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Accenture2004 PDF
Accenture2004 PDF
Accenture2004 PDF
PROFILE
VAULT EMPLOYER PROFILE:
ACCENTURE
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ISBN 1–58131–280-6
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 1
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Accenture at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
THE SCOOP 5
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
ORGANIZATION 15
VAULT NEWSWIRE 21
GETTING HIRED 33
FINAL ANALASYS 45
RECOMMENDED READING 47
CAREER
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Accenture
Introduction
Overview
Accenture, known until January 1, 2001, as Andersen Consulting, is one of
the world's largest consulting firms, second only to IBM Global Services in
terms of total revenue. According to Consulting News, it has the largest U.S.
market share (at 9 percent, it has more than double that of Deloitte
Consulting, the next largest) and the second largest global market share (8
percent, behind IBM's 9 percent). With more than 75,000 employees in 47
countries, Accenture draws from a vast array of industrial and technical
expertise: Consultants in its its eight service lines, divided between the
Business Consulting Capability Group and Technology Outsourcing
Capability Group, work together to design and deliver strategies and
solutions for 89 of the Fortune Global 100 and more than half of the Fortune
Global 500 - not to mention several hundred startups and spin-offs. The
firm's huge staff and wide range of experience enables it to bring both focus
and massive manpower to any consulting task. Accenture, which works with
more than 2,500 client organizations worldwide, earned revenues topping the
$11 billion mark in fiscal 2002.
When you're as big as Accenture is, the United States alone won't provide all
the revenue and opportunities you need to thrive. Indeed, Accenture is
committed to maintaining a global presence - nearly half of all revenue is
derived from clients outside the Americas - and to furthering its status as a
technology leader. The firm garnered nearly $3.2 billion in 2002 revenue
from its Communications & High Tech operating group, a gain of 15 percent
over the previous year. The unit accounted for 27.5 percent of Accenture's
total revenue for the year, the most of any of the firm's divisions. While the
backbone of its business is the installation and integration of complex IT
systems, Accenture is looking to leverage this long-established expertise to
garner a share of the traditional management consulting business of such
Boston-based stalwarts as McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group and
Bain & Co. With an estimated 70 percent of the U.S. consulting market
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Accenture at a Glance
THE STATS
Employer Type: Public Company
DOWNERS
Stock Symbol: ACN • Long, demanding projects
Stock Exchange: NYSE • Interaction with partners can be
Employees: 75,000 (2002) limited
2002 Revenues: $11.57 billion • Shrinking consulting operations
THE BUZZ
WHAT EMPLOYEES AT OTHER FIRMS ARE SAYING
SERVICE LINES THE BUZZ
WHAT EMPLOYEES AT OTHER FIRMS ARE SAYING
Customer Relationship Management
Finance & Performance • "The Big Dawg"
Management • "Arrogant"
Human Performance • "Generalists in a specialist world"
Solutions Engineering • "Strong firm, dumb name"
Solutions Operations (Outsourcing) • "Technically inclined"
Strategy & Business Architecture • "Sweatshop"
Supply Chain Management • "Too big, too broad"
Technology Research & Innovation • "Our role models"
• "High prestige among peers"
• "McConsulting"
PRACTICE AREAS • "Pays well"
Communications & High Tech • "Cutting edge"
Electronics & High Tech • "Best of the IT shops"
Media & Entertainment
Financial Services (Banking; Health
Services; Insurance)
Government
Products
Resources
We know the consulting industry. We’ve got “I have rewritten this resume
experts and practicing consultants ready to 12 times and in one review
you got to the essence of
review your resume and give you the
what I wanted to say!”
competitive advantage you need.
– S.G., Junior Consultant,
Atlanta, GA
Consulting Resume Writing
and Resume Reviews “I was skeptical at first, but you
proved me wrong! The critique
• Have your resume written from scratch or zeroed in on where I had
weaknesses in the resume.”
reviewed by an expert that knows the
– S.S., Consultant, San Diego
consulting industry and has seen hundreds if
not thousands of consultants’ resumes. “You made coaching fun!
Thank you.”
• For resume writing, start with an e-mailed
history and 1- to 2-hour phone discussion. – H.C., Consultant, Toronto,
Canada
Our experts will write a first draft, and deliver
a final draft after feedback and discussion.
• For resume reviews, get an in-depth critique
and rewrite within TWO BUSINESS DAYS.
