Executive Q&A from Deloitte LLP

Where to build your career is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. And getting answers to your questions is one of the best ways to make the right decision. Here are some important questions to keep in mind throughout your job search, and candid answers from Deloitte.

Am I choosing a flexible, inclusive organization that lets me be me?
It’s your life. And everything about it is unique. That’s why we want you here at Deloitte. You’ll work with other individuals to contribute your personal point of view on problems and solutions. Our great diversity of talents, skills, and perspectives allows our teams to see challenges from all angles. It makes us strong, and it gives you the chance at a rich and rewarding career. Some of our resources:

• Our business resource groups bring together people with similar backgrounds and interests to provide opportunities for skill-building and leadership, as well as internal and external networking. Current groups include the Asian American Alliance; Black Employee Network; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Employees; Association of Latino(a) & Hispanic Employees; and the International Network.

• Our Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) hosts more than 400 professional development, networking, and mentoring activities each year to help you make connections, strengthen skills, and positively impact our organization and community. The first of the Big Four professional services organizations to launch an official program dedicated to the advancement of women, Deloitte achieved a significant milestone in 2009 by exceeding 1,000 women professionals at the partner, principal, and director level.

• A flexible culture that gives people the day-to-day informal flexibility they need to manage multiple commitments, as well as providing opportunities for more formalized, longer-term flexible work arrangements when appropriate.

Can I advance my career at the pace I choose?
Mass Career Customization™ (MCC), Deloitte’s innovative approach to careers, reflects how careers are really built. As the one-size-fits-all model of career progression long represented by the “corporate ladder” is fitting fewer and fewer, our more adaptive corporate lattice™ model allows for multiple, more varied career paths upward that reflect your evolving needs.

At Deloitte, MCC works for our employees and for our organization. Giving our professionals options to build careers that suit them best at various life stages is helping us all focus on what’s best for our clients and the work at hand.

Will I work with diverse people I can learn from and who will challenge me to achieve more every day?
Ask anyone what is the best part of working at Deloitte, and they’ll say, “The people.” And those people come from a broad range of cultural backgrounds and possess unique perspectives and experiences. Learn from experienced pros with deep industry insight, practical knowledge and original ideas. And get to know clients that include more than 75% of Fortune 100 companies. For you, that adds up to more opportunities for rapid career advancement, bigger achievements, and a superior network.

Will I be encouraged to express my ideas?
At Deloitte, everyone participates and everyone listens. We’re looking for innovators—people who will discover new ways to help our clientssolve their toughest problems. Who aren’t afraid to suggest how we can make the workplace more productive and creative. And who may have the radical ideas that can change the entire marketplace.

Will this organization help me make a difference in my community?
Deloitte’s world-class community involvement program encourages you to use your specialized skills and knowledge to help nonprofits deal with their strategic, financial, and operational challenges. And because we’re focused on results, you’ll get to follow through and ensure that you make a difference.

Workplace volunteerism
We are committed to skills-based volunteering throughout the year. One highlight is our annual IMPACT Day, when all of the nearly 51,000 people of Deloitte are encouraged to contribute their time and unique professional skills to nonprofit organizations.

Pro bono work
Our most valuable asset is our intellectual capital, which we contribute through pro bono work. Our business units build pro bono into their annual planning and budgeting processes.. And everyone who contributes is recognized for their involvement. In 2009, we put the experience and passion of our people to work to benefit the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls. As a professional services sponsor of the USOC, we share their values of integrity, strength from cultural diversity and commitment to each other.

Capacity-building philanthropy
Through our Future Fund, we make sizable philanthropic donations to many local nonprofit organizations, which are often coupled with volunteerism and board service contributions, to more fully put our strengths to work.

Thought leadership
We conduct the annual Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT research series to actively promote the social and business cases for corporate community involvement and our skills-based approach.

Is this organization committed to improving the environment?
Our people take sustainability issues to heart. They’re the force in new initiatives to improve the environmental footprint of all of our offices nationwide. We’ve also developed far-reaching programs to discover innovative ways to make our workplaces, IT infrastructure, and travel options greener. And even our clients look to us to help them measure, improve, and sustain their environmental performance. Learn more about our sustainability initiatives.

Will I build the skills that will make me successful in both the short and long-term?
Our business is our people. That’s why we make an unwavering commitment to investing in the development of our talent. With leading-edge learning programs that are relevant to your day-to-day job, your opportunities for growth are customized to your needs. This is your chance to learn from the best.

• A signature new-hire experience: On-boarding starts with a journey through our innovative Pre-Hire Center and continues with robust mentoring and skill-building experiences during your orientation—all designed to set you up for success.

• Customized development paths: Our learning programs are designed to identify your personal strengths and development areas, then target opportunities to help you reach the next level across a broad range of technical, industry, professional, and leadership capabilities.

• Innovative delivery: We offer leading-edge development that goes beyond the lecture-style learning of yesterday.

• A commitment to faculty excellence: Our instructors are recognized leaders in their field who have made a commitment to coaching our people inside and outside the classroom.

• A state-of-the-art Deloitte University: With a vision “to grow the world’s best leaders,” Deloitte University (DU), which opened in October 2011, is a bold commitment to our people and, ultimately, to our clients who will be better served by the transformative learning and leadership development that occurs here. This state-of-the-art learning facility near Dallas, Texas, enables our professionals to meet, learn together, and develop as leaders.

From its origins to the present, the establishment of DU is the result of many years of careful deliberation and efforts.  Thousands of Deloitte professionals have taken classes at Deloitte University since last fall and have experienced what a powerful catalyst DU is for lifelong learning and in helping foster our professional’s growth—both personally and professionally.