September 17, 2025 • 18 mins
Feeling like you need to perform "interesting" at work by cramming business news and sitting in irrelevant meetings? Wondering if there's a secret timing hack for job applications that TikTok swears by? Or maybe you're the boss's unwanted favourite and it's making your work life hell?
This week, we're tackling workplace performance anxiety, job application myths, and the tricky politics of being singled out by management.
What you'll learn:
• The Performative Workplace Trap: Why forcing yourself to seem "interesting" through business news and irrelevant meetings is exhausting and unsustainable, plus authentic ways to stand out that actually showcase your personality
• Job Application Timing Truth: Debunking the TikTok theory about the "secret 24-48 hour window" and why you shouldn't game the system, plus real strategies for getting your resume noticed through referrals and connections
• Unwanted Favourite Survival Guide: How to set gentle boundaries when your boss overshares and plays favourites, managing the delicate power balance without losing your job or your colleagues' respect
Plus: The shocking Microsoft study revealing we're living in the "infinite work day" - from 6am email checks to 10pm inbox raids, and why 48% of us describe our workdays as complete chaos.
Welcome to BIZ Inbox, your go-to workplace advice podcast where awkward career questions get real-world solutions.
Got office politics nightmares or boss-from-hell situations? Send us a voice note or email us at podcast@mamamia.com.au. You can remain completely anonymous!
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HOSTS: Sarah Davidson and Em Vernem
SENIOR PRODUCER: Sophie Campbell
AUDIO PRODUCER: Leah Porges
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to Amma Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hello and welcome back to Biz in Box.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
I'm Amburnum and I'm Sarah Davidson, and today we're diving
into some workplace dilemmas that'll make you question everything, like
should you be performing interesting at work? You know that
exhausting dance of staying across business news and sitting in
meetings you don't belong in just to seem relevant.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Plus, we're investigating a TikTok conspiracy theory about job applications,
So apparently there's a secret window of time where you
should be applying and if you get it wrong, then
apparently resumes disappear into the void.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
For oh my god, we love a TikTok conspiracy theory,
but first burnout and boundaries won't come as a surprise.
But I was blown away by some of these statistics.
So according to a new study conducted by a Microsoft
for their I've Work Trend Index annual report, the infinite
workday is officially here and it's completely out of control.
(01:13):
You know that feeling when work just seeps into everything,
like the early mornings, the late nights, the weekends, and
suddenly you just can't tell where your job ends and
your actual life begins. It turns out that we're not
actually imagining that. So here is how wild things have gotten.
M I'm going to throw some numbers at you.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Forty percent of people are checking emails before sunrise because
apparently six am is the new nine am ill. We're
drowning in one hundred and seventeen emails daily. That's basically
one every four minutes during work hours. Team's messages are
even worse, one hundred and fifty pins a day because
why let anyone have a moment's peace? God forbid? A
(01:54):
woman wants to have a little bit of moment of.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Silence, God forbid.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
We want a lunch break, God forbid me. We want
to rest our most productive hours. So between nine and
eleven and then one and three are completely hijacked by meetings.
So when exactly are we supposed to do the actual work?
Meetings after eight pm are becoming the norm. Sorry what
happened to dinner? And Netflix? And by ten pm a
(02:19):
third of us are back in our inboxes. So the
result rest isn't a given anymore. It's something we have
to actively fight for. And nearly half of employees so
forty eight percent and over half of leaders being fifty
two percent, describe their work day as complete chaos, so
when there is literally no space to focus, everything feels scattered. Honestly,
(02:41):
we're not okay with this being the new normal.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
These stats are so insane reading them and like you
reading them out, but I feel like I personally tick
so many of these boxes, like emails and slacks are
the first thing I wake up at six am, and
they're the first thing I immediately check. I do definitely
get one hundred and seventeen emails daily, if not more,
same with pings on Slack. I think the only thing
(03:04):
that's a bit different for me, and that's probably because
of the type of job I have, is that I
don't actually have a lot of meetings like my quote
unquote meetings like are recording sessions, which is basically doing
my job. So that's really fine. But even after work,
like I'm just constantly thinking about work. It's now become
my baseline for everything, whereas it used to be just
(03:24):
my baseline would be home, family, hanging out with friends,
and then work was in addition to that. I have
a feeling this changed after COVID. I feel like during
COVID it felt like we were just in this lull
of just not sure what's going to happen with our job.