The Scoop
History
The firm grew rapidly, shedding Clarence DeLany's name (and DeLany
himself) in 1918 and opening an office in Washington, D.C., in 1921.
Andersen also opened branches in New York City, Kansas City and Los
Angeles, all during the 1920s. Oddly, even the Great Depression presented
Arthur Andersen with opportunity - when a major utilities conglomerate, the
Insull Companies, collapsed, the firm was appointed the bankers'
representative. The firm guarded and reorganized the Insull holdings during
the refinancing, gaining the trust of banks and other financial institutions.
Continued growth
Arthur Andersen continued to grow during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1942 a
new practice area was created, which Andersen called its administrative
accounting division at the time, and which later became known as
management information consulting. By 1943 the firm was hiring only
college graduates for its accounting staff and had opened four new offices
across the U.S. When Arthur Andersen himself passed on to the great big
ledger in the sky in 1947, he left behind a strong and innovative firm - one
whose consulting arm would, in 1952, revolutionize business by using the
newfangled "computer" to store the payroll of a General Electric plant.
Building on this early success, Arthur Andersen founded the first information
technology consulting practice in 1954 with a mere three consultants.
.Overlapping interests
In 1994 Andersen set up its own business consulting practice on the theory
that it would pursue the small and mid-sized engagements that were not large
enough for Andersen Consulting. This sounded good, but it didn't work so
well in practice. Tension between the two arms of Andersen Worldwide
mounted as the two firms began to compete for the same business
opportunities.
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Accenture
The Scoop
Yet the Andersen Worldwide structure required the more profitable Andersen
Consulting to transfer some of its revenues to Andersen - which in 1997
worked out to about $150,000 per Andersen partner. This angered Andersen
Consulting partners, who felt that they were being forced to subsidize the
development of a competitor. At the same time, though it soon outstripped
Arthur Andersen in terms of revenue, Andersen Consulting had a minority
representation on the board. ACers even complained about paying for
insurance to protect auditors from liability claims. "We have no problem with
competition, or with an independent and mutually complementary set of
firms which are passing money across to subsidize the less profitable,"
Andersen Consulting managing partner for Europe Vernon Ellis told
Management Consultant International, "but you can't have both. It's not
equitable and we don't feel comfortable about it."
What's in a name?
Given until December 31, 2000, to relinquish the Andersen name, Andersen
Consulting hired Landor Associates, a Young & Rubicam unit, to help coin a
new moniker for the business. (Arthur Andersen, in the meantime, made
noises about appropriating the Andersen Consulting name for itself, a further
reflection of the bitterness that had developed between the two companies.)
In the end, the chosen name came from one of 2,700 employee suggestions.
"Accenture" is meant to connote "accent on the future," as well as a spirit of
adventure, but was generally panned by those in the business of naming new
products and companies. The Wall Street Journal reported the opinion of
Edward Saenz, founder of San Francisco's Gravity Branding: "It's difficult to
spell. I don't believe it's compelling. It doesn't lead us to ask more. It's so
confusing that you just stop thinking about it and you shut down." A short
time after the new name was unveiled Accenture's first advertising campaign
was launched with a coveted spot on the Super Bowl telecast. The
commercial, according to Crain's New York Business, "was such a bust that
viewers had no idea what the new company was or did. USA Today, which
ranks Super Bowl ads based on consumer opinion, found the Accenture
commercials among the least interesting. Advertising Age critic Bob Garfield
called the campaign a 'very expensive exercise in vanity and cluelessness.'"
Following the disaster that fell upon Arthur Andersen in the wake of the
Enron scandal, Accenture was actually well served by its dismal Super Bowl
reviews. "If its campaign had been a rousing success at raising its profile with
the masses," wrote Crain's, "the press would have rushed to link Accenture
with its former partner."
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Accenture
The Scoop
for life. How long did it take for Shaheen to earn a compensation package
most can only dream of? Eight months of work. (Of course, collecting from
the now-bankrupt Webvan will be no easy feat.)
Going public
In a widely anticipated move in July 2001 - following what most analysts
believe was a successful IPO by competitor KPMG Consulting - Accenture
raised about $1.7 billion through its own public offering. The stock offered
for public sale amounted to no more than 12 percent of the undiluted
company. On the initial day of trading, the firm saw its stock rise 5 percent -
not impressive compared to the moonshots of 1999, but extremely
respectable for the current IPO market. Accenture sold 115 million shares,
leaving partners with control of more than 80 percent of the company.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley served as the lead underwriters.
