Rejected Or Selected

Welcome to After Dark. The late-night, alcoholic version of Rejected or Selected. An honest conversation about the absurdity of modern work life. In our first ever live episode, Simon and Deany cover the emotional gut-punch of losing your work bestie, why "we're like a family here" is one of the most manipulative phrases in corporate culture, a real story about startup equity that was wiped out in...

Branding and strategy nerds come forth, because we have a special treat for you in our 10th episode for 2026. Recruitment Marketing and Communications Business Partner, Mark Pearce from MPI, joins us to talk about his own career journey and why he invests so heavily in his marketing education. In what was a great follow up to Episode 9, Mark continues the discussion about brand and strategy and wh...

A rant-filled episode where Deany and Simon discuss the misalignment between a company's brand and their actions. Plus, Deany discusses negative candidate experiences while Simon debates the merits of culture over strategy in 2026. Special guests: A bunch of mosquitos in Deany's house. As promised, the link to Mark Pearce's LinkedIn post about the job ad AI prompt https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ma...

Another unplanned, unscripted, (mostly) unedited episode of RoS this week - it's Unplugged 2. Listen in as Deany and Simon discuss everything in and around their work lives including what's going on personally: Did Simon flatline in the emergency ward? What interesting and somewhat racist encounter did Deany have in Paris? How can someone go 44 years of their life without realising they have dual...

We have another special guest on Rejected or Selected and this week they don't hold back! Daisy Wong joins us to discuss her personal journey and career, from project coordination to now Cyber Culture and Awareness specialist, Daisy has dealt with plenty of bullshit over the years, and she enjoys telling us all about it. From being treated like she's a rare exotic animal, to being undermined by pr...

A true master at what he does, Shil Shanghavi is one of the world's most prolific public speakers and public speaking coaches. In our 6th episode for 2026 and first show with a guest for this year, Shil speaks authentically and genuinely about his journey from a 10 year old with a stutter and a dream to stages all around the world where he has spoken with leaders and people from all walks of life....

It's finally come to this, our first unplanned, unscripted and "unplugged" (I mean, what even is "unplugged" these days, we're not Nirvana, this isn't Madison Square Garden, and it's not 1994) Well, if you managed to ignore all of that, then Deany and Simon have a treat for you as our raw conversation takes a turn from LinkedIn algorithms, enshittification, and how people with ADHD are propping up...

In this episode of RoS Deany asks Simon to recount a time that he was told he simply wasn't a culture fit when rejected for a job. The team discusses what this term means and the possible reasons as to why it's used so often in Corporate Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our third and STILL guestless episode, Deany and Simon dissect a number of Australia's most "trusted" salary guides. However, are these guides the source of truth that they make themselves out to be, or is something more nefarious at play? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our second (guestless still) episode for 2026, Deany discusses her own request for a pay rise and has unlocked more questions on how to do so in Australian workplaces. We ask why talking salaries and pay rises is so taboo in Aussie corporate culture and try to figure out the best way to navigate these delicate situations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever been this close to throwing in the towel on a career? Well, our co-host Simon certainly came within a breath of doing just that late last year. In our premiere episode of our second season, Deany and Simon explore what happened and the 'why' behind Simon's decision to stay in Cyber Security. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deany and Simon take a break from our amazing list of guests and have a good old fashioned heart to heart about their careers, the state of recruitment, and the truth behind cliches. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we are joined by Natalie Ludwig of Plant With Willow. Natalie has a strong background in tech sales and tech recruitment, plying her trade in her native land of Germany, then London and now in Perth, Western Australia. She speaks to us candidly about her experience in getting her head around Australian corporate culture and the differences between where she currently resides, and E...

Welcome to The Shortlist, a shorter, leaner bi-weekly version of Rejected or Selected. Our first guest in this special series, is Cherie Burgett from MM ISAC, who tells her journey from military spouse and stay at home mother, to cyber security intelligence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet this month's guest, Max Power... erm, we mean, meet Tony Hagan, host of the Max's Island Podcast and mentor at Avivo. How did a podcast ever get the name Max's Island? Well, you'll need to listen in to find out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month's episode provides some colourful commentary from our special guest, Iain Dickson. Like our co-host Simon, Iain studied to be a former teacher and landed himself in the realm of cyber security, where he's been for quite a while. Iain has built a strong presence on LinkedIn and despises the term "though leader" and "influencer" even though he does influence a lot of people's thoughts and...

In our second episode, Deany and Simon are joined by global cultural strategist, Dr Tanya Finney to continue the discussion on the recent pushback against DEI hiring policies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this first ever episode of Rejected or Selected our (non-expert) hosts stumble through a robust discussion of the recent US-led pushback on DEI hiring policies and what this means for diversity and inclusion in the Australian business landscape. Also note, Simon is not a horse and no horses were harmed in the making of this episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.