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Does anyone have experience interviewing with Deloitte Internal Services? I had my final interview a week and a half ago, and received positive feedback throughout. The hiring manager had positive things to say and mentioned they hoped to make a decision by the end of last week. It’s now Friday the week after. The role still shows as “Interviews in Process.” We did discuss potential start dates, but no salary. Any experience with receiving offers for an internal services role? Is this common?
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Hi Linda! As a former recruiter, what qualities made you think, "This person is a top candidate"? Interested to hear your thoughts.
Is not having a profile/summary a red flag? I go straight into my professional exp after my name and whatnot
Hey Linda! Networking has always been uncomfortable for me. I can make small talk, but it feels surface-level and I walk away not knowing if I made a real connection. How can introverts build meaningful professional relationships without it feeling forced?
I totally understand as I’m a big introvert and do not enjoy small talk myself! But a trick I’ve learned is go in with the intention of expressing genuine curiosity about that person. As introverts we are wired to listen more than speak so use this to your advantage and simply ask, listen, make a comment related to what they’re saying from your life, and feel your way through navigating the conversation. That’s really all you can do and afterwards follow up saying it was nice meeting you and let it be!
About to hop on a podcast interview with Ben Chan - The Organized Chaos Cafe for the next hour - will answer your questions when I’m back!
How do you answer the question why are you leaving your position when the reason is change of management and they are toxic?
Thank you!
Its difficult to boast what I’m good at. So many people are taught that showing pride is “unbecoming”. How do you show what you can do on a resume without it sounding overzealous?
Absolutely! Speaking with confidence is not being braggadocious, it is stating facts with confidence.
Hi Linda! I feel like as an introvert, it's hard to showcase and communicate my abilities. How do you recommend people build confidence in interviews, especially when nerves get in the way?
The biggest is to first acknowledge your abilities, the accomplishments you've made, the expertise that you have. You have to own what you know and are capable of. Then it goes down to having solid stories. I teach people to have a treasure chest of stories related to the different projects, assignments, etc you've been part of and the impact that your involvement made. Ultimately, it comes down to then practice, practice, practice. Know your value, put it into structured story frameworks, and then practice articulating them!
Hi Linda! Was there ever a time in your career when you felt stuck? If so, how did you find clarity?
Yes - many times. I talk about this in my book The Quiet Achiever and refer to these moments in my career as “stagnation periods” where you just feel lost and confused on where you’re at and what’s next. It happened to me after leaving the accounting profession, then again after leaving recruiting. But the key to getting out of it is self-examination and honesty with yourself. Knowing what your heart is guiding you towards. Do journaling, deep reflection, ask yourself “What do I truly want?” These will help guide you to the answers. Each and every time I’ve come out the other side levelled up, to greater things than I ever thought were possible. Stuck is good.., it means you’re ready to level up. You just have to go inwards and follow your guidance to lead you to the next right step.
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How can I make my voice heard in group settings where extroverts dominate the conversation?
Looking forward to it
Thanks for sharing your time and knowledge with us today, Linda!
How can I highlight my soft skills when resumes and job descriptions often focus on hard skills? I'm working on building up my hard skills, but feel that I have a lot of soft skills to offer as well. I would imagine soft skills would be really valuable to highlight, too, since those aren't as easy to teach?
On a resume, technical skills rule. Because the purpose of the resume is to determine if technically, you're able to do the job. The soft skills will come through in the interviews. So I would not include too many soft skills keywords on your resume, because it doesn't mean much until they interact with you to experience your soft skills. Keep it more technically focused and then let your soft skills flow through in the meetings. Good luck!
Tbh performance reviews and self-promotion have always been tough for me. I usually just hope my work speaks for itself, but I know that’s not always enough. How do you recommend someone like me share their accomplishments with confidence without feeling like they’re bragging?
First is to stop seeing it as bragging, and rather, informing. You are informing your boss/manager of what you've done well this year. When you look at it from a matter-of-fact perspective, it reduces the emotional anxiety associated with it. Second is to make sure you tell them not only what you did well, but the impact that it had for the team/company. This is again about informing them that the things you did well made a difference, and they might not have been able to realize it until you say it. Your manager isn't some amazing person who keeps track of everything you do - you need to help them recognize them.
What are some of your favorite strategies for building confidence in the workplace? I have a lot of really great ideas, but I'm just scared to share them out of fear of looking stupid.
Confidence is a by product of doing inner work. I talk about this a lot in my book The Quiet Achiever. The reason why you don't feel confident is because there is a belief associated to the thing you're not confident about - feeling that you're not good enough or don't measure up. That's where to begin - understand and dig deep as to why you believe that, where its coming from and question whether it's actually true. Once a negative belief is acknowledged, that's when it begins to dissipate. Then from there, take the action steps to pursue the project or task that you want to do with the renewed mindset that that you're able to do it too. Confidence is built from self-reflection + action. Hope that helps!
Love this Linda! In 2025, I've heard a lot of conflicting advice on the dreaded salary expectations question.
I hear a lot of advice encouraging people to throw it back to the employer or focus more on fit, but in this job market, I find that candidates need to be much more well-researched on the market rates, and do more digging rather than play this weird back and forth.
I'd be much more impressed with someone giving me a market researched rate, and speak to their qualifications and justify it with their value than bounce it back to them and dodge the question.
What do you think?
I agree - as a former recruiter, I preferred candidates tell me how much they were expecting than to dodge it. It actually annoyed me when they were trying to be discreet about it, because then I had no idea what they wanted $ wise! I always advise to say, "I am looking for _$__ or above, based on my qualifications, experience, expertise and the value that I know I can bring to this position."
Yeah this was good
Glad you enjoyed it!
Beautiful
I also would like to hear your thoughts on all three please.
What suggestions would you give to assist a person who has experienced parental Abuse affecting their hygiene and self esteem?
I found that having my staff look at problems and make decisions about how they would approach them. This was a time that I looked at my own weaknesses as a leader. It allowed me to build confidence myself and in my staff members. Scenarios would be…how would you deal with a difficult home owner…we have a common area that needs to be replaced how should we assist the board in determining what are the best materials and products to provide a low maintenance environment… I would have them use post its to detail answers and place them on our board. We would discuss and process the issue. I would provide positive feed to the member that needed a confidence boost.
Hi Linda, landing a job offer can feel tough, so I’ve been hesitant to negotiate out of fear it might put the offer at risk. How do you know when it’s the right time to negotiate and when it’s better not to? ❤️
Best time to negotiate is at the stage where you get the job offer. Written, in hand. So before signing back, you'll then request for a higher compensation, etc. But of course, you have to feel comfortable and do your research on whether the amount they're paying is already above market or at or below. If you know there's room---definitely negotiate. But only at job offer stage - not any earlier! :)
How do you balance work and life with ease? Also how to actually get the job from an interview?
Advice for being a decisionmaker (and often the “bad guy”) when your decisions are unpopular with those you are supporting, despite ultimately being correct?
It's about how you communicate your decisions. People need to feel like they are involved with your decision making - even if it was your idea in the first place. But it means taking them from where they're at from their point of view, help them work through the resistance of your decision by talking it through and calmly showcasing your backup and facts, to then taking them to a place where they understand why you're making that decision. Doing it this way involves the individuals in the process to help them get to the same conclusion as you, and they'll more likely to buy into the idea.