Through another offering completed in May 2002, Accenture sold
approximately $93 million worth of its shares.
Taking leave
Like most of its competitors, Accenture underwent layoffs in 2001. In June
2001, 600 support personnel were cut, followed by an additional 1,500
staffers in August (1,000 of whom were consultants). All told, about 2 percent
of the workforce received pink slips. The firm, however, primarily has
attempted to reduce its payroll costs through its "FlexLeave" program. In this
program, consultants voluntary may take sabbaticals of six to 12 months at 20
percent of their current pay and continued benefits, and their job at Accenture
is guaranteed when their time off is finished. About 2,400 consultants had
taken FlexLeave as of December 2001; the program has also been extended
to Europe and Asia.
And it's not just Forehand who's been racking up accolades. The firm has
received its share of recognition as well. The firm was given the Catalyst
Award in January 2003 by Catalyst, a non-profit group that tracks the
progress of in corporate America. The firm was given the award because of
its commitment to retaining and promoting women. In 2001, Red Herring
named Accenture to its list of the 100 companies Most Likely to Change the
World.
Students, it seems, also think mighty highly of Accenture. The firm ranked
fourth in the 2002 Universum European survey of the most desired employers
by European graduates and third among all employers in terms of diversity in
Universum's survey of U.S. undergrads. The company ranked 15th on
Universum's 2002 diversity survey. The survey polled minority
undergraduate and MBA students at 53 universities on the companies they
would most like to work for. Universum ranked the 50 most popular
organizations and published the results in the October 2002 issue of The
Black Collegian magazine. The same issue featured an interview with
Accenture partner Andrew Jackson in which he describes a variety of the
firm's diversity initiatives and discusses some general issues that students of
all backgrounds can expect when starting out at the firm.
Training days
Accenture proudly boasts that it spent $717 million in fiscal 2001 to train and
develop its workforce. Newly hired analysts typically spend two to three
weeks at Accenture's main training facility in St. Charles, Ill., developing
team-building and management skills. The training program enables
Accenture to offer standardized solutions and encourage consultants from
disparate offices and backgrounds to work well together (important for a firm
with more than 80,000 employees). After their time at St. Charles, Accenture
professionals can access the company's more than 4,000 classroom,
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Accenture
The Scoop
former Congressmen, who argue that because the firm was never previously
incorporated in the United States, it shouldn't be grouped with such
companies as Tyco, which moved its headquarters offshore from Exeter, N.H.
And with more than half of its 2,500 partners non-U.S. citizens, Accenture
argues that as a cultural matter it chose the neutral location of Bermuda - after
considering a variety of options - for its post-IPO parent company.
Meanwhile, Accenture also purports to own an operating company in
Luxembourg, another tax haven.
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Accenture
The Scoop
companies. The venture has thrived, and now has more than 300 customers
and over 1,200 employees in 17 cities in 11 countries. In 2002 Accenture
boosted its holdings to 78 percent of the company. (As for the remaining
interest, 20 percent is held by Microsoft, with the other 2 percent in the hands
of Avanade employees.)
Elsewhere, Accenture entered the e-learning market in March 2001 with the
formation of Indeliq, a company that provides simulation-based e-learning
solutions to help companies improve workforce performance. And in
October of that year the firm joined Merck-Medco and UnitedHealth Group
to launch Xceleron Health LLC, a venture designed to provide business
services to the health care industry.
A Microsoft future?
In April 2003 Accenture continued its efforts to "reshape" its work force,
terminating roughly 750 employees, or about 1 percent of its work force.
Primarily affected were midlevel to high-level employees in the U.S. and the
U.K. Nevertheless, the company has continued to hire new employees in the
lower ranks. Those cuts probably also fueled speculation during 2003 that
Accenture was holding discussions with Microsoft about acquiring the
Those merger rumors have yet to bear any fruit, but Accenture has been busy
making good on its relationship with Microsoft through their Avanade
partnership. In February 2003, Accenture announced the release of the
Accenture Web Services Platform, a program designed to help clients develop
and manage web-based applications more efficiently. The new product was
developed by Avanade. Three months after the web services release,
Accenture announced the release of an update to its claim management
software for insurers, also developed with input from Microsoft.
