My experience interviewing with Slalom was one of the worst of my career. A recruiter reached out to me with an unsolicited email, asking if I might be interested in interviewing for a lead-level design position. I said yes, and also expressed concern early on that the role might be a little low for me, as I was already in an associate director position at my current company—design consulting with heavy emphasis on experience, data visualization, and team leadership. My ask was for the possibility of considering something higher. I had plenty of hard evidence to back up my suggestion for a more senior role, including open recommendations by former co-workers who had moved on to Slalom; they would have been able to speak directly to the hiring team about my level of experience and depth of knowledge.  Unbelievably, after taking me through a weeks-long hiring process including a 3-hour set of in person interviews, they came back to me offering a *lower* position than the lead-level job I'd originally been recruited for. When I asked why, they suggested that my background seemed more marketing-heavy (it isn't), and when I reminded them that people within their company can help clarify the nature and depth of my experience, the recruiter demurred.    I left the process thinking that their team didn't really know what they were doing. I recognize that Slalom needs to be looking out for people who aren't ready for the rigors of consultancy model backed by in-house technology and engineering—as a person who has actively hired for this kind of work, you have to be careful. The lead individual who interviewed me came from a marketing background before moving into consulting, so when their recruiting team tried suggesting that I hadn't yet made that leap (which had happened for me a decade prior to the interview), it occurred to me that their team is so inexperienced with recruiting that they simply haven't yet figured out how to properly assess their candidates.  I've seen that knowledge gap before with small companies; for a larger-name consultancy to have this kind of issue should give pause to anyone looking to join their new-ish and growing design team.  

Initially, I met with a future peer of mine to discuss my experience, skills, and culture fit. I was then introduced to the Talent Acquisition Manager, who was interesting in understanding about my success with people, teams and growth plans, which not too many companies focus on. I then met with another future peer of mine and the conversation went mostly about my success and what I enjoy working on. Finally, I met with the hiring manager, who touched on the vision and strategy of both his and the company, which was refreshing as that proved that we can towards goals/objectives. It was clearly a pleasant experience and each one of them showed their professionalism and made me feel welcome.