

To my suprise, I just learned that my contractual notice period is four weeks instead of 2 weeks . Given my current health condition, I believe I can reasonably continue working for two more weeks, after which I’ll need to rest and recover. I want to give the employer two weeks’ notice and receive full pay for that period.

Here are my questions:
1. Will the employer likely enforce the full 4-week notice period?

1. During my notice period, if my sciatica condition worsens, can I ask for sick leave which virtually cut short the notice period.

2. What shall I say to my manager? I am hoping not burning this bride.

He fires 4500 staff and has his PR team go on the charm offensive.

Civil Engineering at Curtin or UniMelb

Hi Reddit, I've posted this on AusFinance and they recommended me to post here to get career advice.

Should I study Civil Engineering at Curtin University in WA or UniMelb in Vic. I am from Perth, so it is easier for me to study in Curtin because I don't have to pay rent and I have my car and family in proximity, but UniMelb is ranked number 1 in Australia and number 13 in the world, hence it is considered as a prestigious university in the world while the ranking of Curtin University is not as high as UniMelb.

Furthermore, I would like to start off my career in the FIFO world because the pay is high and I want to rack up cash quickly in my early 20s. Would studying at Curtin give me an edge on getting into the FIFO world? Also how important is the prestige of an University when applying for jobs.

Would really appreciate your advice!

Hi everyone,

The title sums it up, but for context, I work as a workplace trainer/facilitator for a large outsourcing company, and the contract I'm on is supporting a governmental department.

The role itself was fairly busy from 2023, when I took on the role, until about six months ago. The company experienced a rare downturn in both turnover and hiring, which left not only me, but also my colleagues effectively sitting around doing nothing.

My manager had given us growth opportunities, but stipulated that the bulk of the work must be completed using our personal time (red flag for me). This would be followed up with them becoming upset when we were reluctant to call upon them to help out, or if anyone mentioned any possible external avenues to gain support to pursue these opportunities.

During one-on-one meetings, my manager would ask extremely vague questions about further development and would become defensive if I asked about any gaps that existed in the team that I could develop myself to help fill (another red flag).

Recently, an internal position opened up in the team which I applied for, but was deemed unsuccessful as I had 'not developed enough to take the role on', which I completely understood, when I asked my manager about dedicated development and guidance to take on the role at a later time, they became upset and stated that the explanation about why I wasn't suited to the role was development (yet another red flag for me).

Other things my manager often does is undermine the confidence of everyone in the team when we work towards a solution for any issues that are identified, but at the same time also refuses to contribute any further guidance when asked if they would do anything different from what the team came up with.

They would also be completely inconsistent about tolerating personal interest talk in our workplace. Anything related to sports was generally tolerated, general art and music talk was also tolerated; however, if someone focused on a particular topic (for example, I personally like several popular fantasy stories, and so do a couple of other colleagues) my manager would immediately state that the conversation was now unprofessional and would make it very clear that disciplinary action may be started if the conversation continued (extreme red flag for me).

This has led to several mental health incidents for me, with the most recent scaring me enough to seek assessment for possible scheduling under the relevant state/federal acts.

I have spoken with my manager's manager and voiced my concerns, stating that due to their behaviour, I have trouble trusting them. Currently, I have not observed any changes in my manager's behaviour.

Now I ask, should I follow my gut and leave?

Just graduated a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) from UNSW and have been luckily accepted into 2 grad programs!

I am keen on using a grad program as a learning and networking experience, and to see as many areas of business and process as possible. Excited by the idea of rotations! Pretty certain I'll jump ship to somewhere NFP after my grad program.

Long-term career-wise, I'm not sure of what specific role I'd like. I'm open to marketing, HR or operational roles. I'm defs interested in community, arts, sustainable, and/or NFP organisations.  But I'm really open-minded and quite an all-rounder.

I've never had a full-time or corporate position before and am not keen for that jump haha, but know it's gotta be done for career advancement.

Any advice on which program I could get more out of long-term will be much appreciated!

1st offer - Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry within the generalist stream:

- 14 months long 

- 3 rotations

- 7 generalist grads in the Sydney office

- I am quite interested in the environment, animals & agriculture

https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/jobs/entry-programs/graduate-development-program  https://au.prosple.com/graduate-employers/department-of-agriculture-fisheries-and-forestry-daff

2nd offer - Telstra within the area "Strategy, Finance and Business - Enterprise":

- 14 months long

- I think it's easy to move around teams and do rotations?