Accenture isn't known for being in the gadget business, but it is developing a
new product that's intriguing to say the least. In February 2003, The New
York Times reported that two Accenture researchers in Palo Alto, Calif., are
at work on a portable device that could aid human memory. The device will
feature speech-recognition technology and an earpiece through which the
user can be prompted with information (a forgotten name, for instance) and
witty comments that the user can use in conversation.
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Accenture
Organization
Service lines:
Accenture divides its service lines into two divisions: Business Consulting
and Technology and Outsourcing. Both, in turn, are organized into service
offerings, as well as alliances and long-term projects with other firms.
Business Consulting
Customer Relationship Management: Relies on both tools and strategies,
emphasizing the strong relationship between CRM software and
organizational structure in order to maintain efficiency of order-taking,
delivery and follow-through. Accenture also offers a wide array of research
capabilities to help customize solutions.
Practice Areas
Financial Services
This group consists of the banking, health services and insurance industry
groups. Accenture's financial service offerings emphasize the need to adapt to
the fast-paced changes going on in all three industries, particularly as a result
of globalization and deregulation. Offerings include supply-chain
management, human performance management and strategic and business
architecture. Services for all three groups are offered through Accenture's
nine global "delivery centres," each of which is strategically located within a
major market but which also specializes in a particular set of capabilities - for
example, Atlanta's specialties include CRM and web architecture, while
Paris's include life insurance and application maintenance. Accenture also
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Accenture
Organization
maintains three technology labs that develop software for use by financial
service industry clients.
Government
The government group focuses on applying the tools used in the private
sector - CRM, supply-chain management and outsourcing, for example - to
the needs of federal, state and local governments, both in the United States
and abroad.
Products
Consists of Accenture's automotive, consumer goods and services, industrial
equipment, pharmaceutical and medical products, retail, and travel and
transportation industry teams. The products group focuses on helping
manufacturers recognize the fundamental changes occurring in the sector,
particularly the end stages of the shift from industrial to "virtual" economies.
The group sees the current economic decline as an indicator of just such a
change, and helps its clients respond with a long-term perspective in mind.
Offerings include value management, which identifies the shifting demands
of investors, and e-commerce, both between businesses and their customers
and between businesses themselves.
Resources
Consists of the chemicals, energy, forest products, metals and mining and
utilities industry teams. The resources group emphasizes the importance of
cutting-edge strategic delivery capabilities, and to that end, it offers a wide
variety of supply-chain management and mobile commerce services to clients
across its industry profile.
Alliances
Accenture has established approximately 150 corporate alliances, primarily
with technology providers, in order to enhance its service offerings and
expand its geographic reach. Many are with major firms, such as Sun
Microsystems, Siebel and BEA. Others, such as human performance
solutions firm Indeliq, are independent companies spun off from Accenture;
still others, such as the aforementioned Avanade, are joint ventures with other
firms (in Avanade's case, Microsoft).
Key Officers
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Accenture
Organization
Offices
Accenture has over 110 offices in 47 countries around the world. Its
executive offices are in Chicago (although the firm is incorporated in
Bermuda).
professionals.
Vault Newswire
July 2003: We're doing better, but…
Accenture announces positive third quarter results, but also discloses that its
Middle East operation may have violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act, which forbids companies from bribing government officials and political
parties in companies in which they operate. The company pledges to
cooperate with the appropriate authorities.
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Accenture
Vault Newswire
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Accenture
Vault Newswire
Travel notwithstanding, most respondents have good things to say about the
work/life balance at Accenture. Hours tend to be standard for the industry-50
to 70 per week-though the firm's many government projects usually involve
shorter workweeks. As one consultant puts it, "On a government contract, the
hours are limited to about 40 per week because you can't bill the client for
more than that."
Compensation is on par with the rest of the industry, and one source
comments, "I think [the compensation] is more than fair, especially when I
think of the little extras that make work/life balance better: flexible vacation
time and overtime for those under manager level, etc." And "individual
projects sometimes have their own perks, renting out clubs for private parties,
PDAs for all on the project and vacations." For those interested in community
work, Accenture may be the perfect place-we hear that volunteer work is a
"very important aspect of life at Accenture," with organized projects
including Habitat for Humanity and AIDS Walks. It's so important, in fact,
that its performance evaluations "are based not just on work, but other
activities in support of the company and the community."