So many people lost their jobs, so many people are
trying to find a job, and now the market feels
(03:45):
like it hasn't changed. And we have talked about this
before on the podcast, where so many people are still
trying so so hard to find a job and not
getting it. That when you have your job, and we've
talked about job hugging, like people holding onto their jobs
and staying longer in their same workplaces. I think it's
changed from like two years to four years because we
want to just hold on to the jobs we already have.
(04:05):
And I think a side effect to that is working
over time to just like prove yourself and show that
you're committed. And now we're just in this phase where
we haven't stopped working.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
And I also think that we've embraced during COVID in
a good way flexibility of work setups. But with that
comes a fluidity that makes boundaries really hard to distinguish.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So it's almost you're making a workplace in your own home.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, which is a real positive in some ways, But
then I think this is the flip side of that,
that if you don't monitor those boundaries really carefully, it
does suddenly subsume everything about your identity. And that's really
hard because how do you scale it back. You want
some of the flexibility to work from home, but not
for it to take over your entire life.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yeah, I mean this is like such depressing status, but
I do feel like it's slightly changing now, Like I
feel like the more we become aware of the stats
and how we fit into the statistic ourselves. Like immediately
when I saw these stats last night, I was like, Okay,
you know what, I'm just not gonna checks like or email,
and I didn't need to. And I came into work
(05:08):
this morning and the first thing I did when I
came into work was check my email before I even
checked it at home. And that's I haven't done that
in like years. And literally nothing happened, Like the world
was not on fire.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
It was so fine, and even if it was, it's
like not my job to deal with that. My job.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I'm not saving lives, guys. I mean, I'm saving your
lives and your workplace lives, but I'm not saving any other.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Lives exactly, speaking of I feel like you've got an
email from Zara to save her life? What did she send?
Speaker 2 (05:36):
God, Sara, we have an email from Zara. We're gonna
try to save her lives. So Zara says, should I
be doing extra work just to seem quote unquote interesting
at work? I'm talking about staying across business news, following
the economy, sitting in on financial meetings I don't really
need to be in, sending relevant articles to team members,
(05:56):
and throwing general knowledge into conversations to seem well informed.
It feels performative. But I worry that if I don't
do this stuff, I'll just blend into the background and
miss out on opportunities. What tips and tricks do you
guys use to stay relevant and interesting without it feeling
like a second chop Ooh that's.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
A really hard one. But I definitely feel like if
it is starting to feel performative at your ene, then
it's not going to be sustainable. It sounds like it's
a chore that does feel like an extra amount of work,
And I feel like there are other ways to be
interesting and different and stand out other than engaging in
(06:35):
things that you don't find interesting and contributing something just
for the sake of contributing it, and it doesn't necessarily
have to be following the economy or sitting it on
financial meetings. Like I absolutely understand where that's coming from.
And I think there is a little bit of work
homework that you do have to do to stay current
in your particular workplace. But I think you can draw
(06:58):
the line at performative interestingness. I think there are definitely
other ways to show your personality without it feeling so forced.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yeah, I think Zara, like the outcome you want from
this is to seem well informed and quote unquote interesting,
and I don't think that's the way you do that.
I think there is a place to do exactly what
you said, Sarah, the homework from work, And I think
that's either if you're completely new to like a job,
(07:27):
and by I mean new to a job, I mean
something that's completely different to what you were doing before,
and you need to like get on the same page
and learn. I remember when I worked at Forbes magazine
in Australia that was so new to me, understanding like media,
but more people like who are investors and bankers and
like the RBA rates, Like I had to do extra
(07:48):
work to get my head around that so I could
be like the best social media editor for that role,
because it was just such different media to Mama Mia,
and that was something that I had to do because
I wanted to excel in that role. Another reason that
I feel like you take on this extra work is
if you just really really are in interested in the
industry you're working in. When I was in my audience
(08:09):
dev role, I did a lot of extra work in
terms of like looking at case studies and looking at
trends and trends reporting because I was just so so
interested in that work and I wanted to kind of
see how I could implement new ideas into the business
model that we have. And that's just something that comes
naturally when you're just really, really interested and passionate about
(08:32):
your job. If you force it, it doesn't really work
out because then it does feel like extra homework and
it does feel like a second job. So you're actually
not interested in doing that, you don't have to do that.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Yeah, I think there are many other ways that you
could show parts of your personality that make you interesting.
