Inside Knowledge: How Women Can Thrive in Professional Service Firms

by Alison Temperley

Inside Knowledge provides practical guidance for women working in professional service firms who aspire to achieve their full potential in what have traditionally been male working environments. It explores what women can do to achieve careers in professional service firms commensurate with their knowledge, skills, experience and talent.The book draws on the knowledge accumulated during the author’s thirty years of experience working in and for such firms, supplemented by what she has learned from her work with hundreds of professional women and men that she has coached in accountancy, law and consulting firms as well as in award-winning women’s leadership programmes.The practical exercises that appear within the book have been extensively tested and finely honed over time and are designed to build on one another, thereby allowing readers to manage their careers efficiently and effectively. They help the reader to articulate what she wants from her career and what she can offer a professional service firm, ensuring that others understand her ambitions, hopes and dreams as well as her knowledge, skills and expertise. The exercises build to provide guidance for managing office politics, developing business and ultimately obtaining the desired results from appraisals and promotion opportunities.

251 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2017

Reviews

[Vaanie Krishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for any young professional trying to navigate the sometimes convoluded and political corporate world. This book connected so many dots for me and has influenced and change my approach to my career completely. I'd buy it for anyone entering the corporate world, especially and young woman.

[Munhjin Batbayar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very relevant

Useful insights for women working in professional service firms. It’s nice to have a knowledgeable person to coach you and guide you like this.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that only a woman can write, being one full of 'should do's' that no male author will be able to get away with.

Most of the book was dedicated to giving women pointers and advice on how to 'market' themselves internally (at the office) and externally (outside perception). I found this interesting, because it revealed to me the numerous (and unfair) struggles and challenges women face in workplaces everywhere. It made me so much more conscious to certain behaviours, and I hope to be a more sensitive, understanding and, most importantly, a fair and unbiased colleague to my female peers.

Highly recommending this to anyone who works in team environments, and especially to my fellow men. Really insightful book.

Note: This was from my 2019 reading list, and the words are from my thoughts back then. Minor grammatical edits may have been applied.