Now What? - Life after redundancy

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Redundancy. Layoffs. Job hunting. The 'now what?' spiral. Now What? is an honest, British, funny(ish) podcast about life after redundancy; rebuilding routine, confidence and purpose while parenting and job-searching. Expect practical support (daily structure, interviews, rejection, over-applying anxiety, comparison traps) plus the emotional reality nobody posts on LinkedIn. New episodes weekly as I navigate a career reset in real time. To support the show please visit https://www.patreon.com/cw/lifeafterredundancy

  1. 2D AGO

    Interview Prep After Redundancy: What Helps Me Show Up Well

    Job interview prep after redundancy is a weird little moment where you finally get the interview and your body reacts like you’ve been booked in for something far more dramatic than 'a chat about your experience.' In this episode I talk through the pre-interview prep that helps me show up clearly when confidence is wobbly and my brain is prone to going blank. I share how I build an 'evidence bank' of what I’ve actually done, how I go line-by-line through my CV so I don’t get caught out by my own bullet points and how I research the role and company without disappearing into productivity-shaped panic. I also cover the part that's more important than I first realised getting your examples out of your head and into your mouth. I practise saying them out loud so the impact lands without me taking a scenic route through the backstory and I keep the focus on what I did, what changed, and why it mattered. Finally, we get into the day-of nerves: simple cue-card prompts, a mindset shift that stays firmly on the right side of “manifesting,” and a breathing technique I use when my heart rate starts doing its own interview. If you’re job searching after redundancy and you’ve got an interview coming up or you just want a calmer, more structured way to prepare this will help you represent yourself in your best light without turning prep into a second (unpaid) full-time job.

    23 min

  2. FEB 10

    Redundancy: A Few Things I’d Like to Tell Past Me

    Redundancy has a way of turning perfectly normal days into something… slightly loaded. Suddenly you’re measuring time differently, your inbox has the power to ruin an afternoon,and “being proactive” can become a full-time personality. In this episode, I’m sharing a few things I’d genuinely like to tell the version of me at the very start of it — not big inspirational slogans, but the practical, unglamorous truths that would’ve saved me a lot of stress. We get into why networking is less 'selling yourself' and more 'finding your people', why clarity matters more than volume in the job hunt, how resilience has to be sustainable (not heroic), what rejection does to your confidence over time, and how parenting shifts when you’re physically present but mentally elsewhere. If you’re in that in-between stage — doing loads, still feeling behind, trying to stay calm while everything feels slightly uncertain — this will help you feel less alone and a bit more steady. And if you know someone who’s just entered the redundancy era, this is a very solid “send without awkward caption” episode.

    26 min

  3. FEB 3

    Over-Applying for Jobs: When Job Searching Becomes an Anxiety Habit

    Ever had a perfectly normal plan to 'be proactive' in the job hunt and somehow ended up applying for roles at 11:47pm that you wouldn’t even want if they came with a free Nando’s? This episode is about over-applying — that phase where job searching stops being a strategy and starts being a coping mechanism. Because over-applying isn’t motivation or discipline. It’s often anxiety in a productive-looking outfit. I talk about why it feels so good at first (hello, tiny dopamine hit), why it turns brutal over time (rejection fatigue is real), and the hidden damage it causes: confidence erosion, decision fatigue, and that weird identity blur where you stop choosing roles and become 'someone who applies for jobs.' In the practical section, I break down the difference between intentional applying vs panic applying, plus a calmer way to step out of the spiral without 'giving up'; just applying with more direction and less self-punishment. If your inbox checking has become a part-time job and 'submit' is the only moment your shoulders drop, this one will make you feel seen — and steadier. Listen now if you’re navigating redundancy, job search anxiety, job hunt burnout, or that relentless pressure to prove you’re 'doing enough'.

    16 min

  4. JAN 27

    Redundancy Comfort Phrases: This One’s the Worst

    People mean well after redundancy. They really do. But there’s one 'comforting' phrase that shows up again and again and instead of helping, it adds pressure, guilt and that horrible feeling that you should be handling this better. In this episode, I unpack why a certain well-meant line lands like homework when you’ve been made redundant, how 'encouragement' can accidentally trigger productivity guilt and what’s actually going on underneath the panic, comparison and constant 'now what' loop. There’s also a quick detour into early parenthood (twins, no sleep and a deep craving for a fast-forward button) because it's not just a redundancy thing, it’s a timing thing. You’ll come away feeling steadier, less judged by your own calendar and clearer on how to respond when people try to help but miss the moment. If you’re dealing with redundancy anxiety, job loss confidence wobble or you’re stuck in that strange 'I have time but I can’t breathe' phase this one will hit.