And I also feel like you can tell when someone
is talking about something that they don't really engage with.
Like you can tell if you're just kind of reciting
the facts or you're not inviting further conversation because you're
not genuinely passionate about the subject matter that you're talking about.
(09:03):
You could strike up a conversation with someone at work
about something totally different. It could be long distance running
if that's your passion, and you can seek out other
people in the business who like the same thing. It
could be your pets, your fur baby. It could be
a sport that you play. It could be a travel
experience that you had. There are so many other ways
or topics that could prove your interesting nature rather than
(09:26):
forcing an interest in something you're not actually interested in.
And I think that would make you exhausted, genuinely exhausted
doing all this extra work in something you don't love.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
That's such good advice, Like literally, just find the hobbies
that you love and talk about them.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Yeah, And I think even if it's not something that
everyone else shares, I love listening to other people talk
about stuff I don't know about. I find that really interesting.
So don't double guess what other people are going to
find worthy of listening to.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Yeah, that's so true. Okay. Our next question came from
Mia and she dmd us. You can always dm ask
your questions. You can remain completely anonymous if you want to.
You can dm us on Instagram or TikTok. We love
our dms. So this one says, I saw a TikTok
(10:12):
that completely changed how I think about job applications. Apparently,
if you apply within the first twenty four to forty
eight hours, your resume gets buried under hundreds of other
applications and are never seen by a human. It all
goes through ats filters scanning for keywords, then recruiters skim
through emails super fast. So when's actually the best time
(10:34):
to apply for jobs? Should I be following up on
LinkedIn or trying to get referrals? I heard referral candidates
are four times more likely to get hired. But how
do I actually make sure my name gets seen and
doesn't just disappear into the void. This is a big question.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I mean, we love a TikTok theory, and I feel
like sometimes these sort of more transparent social media platforms
have allowed really important statistics that we need to know
about to come to the surface. Having said that, I'm
a little bit skeptical about the being a all or
nothing rule. I feel like sometimes there will be recruitment
(11:11):
agencies that do run, you know, necessarily run resumes through
sorting and filtering programs, and you know there will be
some sort of process. But I think you would be
really disadvantaging yourself inaccurately if you sat on your resume
every single time until after forty eight hours just because
you thought this was the case. I don't think you
(11:32):
could safely say that every single job and every company
that's advertising for jobs is going to do it this way.
In fact, if anything, I feel like the recruiter might
be sitting down eager to see who applies first, and
perhaps have more time at the start allocated to the
recruitment process to read through the first few that come through.
And if everyone else has seen this TikTok, and he's
(11:53):
waiting to apply at forty eight hours, no one applies
in the first twenty four hours, maybe that is the
time to submit it, because you will be the first
to get your resume in the door. I do think
that that's probably a little bit still to be proven
before you would actually modify your behavior based on this.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Yeah, I am in complete agreement with you, and also
as someone who has hired people, that has not been
the case for me, Like I look at every application,
I'm like, oh my god, this loser applied in twenty
four hours, crazy bitt bin.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Yeah. I don't think there would be many businesses who
are automatically ruling you out because of that. In fact,
I doubt there would be really any. And it's sort
of like you just get to a point where it
almost feels like dating, where you like, do I reply
now or do I wait? It's just like just don't
overthink it. Once you've perfected your application and you're really
happy that it's as strong as it can be, let
it do the talking and submit it when you're ready.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Yeah. I think that's such good advice. With the question
about referrals, I think it's also dependent on the company
that you're applying for on how important referrals are. I know,
for me, whenever I applied for jobs, it's usually like
the last thing that they asked for is for referrals,
and that is more just like I guess to check
(13:09):
that I was normal. It wasn't very much about asking
me about my work ethic because it was like also,
I feel like for Mummy especially it was like my
first job, so my referrals were from like a lot
of work experience I had from different people across different industry,
so it wasn't someone who could actually vouch for like
the job I was about to do. So I think
depending on the company, like some referrals are about the jobs,
(13:31):
some are just about like you as a person. But
I do think that they do help. It's like gets
you over the finish line.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Yeah, And I also think that if there's not just
someone giving you like a written reference, but they're actually
going to hook you up or sort of personally go
and deliver your resume if you do have a connection
within the company. So for example, em, if one of
your best friends knew that Mummy always advertising for a
particular role, they would of course go through the normal channel.
