The interview felt warm, the panel smiled, and someone else got the job. For experienced professionals, coming second usually has less to do with interview skills and more to do with what they leave out. Here is what panels actually score, and how to make your own experience the reason you are appointed.

Around the ten-year mark, competent professionals often notice the job still works on paper but no longer means anything. This isn't burnout. It's misalignment between the work and what actually matters. Drawing on client experience and McKinsey's purpose data, this piece looks at why it happens and what to do about it.

Most career dissatisfaction never gets tested against real evidence, so people keep talking about a move for years without making one. Paula Donnan explores seven practical tools, including strengths assessments and career timelines, that turn a vague feeling of misalignment into clear, actionable direction for mid-career professionals ready to move with intention.