    20 min

  5. JAN 20

    Comfort Fantasies & Redundancy: The Hidden Trap of Waiting for Life to Start Again

    If you’re going through redundancy, job searching, or career uncertainty, you might have noticed your brain doing something unhelpful-but-understandable: reaching for a fantasy that makes everything feel instantly safe. This episode explores comfort fantasies after redundancy and how they can help you cope, until they quietly become a way of avoiding the present. I share a real example of how quickly “this is stressful” can turn into “it’ll be fine when X happens,” and why that mindset can keep you stuck in waiting mode. You’ll learn how to spot the difference between enjoying vs waiting, what your comfort fantasy is actually trying to protect you from, and three practical steps to regain a sense of control without forcing yourself into relentless productivity. If you’ve been feeling anxious, stuck, or like you’re buffering through life, this one’s for you.

    16 min

  6. JAN 13

    Small Talk After Redundancy: How to Not Make It Weird

    Small talk is meant to be harmless. Weather chat. Mild nodding. A quick “busy week?” and everyone carries on with their life. But in redundancy it can feel like a contact sport. Because one minute you’re making conversation at “the things” (kids clubs, dog walks, community stuff, awkward queues) and the next someone drops the trapped question: 'So… what do you do?' In this episode I unpack the unspoken social contract of small talk and why redundancy makes the usual script feel loaded. We’ll cover: Why 'what do you do?' can feel like a landmine and the three ways people answer it (ghost job, honest answer, humour smoke bomb) Forced optimism (often genuine, sometimes… not what you need in that moment) Oversharing, and why 'how are you?' is basically code for 'please say fine' Then I share a simple redundancy specific tactic: pre building one sentence you’re comfortable with, plus a few practical small talk tips you can use anywhere — including the days you’d rather throw a social smoke bomb and ninja roll your way to the biscuits. And if you’re asking yourself now what, you’re in the right place.

    18 min

  7. JAN 6

    Job Rejection and Disappointment: How I Deal With It After Redundancy (Without Losing the Plot)

    Disappointed by a job rejection, a “thanks but no thanks” email, or life generally pressing the nope button? Same. In this episode of Now What: Life After Redundancy, I talk through how I handle disappointment in real time from the job hunt trenches. Over the festive break I spotted a role that felt like a perfect fit, tailored my CV and cover letter like my future depended on it… and got rejected the next day. Which felt less like “careful consideration” and more like I’d been politely denied by an AI screening robot. This isn’t a definitive guide to emotions (I am not the Jedi Council), it’s a “here’s what helps me” framework you can try when rejection stings and you still need to keep moving. I share a practical set of steps to process disappointment, separate facts from the spirally story in your head, take the lesson without turning it into self punishment, and do the next small thing even when your motivation is buffering like 90s dial up. In this episode: How to process disappointment without pretending you’re fine Coping with job rejection and application ghosting A simple mindset shift: facts vs the story your brain invents Turning rejection into useful data (not a personal verdict) The “next tiny step” method to get back on the application horse If you’ve been disappointed recently, leave a comment with what happened and what helped or just type a single word like blomonge and I’ll know you were here. If you’re asking yourself now what… you’re in the right place

    18 min

  8. 12/30/2025

    Resolutions, Redundancy and the Myth of the Fresh Start

    New year’s resolutions are meant to feel hopeful but somehow they often land like a performance review you did not ask for. In this episode I unpack why we love a fresh start, why January pressure is so loud and what a healthy resolution actually looks like when real life is tired, messy and occasionally held together by snack based optimism. We talk about the difference between gentle intention and unnecessary self punishment, why most resolutions fail because they rely on motivation not systems and how this all hits differently when you are going through redundancy and trying to rebuild confidence without turning January into a second job. You will leave with practical ways to set resolutions that support you, not ones that judge you, plus a few geeky pop culture detours because it would not be my podcast without them. If you would like to support the show and help keep it going you can join us on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/lifeafterredundancy If you find yourself asking “now what?” you are in the right place.

    18 min
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About

Redundancy. Layoffs. Job hunting. The 'now what?' spiral. Now What? is an honest, British, funny(ish) podcast about life after redundancy; rebuilding routine, confidence and purpose while parenting and job-searching. Expect practical support (daily structure, interviews, rejection, over-applying anxiety, comparison traps) plus the emotional reality nobody posts on LinkedIn. New episodes weekly as I navigate a career reset in real time. To support the show please visit https://www.patreon.com/cw/lifeafterredundancy

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