But if there was a chance that you could put
(13:58):
in a good word or make sure that yours does
get seen. I always think, use as many things at
your disposal as you can, and you never know, like
sometimes it might make no difference, but on the off
chance that it does, and there's been thousands and thousands
and thousands of applications submitted. Give yourself the best chance
that you can, because, again, the person at the other
end reading it is a human and they do need
(14:19):
things that are going to grab their attention. And a referral,
direct referral from a friend or someone who can vouch
for you does make it a lot easier for the
recruiter to go. They're trustworthy, someone who's actually put their
reputation on the line, devout you. I think it does
carry more weight. So I also feel like in some jobs,
you know, they'll treat everyone equal. But yeah, if you
(14:40):
do have someone who can put your resume forward or
someone seeing you, definitely use it. Use as much as
you can to support your application if it's there.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Yeah, oh my god, good luck mea. Just make sure
you apply, don't wait, just apply, Okay. Our next question
is from a DM from Tessa, and she says, my
boss has picked me as her favorite and it's making
my life hell. She gives me all the special projects,
(15:11):
constantly invites me to lunch, and over shares personal stuff.
My teammates think I'm the teacher's pet and are getting frosty.
She even asked me to cover for her hangovers and
vents about other staff. I'm scared if I said boundaries,
she'll turn on me. But I'm losing friends at work.
How do I handle being the unwanted favorite? Oh my god?
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Oh that's hard because I love being the favorite.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
I love being the favorite too, but that I.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Want to be everyone's favorite. I wouldn't want to lose
everyone else.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah, But also like, i'd feel so uncomfortable if my
boss asked me to cover for her hangover. Yeah, Like
i'd do it for a co worker, but I feel
like a boss is a different level. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
And also if it's making everyone else frosty towards you,
I'd be like, you're my people, Like we're the minions,
We're all on the same level. You hate me. Oh,
that's really really difficult, And I think it comes back
to a similar theme that we've a couple of times
in previous episodes about the power imbalance that comes with
not wanting to set boundaries with somebody who has authority
(16:13):
over you and who can influence your role, which is
a really really difficult situation to be in. And I'm
honestly not even sure what my advice would be, because
you're right, you don't want to piss them off because
they're your boss. But I'm not actually even sure what
I would do.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
I think that she has to set boundaries because it
is impacting her work, and I feel like this is
getting into more of like a very unsustainable and unethical
workplace relationship. So I think she has to set boundaries
and her boss might turn on her, which is what
she says. But I feel like if that happens and
(16:48):
that's just super unprofessional from the boss, and I think
if that happens and that escalates, then that's something that
you need to bring hr into. But I feel like,
set the boundaries, see what happens. Nothing might happen, The
boss might just back off a little, and then it's
more of a professional relationship, which I feel like is
Tessa's ideal outcome. But I feel like if it does
get nasty and her boss starts acting unprofessional, then she
(17:11):
can escalate that.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Yeah, that's great advice, and I think you can probably
also manage part of it in the way that you
deliver the boundary. Yeah, it can be gradual and gentle
rather than an abrupt confrontation of no, I will not
cover for your hangover. Like I feel like you can
do it in a really gentle way, and maybe over
time you can build up that boundary so it doesn't
(17:34):
feel abrupt and so the blowback on you is a
little bit less, and then you can test the waters
and see are they going to respond well or not.
But I don't envy decline.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Some lunches decline. Some lunches say I'm really busy with
work that you're making me do as well, I can't
come to lunch. Well that's a toughie, though, And then
just start hanging out with like your coworkers, I think,
more than your manager. But good luck, yeah, good luck.
