The process took 1 day. I interviewed at AHEAD (Chicago, IL) in Aug 2023
Interview
Contacted by a recruiter I had spoken to in the past, about a specific position: Principal Technical Consultant. Set up a half-hour phone call (not Zoom or equivalent.) Joined the call. Having studied the company a bit, I asked some confirming questions and said I wasn't interested. Because of that, I have no insight into the follow-up process. There is a general problem with technical job postings. They ask for skills that they do not intend to use. The job description sounded like an okay fit for a truly senior technical position. But what they were asking for is not what they intend to leverage. Lesson learned, at least for AHEAD: If it has the word "technical," interpret as, "you are a drone." If you are looking to grow into a PTC and leave for your next step, this might work as a temporary position.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I asked the questions. Maybe not what recruiters expect but it saves time. I acknowledge that I asked with quite a bit of confirmation bias, having dealt with companies growing through M&A and slotted AHEAD into that bucket. What percentage of your growth is M&A vs. Organic? "I don't know the exact percentage. I'm sure it's a good amount. I can follow up because I am curious about the answer, too." Conversation about the role of the PTC. Informed that PTC is the "highest technical position without becoming a manager." I asked about the path for people who have no interest in line management. There is no defined path for PTC. Suggestion that SA might be a better fit. I asked questions about how the PTC/SA collaborates when reviewing the SOW and resource plan. Sounded like the Solutions Architect might be involved but it sounded like the SA isn't required to understand delivery and product capabilities at a deep enough level to avoid pitfalls. I asked about the relationship between the BPC and the PTC when it comes to gathering and framing requirements. Sounded like a throw it over the wall relationship. It was not clear to me whether the BPC collects requirements or is also consultative in aligning expectations around the product capabilities.
Lengthy. Multiple remote interviews leading up to a multi-round in-person interview between teams. Vetted for culture fit, technology aptitude, and pressure-tested with various interview personalities/tactics. Overall process took over a month.
