This Month
The 10 most memorable Lunches with the AFR of 2024
From Young Rich Listers to BlackRock’s chief strategist and Donald Trump’s former daily intelligence briefer. These were the 10 most read Lunches with the AFR in 2024.
- Staff writers
From Picnic at Hanging Rock to making it as a lawyer in Hollywood
Karen Robson starred in the 1975 film, then went to law school and founded the Los Angeles office of a law firm where she still practises today.
- Daniel Arbon, Maxim Shanahan and Ciara Seccombe
How accountants will help save the planet
The once humble accountant will be key to supporting the transition to net zero.
- Sally Patten
November
AI now critical for job hunting success, recruiters say
It is becoming acceptable to use the technology to draft letters and CVs — but not to answer assessments.
- Bethan Staton
The 10 jobs that landed the biggest pay rises in financial year 2024
Geologists, engineers and trades such as carpenters and electricians were among the occupations that landed the largest salary bumps.
- Euan Black
October
I’m paid $99,170 as a nanny – the kids like me more than their parents
My employers tend to work in high-powered finance jobs. The money and lifestyle may seem envious, but they are never there for their children.
- MaryLou Costa
How execs create their own jobs
BOSS talks to three executives who came up with their own titles or convinced an employer to create a new position for them.
- Euan Black
Reddit’s ‘LinkedIn Lunatics’ shames the platform’s creepiest posts
On the subreddit, 670,000 members lament the rise of “insufferable” content on the Microsoft-owned professional networking site.
- Alicia Tang
How to have a job you love, save the world and earn up to $800k
This week BOSS speaks to four executives who are helping to save the planet. All have a high level of job satisfaction, and all earn decent money. It appears it is possible to have it all.
- Sally Patten
September
Why becoming a chief of staff is good for your career
Three top executives who took on the role early in their careers say the position was a springboard to far bigger jobs.
- Sally Patten
Downton Abbey but with NDAs: how to be a butler to the super-rich
At an elite academy in the Netherlands, the archaic art of buttling is being reinvented for the 21st century.
- Will Coldwell
Meet the retirees hunting down cold cases
A global network of do-it-yourself detectives is on a mission to solve the mysteries that police won’t. Like, who is “D. Malan”, discovered on a hillside in 1979 and still never identified?
- Emma Jacobs
CEO who said TV host needed an ‘uppercut’ lands at Franchise Council
Go figure: saying a TV host needed a “firm uppercut or a slap across the face” isn’t career suicide.
- Myriam Robin
- Opinion
- Careers
How to write the perfect résumé
Anyone’s CV can fit on a page, even if you have held residencies in the world’s eight top hospitals or are Christine Lagarde. The older you get, the more you should prioritise work experience over education.
- The Economist
August
The hidden jobs revealed by the new skills atlas
A new digital jobs and skills atlas shows where the hidden jobs are and reveals surprising new trends, especially in regional Australia.
- Tom Burton
Higgins rape case judge calls for greater judicial accountability
Michael Lee urged media outlets to more aggressively fight suppression orders, which he said should only be used in a “small range of cases”.
- Aaron Patrick
As a state school graduate, I believe in private schools
A British financier explains why she educated her children privately, even though the government gave her a good education.
- Helena Morrissey
July
- Analysis
- Fertility
If this law graduate has two children, she will be exceptional
Claudia McDonnell, 24, belongs to the most childless generation of Australian women in modern history.
- Aaron Patrick
‘I’m going to get a margarita, and I’ll be back’: why CEOs work on holidays
With remote work now the norm for large numbers of professionals and connectivity at near constant levels, for many senior people in business, switching off completely is unrealistic.
- Oliver Balch
June
‘My graduate job starting salary was $343,000 – here’s why’
Some law and investment banking firms in Britain are paying graduates in their early 20s enormous salaries. The financial rewards are vast but come at a big cost.
- Kimberley Bond
The winners of the Women in Leadership Awards
Meet the winners of the 2024 Women in Leadership Awards, in eight key economic categories.
What’s your best career tip? Award winners share theirs
Lead with compassion, don’t assume you know all the answers, and play to your strengths: winners in the Women in Leadership Awards share advice that has helped them.
- Victoria Thieberger
- Opinion
- Women in Leadership
‘Inclusion, resilience, empathy’: How modern leadership is changing
Modern leadership is about more than successfully deploying skills and industry expertise – it strongly encompasses the people side, writes Patricia McKenzie.
- Patricia McKenzie
- Professional Services Winners
- Women in Leadership
‘Non-conforming bid’ that took dynamic duo to the top
The winners of the Professional Services category are two Arup engineers who proposed a unique joint arrangement to enable them to balance leadership and family commitments.
- Maxim Shanahan