Such a shitty show. Well that is actually all we
(18:03):
have for this week. Please keep the questions flowing. There's
a link in our show notes for you to do so.
Anonymous submissions are also perfect if you're spiraling about work
stuff but you don't want your name on it. That
is so so fun. We love the anonymous stuff. We
will be back next week to solve more career chaos.
You can also follow us on Instagram at bisby mam
(18:23):
Mia and TikTok. We are at bisby Mammia on there
as well, and sign up to our newsletter there's a
link in our show notes. This episode of BIZ was
produced by Sophie Campbell with audio production by Leoh Porgees.
We will see you next week. Bye bye, Mamma. Mia
(18:46):
acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters that this
podcast is recorded on
You're listening to Amma Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hello and welcome back to Biz in Box.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
I'm Amburnum and I'm Sarah Davidson, and today we're diving
into some workplace dilemmas that'll make you question everything, like
should you be performing interesting at work? You know that
exhausting dance of staying across business news and sitting in
meetings you don't belong in just to seem relevant.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Plus, we're investigating a TikTok conspiracy theory about job applications,
So apparently there's a secret window of time where you
should be applying and if you get it wrong, then
apparently resumes disappear into the void.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
For oh my god, we love a TikTok conspiracy theory,
but first burnout and boundaries won't come as a surprise.
But I was blown away by some of these statistics.
So according to a new study conducted by a Microsoft
for their I've Work Trend Index annual report, the infinite
workday is officially here and it's completely out of control.
(01:13):
You know that feeling when work just seeps into everything,
like the early mornings, the late nights, the weekends, and
suddenly you just can't tell where your job ends and
your actual life begins. It turns out that we're not
actually imagining that. So here is how wild things have gotten.
M I'm going to throw some numbers at you.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Forty percent of people are checking emails before sunrise because
apparently six am is the new nine am ill. We're
drowning in one hundred and seventeen emails daily. That's basically
one every four minutes during work hours. Team's messages are
even worse, one hundred and fifty pins a day because
why let anyone have a moment's peace? God forbid? A
(01:54):
woman wants to have a little bit of moment of.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Silence, God forbid.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
We want a lunch break, God forbid me. We want
to rest our most productive hours. So between nine and
eleven and then one and three are completely hijacked by meetings.
So when exactly are we supposed to do the actual work?
Meetings after eight pm are becoming the norm. Sorry what
happened to dinner? And Netflix? And by ten pm a
(02:19):
third of us are back in our inboxes. So the
result rest isn't a given anymore. It's something we have
to actively fight for. And nearly half of employees so
forty eight percent and over half of leaders being fifty
two percent, describe their work day as complete chaos, so
when there is literally no space to focus, everything feels scattered. Honestly,
(02:41):
we're not okay with this being the new normal.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
These stats are so insane reading them and like you
reading them out, but I feel like I personally tick
so many of these boxes, like emails and slacks are
the first thing I wake up at six am, and
they're the first thing I immediately check. I do definitely
get one hundred and seventeen emails daily, if not more,
same with pings on Slack. I think the only thing
(03:04):
that's a bit different for me, and that's probably because
of the type of job I have, is that I
don't actually have a lot of meetings like my quote
unquote meetings like are recording sessions, which is basically doing
my job. So that's really fine. But even after work,
like I'm just constantly thinking about work. It's now become
my baseline for everything, whereas it used to be just
(03:24):
my baseline would be home, family, hanging out with friends,
and then work was in addition to that. I have
a feeling this changed after COVID. I feel like during
COVID it felt like we were just in this lull
of just not sure what's going to happen with our job.
So many people lost their jobs, so many people are
trying to find a job, and now the market feels
(03:45):
like it hasn't changed. And we have talked about this
before on the podcast, where so many people are still
trying so so hard to find a job and not
getting it. That when you have your job, and we've
talked about job hugging, like people holding onto their jobs
and staying longer in their same workplaces. I think it's
changed from like two years to four years because we
want to just hold on to the jobs we already have.
