What stood out to you about Accenture before securing your role?
Accenture’s breadth of skills and expertise really took it above anything else that I could see. It was the ability to be involved in a consulting project at every stage of the journey from initial conception and ideation, right the way through to technical delivery, and then even the operations and security side. As I had a lot of interests in different areas, Accenture excited me due to the prospect of being able to get involved anywhere, anytime and in any industry across the world.
How did you show you have a passion for Accenture at the interview?
I mainly showed interest in innovative technology as a whole through past internships at a technology company, and small technology start-ups which I was able to talk about and apply learnings to potential scenarios and questions in interview. Accenture also regularly produce reports for public consumption and I demonstrated I had read and understood their latest findings by bringing these into my interview conversations and asking questions about them. I would recommend reading Accenture’s Life Trends and Tech Trends reports as a starting place!
What opportunities do Accenture offer?
Basically any opportunity anywhere...but it is about forging your own path in the organisation by attending interesting events or talks, then chatting to people you meet there to create your own network. Internal mobility is encouraged and I certainly found that early on in my career when I wanted to make a move from Health and Public Service towards Innovation. There are also great opportunities to get involved in charity work too which is always very interesting and satisfying work as a private sector worker!
What has been your working ‘highlight’ thus far?
It has to be the week long customer research trip to New York whilst working for a large diamond manufacturer and retailer. I was tasked with understanding the diamond buying journey in the US so set up focus groups in Brooklyn that contained newly engaged couples, partners looking to propose, and people who buy diamonds for themselves. I also completed some undercover work and posed as a buyer, so found myself in New York with over $400k worth of diamonds in front of me whilst I was picking up the best tips and tricks for how to sell diamonds.
What was the jump like from analyst to consultant?
The jump from analyst to consultant felt completely natural as you are continually stretched as an analyst, but just expected to bring it all together as a consultant.
When did you start to think about specialising?
I actually started thinking about specialising early on, even pre-Accenture, and started to network my way into Innovation as soon as I joined.
What top three tips would you give Bright Network members looking to follow in your footsteps?
- Read around the topics you are interested in and chat to as many people as you can because this will make you more energetic in interview and give you unique things to talk about through your application process.
- You never know where something is going to lead…so don’t worry too much about getting big names on your CV. It is about what you learn and how you apply it. I killed myself for not getting big summer internships, and I never knew my internships for small start ups (1-5 employees) would be a key talking point for interview and lead me to getting involved in Innovation at Accenture!
- Reach out to people you know and meet for inside scoops on Accenture’s strategy and how Accenture communicate. For the price of a coffee or a pint, it is invaluable to be able to speak the company’s language throughout the interview process and it also shows a keen interest in where you want to get to. But most of all, truly be yourself and own who you are…there is nothing better than a consultant who adapts the company’s language into their own style!