For consultants, staffing for their next project is a matter of negotiation with
that manager, but for outsourcing staffers the situation is more a matter of
going where their specialties are needed, with much less room for personal
preference. In either case, we hear, the one thing no one wants is to be left
without a project: "On the beach is a pretty scary place right now because you
don't know when layoffs will come." One respondent says "if your current
project is coming to an end, it's almost like your job is coming to an end. You
could easily be fired if more than a few weeks go by between assignments. .
.You are always at risk if there is a recruit who is ready to join the firm at a
lower salary than you."
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Accenture
Our Survey Says
fairly invisible, but this is good and bad," adds a third respondent. "While
very few are ogres, [partners] are not easily accessible. Don't expect to make
mentors easily." Another insider takes a harsher view, claiming that "instead
of the highly motivated, hard-working, fairly compensated culture we used to
have, it is now 'us vs. them,' non-execs and junior execs versus senior execs"
type of environment. Other insiders disagree, however. One consultant
shares, "Executives seem genuinely interested in my ideas and sometimes
fascinated by my different experiences."
One area where we hear executives are very responsive is training. While the
emphasis has shifted from upfront, new-hire training to continued learning,
the opportunities to gain consulting skills or more knowledge of a particular
industry are many. "You can even leave in the middle of a project to get
training if it will help you in your role better," notes one source. Another
respondent says, "Accenture has an excellent in-house training program and
it definitely does not look bad to have them listed on your resume." One
insider on the consulting side insists, however, that training has fallen off
significantly since the Arthur Andersen days, claiming that the company "has
little, if any training. What little formal (i.e. classroom) training that remains
is basically 'how to-look-good-in-front-of-the-client' type of training or
Accenture methodology . . . training that is of little use outside of the
company." Another blames the economy for the decline in training, noting
that time spent on training is time that can't be billed to clients. But a different
colleague offers yet another perspective on training. She observes that some
consultants feel a bit relunctant to commit to training between projects for
fear that they'll be busy when a choice assignment is handed out.
Some insiders say that with the advent of difficult economic conditions
advancement in the company has become harder. Says one, "You can't be
afraid to toot your own horn every once and a while." According to one
consultant, "The seemingly never-ending waves of layoffs have demoralized
many employees, as everyone has lost friends and quality peers. This has also
created somewhat of a competitive culture within the company as people try
to come out on top of the laddering process so they won't be flagged for the
next round of layoffs." But this same respondent believes "leadership is
realizing that there is a culture problem that they need to address, and they
have taken steps in the right direction." In recent months, according to one
employee, the company's culture which had once been "'work hard, play hard'
now seems to be just 'work hard.'" A former analyst who departed in the
spring of 2003 tells us morale is at "an all-time low." However, this source
conceeds that the recent reductions have been an attempt to align staff with
the amount of work available; the firm hasn't engaged in mass layoffs just for
the sake of saving money.
Flexing it
One benefit respondents praise is Accenture's voluntary FlexLeave program,
which allows employees to take time off from their jobs and still retain 20
percent of their pay, as well as their benefits, laptops and office access. The
program is especially popular now, as it has enabled the firm to keep layoffs
and pay cuts down. "FlexLeave is a great option compared to being laid off,"
notes one source, though it still doesn't help some sleep at night. "A taste of
the outside world plus a feeling of job insecurity" could influence some who
take advantage of the program to eventually "jump ship." One source who
participated in the program is now back at her desk confides that there was
some resentment directed by those who didn't take the time off at those who
did. The initial impression, says this contact, is that those who took off did so
simply to "travel and have a good time." However, this source believes that
resentment faded as those who took off and those who stayed became
reacclimated to working together.
Coddled in a cube
Some consultants complain that Accenture offices are "too small for so many
people" with "small cubes" and "no privacy." Another source says that "the
offices are iffy," with a mix of nice amenities but often cramped working
quarters. "Sometimes you will have to walk around looking for a space,"
reports one insider. On the other hand, another employee reports that the
offices are "wonderful. My office building defines the city's skyline.
Executives have offices with immense windows and a great view of the city.
Even the cubicles aren't bad." And while Accenturites work hard, the office
environments are said to be "very friendly and fairly youth-oriented with a
strong helping of life/work balance perks."
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Our Survey Says
professionals.
