I ended up interviewing with 4 or 5 different firms that all identified themselves as being built around some blend of strategy consulting, creative design, and technology expertise. This sounds like a fascinating blend of interesting work, but the conversations all fizzle out because they want 5-10 years of project management, team leadership, and client engagement experience--for compensation at 50-60% of the going market rate.

Recruiter reached out to me via Linkedin. Had a phone interview the following day with the recruiter. After that he setup a phone interview with the practice lead. Based on that conversation they flew me out to Chicago for an in person interview. Upon arriving I was given a tour of the facility. The interview process was 4 hours long which consisted of an hour long interview with 4 people at various levels of the company. Each interviewer asked a different set of questions (technical, non-technical, consulting, culture). I received an informal offer via the phone from the recruiter the following week followed by the formal offer via email. After salary negotiation I signed and began relocation