Show Notes
If you've ever wondered what actually gets discussed behind closed doors when companies are hiring, promoting, or handing out pink slips, this episode is like a backstage pass.
Amanda Goetz sits down with Deepali Vyas, a veteran executive recruiter and career coach who’s spent 25 years in the boardrooms on Wall Street. She’s also one of the most followed career experts on the internet. She's advised Fortune 500 CEOs, hedge funds, and private equity firms on their most senior hires—and she's here to spill everything they never told you.
The timing couldn't be better. Between mass layoffs, rapid AI expansion, and an unpredictable job market, navigating your career right now feels harder than ever. Deepali breaks down exactly what's changed, what still works, and what you need to stop doing right now—from the resume mistakes that get you filtered out in six seconds (!!!), to why loyalty to a company is not the flex you think it is, to the 5-5-3 networking rule that actually moves the needle when you're on the market.
We're also getting into the closed-door conversations that decide who gets laid off, the one move that makes hiring managers want you more, and the corporate truth that might sting a little: your manager is not your mentor.
If you've been playing checkers with your career, this is your invitation to start playing chess. Tune into the episode to find out how.
Key Takeaways
Talent alone won't get you promoted—visibility will.
Your manager is not your mentor.
Everyone has skills. What separates people is proximity.
BLUF: Bottom line up front.
Build your external brand while you're still employed.
Why you should leave your job when you’re winning.
When you're job searching, use the 5-5-3 rule: five texts to people in your network, five days a week, and aim for three meetings.
00:00 Intro
03:12 Deepali's career origin story
05:41 Being underestimated as a superpower
06:13 Talent alone isn't enough: visibility & access matter most
08:14 Managing up & the power memo
13:58 Checkers vs. chess: playing the long game
15:57 Leave when you're winning
17:30 Behind closed doors: what hiring really looks like
20:06 Resumes, layoffs & career resilience
22:54 The 5-5-3 rule
26:46 Becoming indispensable vs. high impact
32:21 Rapid fire: resumes, LinkedIn & interview tips
GUEST LINKS
IG: https://www.instagram.com/the_elite_recruiter/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elite.recruiter
Subscribe to Deepali's newsletter: https://eliterecruiter-newsletter.beehiiv.com/
FOLLOW THE PODCAST
IG: https://www.instagram.com/girlboss/ | TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlboss
Amanda Goetz: https://www.instagram.com/theamandagoetz/
https://girlboss.com/pages/ambition-2-0-podcast
SIGN UP
Subscribe to the Girlboss Daily newsletter: https://newsletter.girlboss.com/
For all other Girlboss links: https://linkin.bio/girlboss/
ABOUT AMBITION 2.0
Powered by Girlboss, Ambition 2.0 is a podcast where we'll be exploring what it really means to "have it all" in work, family, identity, and self… and if it's actually worth it. Each week, you'll hear from hardworking women who've walked the tightrope of ambition. They'll share their costly mistakes, lessons learned, and practical tips for how to have it all and actually love what you have. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Ambition 2.0
In this solo episode, host Amanda Goetz answers a question from a reader that deserved a full episode of its own: "As a middle manager, I'm struggling to find the balance between managing up to my director while also managing a team that reports to me. Help."
If you only open LinkedIn when you're job hunting (or creeping your ex's new girlfriend's profile), this episode is for you.
When Laura Weldy was first building her coaching practice, she took a group of the most accomplished women she knew out for coffee, one by one, and asked what was standing between them and what they wanted at work. Almost every answer came back the same: “I don't have anyone advocating for me in the room.” But when she pushed further and asked what they wanted their allies to say on their behalf, nobody had an answer.
Neha Ruch built her career in brand strategy—an MBA from Stanford, a fast climb on the corporate ladder, and a title she loved. Then she paused her career after her second child and spent the years since rebranding what a career pause actually looks like for ambitious women.
At 25, Hayley Paige signed the contract of a lifetime—head designer at a major bridal house, her name on the label, a fast track to becoming a household name on TLC's Say Yes to the Dress. She went on to generate over $220 million in bridal sales and dress more than 10,000 brides.