(04:05):
And I think a side effect to that is working
over time to just like prove yourself and show that
you're committed. And now we're just in this phase where
we haven't stopped working.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
And I also think that we've embraced during COVID in
a good way flexibility of work setups. But with that
comes a fluidity that makes boundaries really hard to distinguish.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So it's almost you're making a workplace in your own home.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, which is a real positive in some ways, But
then I think this is the flip side of that,
that if you don't monitor those boundaries really carefully, it
does suddenly subsume everything about your identity. And that's really
hard because how do you scale it back. You want
some of the flexibility to work from home, but not
for it to take over your entire life.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yeah, I mean this is like such depressing status, but
I do feel like it's slightly changing now, Like I
feel like the more we become aware of the stats
and how we fit into the statistic ourselves. Like immediately
when I saw these stats last night, I was like, Okay,
you know what, I'm just not gonna checks like or email,
and I didn't need to. And I came into work
(05:08):
this morning and the first thing I did when I
came into work was check my email before I even
checked it at home. And that's I haven't done that
in like years. And literally nothing happened, Like the world
was not on fire.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
It was so fine, and even if it was, it's
like not my job to deal with that. My job.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I'm not saving lives, guys. I mean, I'm saving your
lives and your workplace lives, but I'm not saving any other.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Lives exactly, speaking of I feel like you've got an
email from Zara to save her life? What did she send?
Speaker 2 (05:36):
God, Sara, we have an email from Zara. We're gonna
try to save her lives. So Zara says, should I
be doing extra work just to seem quote unquote interesting
at work? I'm talking about staying across business news, following
the economy, sitting in on financial meetings I don't really
need to be in, sending relevant articles to team members,
(05:56):
and throwing general knowledge into conversations to seem well informed.
It feels performative. But I worry that if I don't
do this stuff, I'll just blend into the background and
miss out on opportunities. What tips and tricks do you
guys use to stay relevant and interesting without it feeling
like a second chop Ooh that's.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
A really hard one. But I definitely feel like if
it is starting to feel performative at your ene, then
it's not going to be sustainable. It sounds like it's
a chore that does feel like an extra amount of work,
And I feel like there are other ways to be
interesting and different and stand out other than engaging in
(06:35):
things that you don't find interesting and contributing something just
for the sake of contributing it, and it doesn't necessarily
have to be following the economy or sitting it on
financial meetings. Like I absolutely understand where that's coming from.
And I think there is a little bit of work
homework that you do have to do to stay current
in your particular workplace. But I think you can draw
(06:58):
the line at performative interestingness. I think there are definitely
other ways to show your personality without it feeling so forced.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yeah, I think Zara, like the outcome you want from
this is to seem well informed and quote unquote interesting,
and I don't think that's the way you do that.
I think there is a place to do exactly what
you said, Sarah, the homework from work, And I think
that's either if you're completely new to like a job,
(07:27):
and by I mean new to a job, I mean
something that's completely different to what you were doing before,
and you need to like get on the same page
and learn. I remember when I worked at Forbes magazine
in Australia that was so new to me, understanding like media,
but more people like who are investors and bankers and
like the RBA rates, Like I had to do extra
(07:48):
work to get my head around that so I could
be like the best social media editor for that role,
because it was just such different media to Mama Mia,
and that was something that I had to do because
I wanted to excel in that role. Another reason that
I feel like you take on this extra work is
if you just really really are in interested in the
industry you're working in. When I was in my audience
(08:09):
dev role, I did a lot of extra work in
terms of like looking at case studies and looking at
trends and trends reporting because I was just so so
interested in that work and I wanted to kind of
see how I could implement new ideas into the business
model that we have. And that's just something that comes
naturally when you're just really, really interested and passionate about
(08:32):
your job. If you force it, it doesn't really work
out because then it does feel like extra homework and
it does feel like a second job. So you're actually
not interested in doing that, you don't have to do that.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Yeah, I think there are many other ways that you
could show parts of your personality that make you interesting.
And I also feel like you can tell when someone
is talking about something that they don't really engage with.
Like you can tell if you're just kind of reciting
the facts or you're not inviting further conversation because you're
not genuinely passionate about the subject matter that you're talking about.