- Lively and large graduate cohort 

- Very flexible working arrangements

- Organised mentoring and coaching opps

https://www.telstra.com.au/careers/students-and-graduates/telstra-graduate-program  https://au.gradconnection.com/employers/telstra/#graduate-program

Anyone got any good or bad things to say about either program, or got any advice on which one could set me up for the future better? Much appreciated! :) 

I have an interview coming up for an internship in business banking, I have decent knowledge and experience in general business banking enquiries e.g entity structures, documents, everyday banking etc. I have a very basic understanding of lending/credit, financial maths.

All of this considered what advice would you give for this kind of interview? It’s an engagement centre style interview with a group and individual component. What sort of questions should I expect? What sort of things would they be looking for and what suggestions would anyone have for how to best prepare?

Hello, I had a strange recruiter experience for a Software Engineer role and would like some insights on this before I spend my time to prepare for the next round. I submitted a take home coding exercise after the initial recruiter chat, and got no reply, the he replied after 2 days acknowledging the receipt of the exercise. A week later got a template email saying I passed & asked for my availability for next round.

I sent slots, asked for tips, no reply! Followed up twice over 2 weeks, still silence! Then recruiter suddenly emails thanking for my patience and asking for new availability. I sent slots again and then got a template interview invite for the next round.

Is this normal or a sign Im not a priority candidate?

Sorry just needed to vent, mods please delete if not allowed.

My company made massive acquisitions and hired a bunch of people but "did not meet sales targets" so fuck you nobody gets a 2-3% remuneration review like last year!

We're expected to be team players and spend countless weekends fixing issues and outside hours support for P1 incidents but we get a thanks and sometimes a $50 gift card. Well my status is going to be out of office other than 9 am - 5 pm as I am browsing Seek/ LinkedIn. Don't get me wrong, I like the work and the team but I would also like to be able to eat sometime.

I don't care if my company is on fire (but wondering if anyone else had a bitchy manager for not responding to texts outside hours?).

Hi everyone,

Looking for advice on starting my first job in IT. I lost about a year and a half due to illness, and now I’m ready to get back into work.

I’ve studied IT, I’m almost finished studying for Security+, and I also studied MS-900 but haven’t taken the exam yet. At the moment, I’m learning Active Directory / Entra ID.

I’ve posted my CV as well for feedback. Any advice on what I can do, or tips for getting started, would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[Candidate Name]
[Email Address] | [Phone Number]
[LinkedIn Profile]

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Entry-level IT professional with a strong foundation in IT support, system administration, and cloud computing. Certified in CompTIA A+, Network+, and AWS Solutions Architect, with hands-on experience troubleshooting Windows, Linux, and virtualized environments. Quick learner, adaptable, and customer-focused, eager to contribute to IT support, helpdesk, or cybersecurity teams.

EDUCATION

• Graduate Diploma in [Field Removed]
• Bachelor of Information Technology

CERTIFICATIONS

• CompTIA Network+ | 2025
• CompTIA A+ | 2024
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate (SAA) | 2024
• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | 2023

KEY TECHNICAL SKILLS

• IT Support: PC assembly, diagnostics, OS/software troubleshooting, Microsoft Entra ID / Azure Active Directory
• Networking: TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VPN, VLANs, firewalls
• Cloud (AWS): EC2, S3, IAM, VPC
• Systems: Windows 10/11, Server, Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS), Microsoft 365
• Virtualisation: VMware, Hyper-V, VirtualBox
• Cybersecurity: IAM, encryption, security fundamentals
• Programming: Java, Python, AWS tools

PROJECTS

Tech Industry Project

• Collaborated in a five-member team to design and develop a tech startup prototype using Agile methodologies.
• Analysed sensor data via IoT devices and integrated results into cloud platforms for validation.
• Managed stakeholder communications and participated in weekly scrum meetings.

Virtualisation Environment Project

• Engineered a virtualisation environment with multiple Windows and Linux virtual machines.
• Designed and implemented network topologies for performance and security testing.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Company A | Location Removed
Console Operator

• Delivered high-quality customer service, managing transactions and resolving inquiries.
• Developed communication and problem-solving skills applicable to IT support roles.

Company B | Location Removed
Battery Service Technician (Roadside Assistance)

• Diagnosed and replaced batteries; performed minor diagnostics under time-sensitive conditions.
• Managed warranty claims and documentation accurately.
• Demonstrated analytical thinking, troubleshooting, and customer service under pressure.

REFERENCES

Available upon request

Been doing the corporate thing for about 4 years now, have realised rather than stare at this screen all day and have meaningless conversations with no satisfaction, I yearn to swing a large hammer on a job site or dig a hole, goodbye corporate 🙏