The Workplace Wasn't Designed for Introverts

I built the team. Somebody else got the job.

A few months into the first lockdown, I was put at risk of redundancy. Two of us went for one job. I had built the talent acquisition function from scratch, beaten every target and was presenting a strategy my boss had already agreed with.

I didn't get it.

The other bloke had spent his time building relationships with the people making the decision. I had spent mine doing the work and assuming somebody important would notice.

The lesson wasn't that I needed to become more like him. It was that doing good work and making sure people know about it are two different things, and I had ignored one of them.

This book is everything I've learned since, from more than 20 years in recruitment and from being an introvert in workplaces that reward whoever talks first and loudest.

This book is for you if

• You do great work but feel invisible next to louder colleagues
• Meetings, networking and office small talk leave you drained
• You've been told to “speak up more” or “put yourself out there”
• You want to progress without turning into somebody you're not

What's inside

Thirteen chapters on the parts of work that were built for extroverts, and what to do about them, including:

The Wrong Kind of Good

Why quiet, reliable people get overlooked, and what that costs you.

You're Not Shy. You're Knackered.

Introversion is about energy, not confidence, and why that difference matters at work.

Whoever Says It First Owns It

Getting your ideas heard in meetings that reward thinking out loud.

You Don't Have to Work the Room

Building a network in a way that doesn't make you want to go home.

You Don't Need to Command the Room

Leading your own way: trust, autonomy and staying calm.

Your Work Won't Speak for Itself

Making your results visible without feeling like a show-off.

The Work Stops Being Enough

Why relationships matter more the more senior you get.

The Office Is an Energy Tax

Protecting your energy so you can do your best work.

The Best Candidate Doesn't Always Look Like One

Why introverts can undersell themselves in interviews, and how to show what you can really do.

Choose Your Discomfort

Which uncomfortable things are worth doing for your career, and which aren't.

Stop Apologising for How You Work

Explaining what you need without making excuses.

Build a Career That Fits You

Finding roles, managers and ways of working where you can thrive.

About Lee

Lee Harding has worked in recruitment for more than 20 years, building talent teams and making hiring decisions. He's also an introvert who spent years thinking the problem was him. He writes for hundreds of thousands of followers as The Introverted Recruiter.