(09:03):
You could strike up a conversation with someone at work
about something totally different. It could be long distance running
if that's your passion, and you can seek out other
people in the business who like the same thing. It
could be your pets, your fur baby. It could be
a sport that you play. It could be a travel
experience that you had. There are so many other ways
or topics that could prove your interesting nature rather than
(09:26):
forcing an interest in something you're not actually interested in.
And I think that would make you exhausted, genuinely exhausted
doing all this extra work in something you don't love.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
That's such good advice, Like literally, just find the hobbies
that you love and talk about them.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Yeah, And I think even if it's not something that
everyone else shares, I love listening to other people talk
about stuff I don't know about. I find that really interesting.
So don't double guess what other people are going to
find worthy of listening to.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Yeah, that's so true. Okay. Our next question came from
Mia and she dmd us. You can always dm ask
your questions. You can remain completely anonymous if you want to.
You can dm us on Instagram or TikTok. We love
our dms. So this one says, I saw a TikTok
(10:12):
that completely changed how I think about job applications. Apparently,
if you apply within the first twenty four to forty
eight hours, your resume gets buried under hundreds of other
applications and are never seen by a human. It all
goes through ats filters scanning for keywords, then recruiters skim
through emails super fast. So when's actually the best time
(10:34):
to apply for jobs? Should I be following up on
LinkedIn or trying to get referrals? I heard referral candidates
are four times more likely to get hired. But how
do I actually make sure my name gets seen and
doesn't just disappear into the void. This is a big question.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I mean, we love a TikTok theory, and I feel
like sometimes these sort of more transparent social media platforms
have allowed really important statistics that we need to know
about to come to the surface. Having said that, I'm
a little bit skeptical about the being a all or
nothing rule. I feel like sometimes there will be recruitment
(11:11):
agencies that do run, you know, necessarily run resumes through
sorting and filtering programs, and you know there will be
some sort of process. But I think you would be
really disadvantaging yourself inaccurately if you sat on your resume
every single time until after forty eight hours just because
you thought this was the case. I don't think you
(11:32):
could safely say that every single job and every company
that's advertising for jobs is going to do it this way.
In fact, if anything, I feel like the recruiter might
be sitting down eager to see who applies first, and
perhaps have more time at the start allocated to the
recruitment process to read through the first few that come through.
And if everyone else has seen this TikTok, and he's
(11:53):
waiting to apply at forty eight hours, no one applies
in the first twenty four hours, maybe that is the
time to submit it, because you will be the first
to get your resume in the door. I do think
that that's probably a little bit still to be proven
before you would actually modify your behavior based on this.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Yeah, I am in complete agreement with you, and also
as someone who has hired people, that has not been
the case for me, Like I look at every application,
I'm like, oh my god, this loser applied in twenty
four hours, crazy bitt bin.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Yeah. I don't think there would be many businesses who
are automatically ruling you out because of that. In fact,
I doubt there would be really any. And it's sort
of like you just get to a point where it
almost feels like dating, where you like, do I reply
now or do I wait? It's just like just don't
overthink it. Once you've perfected your application and you're really
happy that it's as strong as it can be, let
it do the talking and submit it when you're ready.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Yeah. I think that's such good advice. With the question
about referrals, I think it's also dependent on the company
that you're applying for on how important referrals are. I know,
for me, whenever I applied for jobs, it's usually like
the last thing that they asked for is for referrals,
and that is more just like I guess to check
(13:09):
that I was normal. It wasn't very much about asking
me about my work ethic because it was like also,
I feel like for Mummy especially it was like my
first job, so my referrals were from like a lot
of work experience I had from different people across different industry,
so it wasn't someone who could actually vouch for like
the job I was about to do. So I think
depending on the company, like some referrals are about the jobs,
(13:31):
some are just about like you as a person. But
I do think that they do help. It's like gets
you over the finish line.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Yeah, And I also think that if there's not just
someone giving you like a written reference, but they're actually
going to hook you up or sort of personally go
and deliver your resume if you do have a connection
within the company. So for example, em, if one of
your best friends knew that Mummy always advertising for a
particular role, they would of course go through the normal channel.
