I came from the venture-backed tech start-up world. When I was approached by a recruiter for a role on the Talent Acquisition team at AlixPartners, I was a bit hesitant about the opportunity. I love everything tech related and was hoping to stay in that industry. But as I met more people and learned about the firm, I became more and more comfortable with the idea of transitioning into the consulting field.
Finding my next challenge
Throughout the interview process, I met so many people that had a lot of longevity at the firm, and that made an impression on me. It showed that AlixPartners is committed to its peoples’ personal and professional development. After all, someone doesn’t stay in a job if it’s not serving them!
The other thing that struck me was just how transparent the recruiting team was. They took the time to understand my interests and goals and then talked with me about what they thought were the pros and cons of making this move in relation to my career.
In my experience, that level of candidness was rare, and it made me confident that switching industries was the right move for me.
Those critical first impressions
That transparency is a feature of our hiring process, which is designed to help ensure that the people we bring in are set up for success. Our assessment process, for example, provides key insights into an applicant’s interests, traits, and motivational preferences. I enjoyed learning more about my natural inclinations, something I haven’t spent a lot of time reflecting on, and believe that having those insights about myself and my colleagues has helped me settle in.
The orientation and onboarding experience has also been phenomenal and helped ease my transition. AlixPartners goes above and beyond with orientation, which includes a three-day in-person program in our Detroit office, followed by two remote days. It was great to network with the other new hires and learn about all the different pockets of our firm through the dedicated sessions.
Formal orientation is augmented by other onboarding support initiatives like the Buddy program which pairs new hires with someone that can show them the ropes and answer those questions that tend to go un-asked in more formal settings. My team has also set up standing check-ins to support me as I ramp up and take on more and more work.
I’ve been at the firm for about two months now and I’ve experienced that same people-centric intentionality in how the firm and its leaders provide learning and development support. From everything I’ve seen so far, this is a place that will grow and evolve with me.