I contacted the local office recruiter and almost immediately received a phone call back expressing interest.
Initial interview - Met with HR recruiter in office who described the company (history, culture, hierarchy, local client base, org/hierarchy, work life balance, etc.). I was then given the opportunity to discuss my qualifications and interest in Slalom. Recruiter was willing to fastrack and set up folllow-up interviews over the next few days.
Second round - Met with two Client Partners. First interview assessed skills/competencies and second addressed cultural fit.
Both interviewers spent a considerable amount of time explaining their backgrounds, roles within Slalom, and where they invisioned placing me within the firm.
I would describe both interviews as more of a dialogue/discussion than a questioning session.
Overall Impressions:
-Based on the discussions, I felt that Slalom was not actively hiring but they were interested in looking at certain individuals with my type of background. They mentioned they were growing but I felt the rate of growth was somewhat slower than I would have anticipated and that they were looking primarily for people who were an all around fit based on the work they currently had in process and those who were a cultural fit as well.
-They seemed to be alot more specialized than I had thought initially. Most of the current work they mentioned to me was around more niche areas (mobile computing, e-marketing, media related or integrated websites, Sharepoint, some BI and Data Warehouse, some telecom specialty areas, etc.). I also felt that perhaps they were more strategy than delivery focused and this reflected the skill set they are trying to attract. This may be due to the local model which limits types of work/offerings to the local city they serve.
-Types of people they are looking for - Entrepreneurs, people who bring ideas/innovate, proactive and energetic individuals who work well both independently and on small teams, Sales/opportunity oriented, Managers who can both lead and work concurrently in a hands-on manner, Leaders