But if there was a chance that you could put
(13:58):
in a good word or make sure that yours does
get seen. I always think, use as many things at
your disposal as you can, and you never know, like
sometimes it might make no difference, but on the off
chance that it does, and there's been thousands and thousands
and thousands of applications submitted. Give yourself the best chance
that you can, because, again, the person at the other
end reading it is a human and they do need
(14:19):
things that are going to grab their attention. And a referral,
direct referral from a friend or someone who can vouch
for you does make it a lot easier for the
recruiter to go. They're trustworthy, someone who's actually put their
reputation on the line, devout you. I think it does
carry more weight. So I also feel like in some jobs,
you know, they'll treat everyone equal. But yeah, if you
(14:40):
do have someone who can put your resume forward or
someone seeing you, definitely use it. Use as much as
you can to support your application if it's there.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Yeah, oh my god, good luck mea. Just make sure
you apply, don't wait, just apply, Okay. Our next question
is from a DM from Tessa, and she says, my
boss has picked me as her favorite and it's making
my life hell. She gives me all the special projects,
(15:11):
constantly invites me to lunch, and over shares personal stuff.
My teammates think I'm the teacher's pet and are getting frosty.
She even asked me to cover for her hangovers and
vents about other staff. I'm scared if I said boundaries,
she'll turn on me. But I'm losing friends at work.
How do I handle being the unwanted favorite? Oh my god?
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Oh that's hard because I love being the favorite.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
I love being the favorite too, but that I.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Want to be everyone's favorite. I wouldn't want to lose
everyone else.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah, But also like, i'd feel so uncomfortable if my
boss asked me to cover for her hangover. Yeah, Like
i'd do it for a co worker, but I feel
like a boss is a different level. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
And also if it's making everyone else frosty towards you,
I'd be like, you're my people, Like we're the minions,
We're all on the same level. You hate me. Oh,
that's really really difficult, And I think it comes back
to a similar theme that we've a couple of times
in previous episodes about the power imbalance that comes with
not wanting to set boundaries with somebody who has authority
(16:13):
over you and who can influence your role, which is
a really really difficult situation to be in. And I'm
honestly not even sure what my advice would be, because
you're right, you don't want to piss them off because
they're your boss. But I'm not actually even sure what
I would do.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
I think that she has to set boundaries because it
is impacting her work, and I feel like this is
getting into more of like a very unsustainable and unethical
workplace relationship. So I think she has to set boundaries
and her boss might turn on her, which is what
she says. But I feel like if that happens and
(16:48):
that's just super unprofessional from the boss, and I think
if that happens and that escalates, then that's something that
you need to bring hr into. But I feel like,
set the boundaries, see what happens. Nothing might happen, The
boss might just back off a little, and then it's
more of a professional relationship, which I feel like is
Tessa's ideal outcome. But I feel like if it does
get nasty and her boss starts acting unprofessional, then she
(17:11):
can escalate that.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Yeah, that's great advice, and I think you can probably
also manage part of it in the way that you
deliver the boundary. Yeah, it can be gradual and gentle
rather than an abrupt confrontation of no, I will not
cover for your hangover. Like I feel like you can
do it in a really gentle way, and maybe over
time you can build up that boundary so it doesn't
(17:34):
feel abrupt and so the blowback on you is a
little bit less, and then you can test the waters
and see are they going to respond well or not.
But I don't envy decline.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Some lunches decline. Some lunches say I'm really busy with
work that you're making me do as well, I can't
come to lunch. Well that's a toughie, though, And then
just start hanging out with like your coworkers, I think,
more than your manager. But good luck, yeah, good luck.
Such a shitty show. Well that is actually all we
(18:03):
have for this week. Please keep the questions flowing. There's
a link in our show notes for you to do so.
Anonymous submissions are also perfect if you're spiraling about work
stuff but you don't want your name on it. That
is so so fun. We love the anonymous stuff. We
will be back next week to solve more career chaos.
You can also follow us on Instagram at bisby mam
(18:23):
Mia and TikTok. We are at bisby Mammia on there
as well, and sign up to our newsletter there's a
link in our show notes. This episode of BIZ was
produced by Sophie Campbell with audio production by Leoh Porgees.
We will see you next week. Bye bye, Mamma. Mia
(18:46):
acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters that this
podcast is recorded on
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