Sue Nyathi on Quitting Finance at 40 to Become Netflix's #1 Author

Sue Nyathi on Quitting Finance at 40 to Become Netflix's #1 Author

She wrote her first novel at 13. One handwritten copy, passed around her class at Girls' College - and nobody ever lost it.   Fourteen years after self-publishing The Polygamist, it became a Netflix series - number one in 16 countries around the world.   In this episode of HUMHR Career Insights, Batje Chibafa sits down with Sue Nyathi in Johannesburg - the first stop on the Africa Across Borders Tour 2026.     They talked about: - Writing by night while building a 20-year career in finance - The rejection letters that almost ended everything - Leaving corporate at 40 with no plan B - A spiritual awakening during COVID - The phone call in 2022 that became Netflix - What it means to be a social anthropologist - The 4 Ps: Perseverance, Passion, Persistence and Providence   CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome | Johannesburg, South Africa 00:48 Netflix #1 in 16 countries 02:38 The Polygamist: written 2010, self-published 2012 03:43 The two-page rejection letter 07:53 The novel she wrote at 13 - one handwritten copy 11:14 Writing as a lens on society 16:24 Quitting finance at 40 - with no plan B 19:57 COVID, silence, and a spiritual awakening 23:35 Learning the business of writing 37:44 Discipline over inspiration: 8am to 3pm, every day 40:17 The Polygamist's impact: book clubs, healing, controversy 49:39 The Netflix adaptation 61:12 Kenya: when the government took notice 63:09 French translation rights 65:33 What would 13-year-old Sue say? 65:51 Fire round   GUEST: Sue Nyathi | Author | The Polygamist, The Gold Diggers, A Family Affair, An Angel's Demise   HOST: Batje Chibafa | Certified Career Coach | Founder, HUMHR   Subscribe: YouTube @humhr3715 Instagram: @humhr2021 Website: humhr.org Linktree: linktr.ee/humhr

Season 4 Finale: I Interviewed an AI About Your Career

For the Season 4 finale, Batje Chibafa sits down with a guest unlike any she has had before. No flight to catch, no green room. Her guest is Claude, Anthropic's AI. They talk about whether AI is coming for your job, what it means for humanitarian careers, why entrepreneurship is not the answer for everyone, the recruiter double standard, and the question that stopped the whole conversation: Is AI even made for Africa? Claude also reflects on Season 4, shares its favourite episode, and answers the question Batje saved until last: how much water did this conversation cost the world? HUMHR Career Insights helps purpose-driven professionals navigate career transitions, build on their strengths, and find work that matters. Globally.   If this episode moved you, three things help us grow. Subscribe. Rate. Share with one person who needs to hear this.   CONNECT WITH HUMHR Watch and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@humhr3715 Join us on Patreon: patreon.com/c/HUMHRCareer All links: linktr.ee/humhr Listen on Podbean: batje.podbean.com Batje on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/batjechibafa HUMHR on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/humhr Book a conversation: humhr.org   Subscribe to HUMHR Career Insights and stay inspired.

Trust in Recruitment. The System Needs an Overhaul. | Batje's Take #13 | HUMHR Career Insights

I posted a reel about 172 job applications and 3 responses. The comments did not say "wow." They said "me too." Person after person. Different country. Different industry. Same silence. When that many people recognise themselves in one experience, you are not looking at a bad day. You are looking at a broken system. In this Batje's Take, I dig into the trust that has broken down between those who are hiring and those who are being hired — and what it will actually take to fix it. What I cover: * Why the ATS is not an efficiency tool. It is a silence machine. * Is AI interviewing innovation, or is it the same problem at a higher speed? * The difference between using AI to prepare for an interview and using AI during one. One is smart. One is misrepresentation. * What the Readiness Room at HUMHR is built on. * What a real recruitment overhaul looks like. If you have been screened out, ghosted, or went through a full process and heard nothing — this one is for you. And if you work in HR or talent acquisition — this one is especially for you. Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Visit humhr.org to book a conversation or join the Readiness Room.

Be a Pioneer. Be a Weed. | Lizz Mhangami | HUMHR Career Insights

Be a Pioneer. Be a weed. Weeds survive where other plants cannot. Dandelions are food. Being a weed is not a consolation — it is a strategy. In Part 2, Elizabeth Mhangami goes deeper on what it really means to build a career on your own terms: entrepreneurship as a mindset, the donor consulting model that works without a pocket of donors, why return-to-office mandates are a career equity issue, and the self-worth conversation that changed everything. What we cover in Part 2: * Why letting the jobs go might be the best career move you ever make * What Elizabeth actually does as a donor consultant — it is not a pocket full of donors * The weed metaphor that will change how you think about your career * Why return-to-office is a career equity issue, not just a preference * "If you need to see me to consider me for a promotion, there is a misalignment there already" * No one treats you worse than you treat yourself — the inner critic work * The coaching turning point: cortisol, inflammation, and finally trusting what you were seeing Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Follow HUMHR on Instagram: @humhr2021 | humhr.org

: AI, ATS and the Hiring System: Was It Ever Built for Us? | Lizz Mhangami

She sent 172 job applications. Got 3 responses. Not because she wasn't qualified — but because the AI screening systems never read her CV.   In this episode, Elizabeth Mhangami (Principal Consultant, NDISU) joins Batje Chibafa in studio to talk about what is really happening in hiring — the ATS arms race, who AI was designed for, and whether the tools shaping the job market were ever built for the Global South.   What we cover in Part 1: * Why personalising AI tools quietly takes credit away from your own work * The 172-application job search story that predicted today's hiring landscape * ATS, AI, and the arms race: first we used AI to beat ATS — now we need AI to beat AI * Why grant funding and hiring share the same broken trust problem * How Elizabeth uses ChatGPT as a strategy consultant, not a shortcut * Data centres, Zimbabwe's lithium, and the real ethics of technology * Hazel's question from South Africa: does any of this AI actually work for the Global South? Follow HUMHR on Instagram: @humhr2021 | humhr.org