I waited this long to post this review, even though I noticed red flags after red flags on my projects. That is because I gave Slalom the benefit of the doubt, blaming either the client or the nature of Consulting. But as of today, I am realizing that the underlying reason for my unhappiness is the fact that Slalom truly doesn’t live up to the promises it sells to candidates during recruiting as well as the “Slalom values” it heavily advertises to attract Big 4 applicants.
- Work/life balance is the biggest myth. I work as many hours at Slalom as I did at multiple Big 4 firms prior to coming here, if not more. Most projects are Slalom are understaffed and the scope of the work is poorly estimated. Maybe the people in leadership have good work life balance. However as Consultants, you are a slave. And I’m not talking 40-50 hour work weeks; trust me, I’m no stranger to hard work. I’m talking consistent 60-70 hour work weeks, but allowed to charge only 40 hours, because God forbid, you get interrogated if you’re going over the allotted hours. I really wish I could share a screenshot of my entire team being online at 10pm.
- PTO counts against chargeability. Which negatively impacts bonuses. In fact, if you are below a certain chargeability level, you get negative bonuses. Since Slalom advertises so heavily as a firm that cares about people’s well-being, I would like to point out this hypocrisy. Note that HR will try to either not mention this or straight up lie when asked, so be careful.
- People development: depends on luck. I’m lucky to have a great People Manager who *seems* to care about me. But I personally know people who have unfortunately been paired with leaders who only care about you if you’re part of the popular crowd. Which brings me to my next point.
- Culture: very political. If you “piss off” the wrong person, your career and reputation here is done. If you suck up to the right person, you’ll get the necessary good feedbacks in Workday. If you are a white male with a salesperson attitude, you’ll fit in and get promoted quickly, regardless of your skill set.