Getting Hired
Addresses to Apply
If applying online, begin the process by checking out
http://careersusa.accenture.com/. There you can search for available jobs and
submit a resume and cover letter; if recruiters like what they see, they'll
contact you for an initial interview. On campus, Accenture maintains resume
drops at numerous U.S. universities during the recruiting season; if they're on
your campus, stop by your career development office to find out more.
Hiring Process
Accenture recruits via on-campus events and the web at 125 U.S. universities
and colleges, as well as many international campuses. Prospective campus
hires are generally "required to submit their resumes [along with a personal
data form] through their career services offices" and resume drop systems. At
schools where there is no formal resume drop system, would-be applicants
can contact a recruiter from the local office nearest them. Candidates may
have up to two interviews on campus. The first is a screening interview,
while the second tends to be with Accenture employees (partners or
experienced managers, though usually also a peer). These interviews can
vary, according to a contact in the recruiting office: "In some cases these
interviews are behavioral, and in others they're case-based." The initial round
is often a brief "Can you communicate?" interview. Also, "questions
definitely depend on service line. Strategy gives case interviews while [other
service lines] give behavioral interviews." One insider reports that "at the
second round I was asked a lot of 'tell me about a time when' questions. One
was, 'Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone you didn't
know.'" Another was, "Tell about a time you were on a team and didn't get
along with everyone." Interviewers, according to one insider, are also
"interested in knowing what I had done at a detail level." They were
"especially interested in projects related to what might be found on the job."
A typical question in this vein, in the words of another insider, is, "Why did
you get involved in these activities in college?"
Employees say that "selectivity depends heavily on which service line you are
aligned with. Strategy is extremely difficult to enter even with excellent
credentials-process, technology and organization and human performance a
little less so." Insiders also say, "We tend to hire most of the people who
make it to the [round of interviews at the] office." While candidates do have
the option to fly out to visit their office of interest, "it isn't necessary to
interview where you want to work, except in the case of San Francisco," a
very popular office location. We hear that "offers are usually extended to
successful candidates shortly after the office visit."
Contacts say Accenture makes its big push "at sell weekend, which is very
structured." Reports one insider: "The first day is in the office and features a
series of meetings with the various industry groups. They provide much more
specific information than you get in the recruitment brochures. There is also
the opportunity to speak one-on-one with peers, and you go out to wining and
dining things and to a show."
The firm has identified several qualities that it believes make a successful
Accenture consultant. They include: a target GPA (which depends on the type
of degree), critical thinking, ability to be a self-starter, ability to juggle
multiple activities, problem-solving skills, being a team player, and a
willingness to travel. One recruiter tells us that "the type of person we look
for performed well academically and is well-rounded, a lifelong learner,
committed to developing a career, interested in and understands what we do."
The perfect candidate also has "strong written and oral communication
skills." This contact also informs us that "professionals who succeed at
[Accenture] embrace the clients' needs" and "are team- and results-oriented."
Insiders say that even the strongest candidates can improve their chances of
being hired by "reading through the [Accenture careers] web site" and
"educating yourself on what [Accenture] does, how the company is structured
and what the various organizations and their respective career paths are."
Sources also suggest that candidates "be prepared to articulate which is the
best fit for you." Finally, "it's also tremendously helpful to have someone in
the firm to talk to, so you can get a better sense of what the many choices are."
"There's only so much you can glean from public sources of information,"
insiders conclude.
Questions to Expect
1. Walk me through this manufacturing scenario.
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Getting Hired
2. You must supervise and direct a group of senior VPs. How would you
work with people who have much more seniority and experience than
you?
Some strat consulting interviewees say they've gotten "soft" cases that
combine elements of cases and behavioral interviews. This question or its
type, however, is much more common in change management.
Here you need to establish the size of the average pizza parlor, as well as
determine what time frame you're discussing. (Daily? Yearly?) Don't be
afraid to ask questions, such as what constitutes a pizza parlor or whether to
include take-out-only establishments.
This is a rather typical question that tries to see how you evaluate obstacles -
do you see them as reasons to give up, or merely bumps in the road (or even
better, hidden opportunities)? Make sure to emphasize the lessons learned
from the challenge.
Accenture values sociability, so answering something to the effect of, "I like
to watch my Star Wars tapes over and over and draw pictures of Boba Fett"
won't win you any points. Better to cite some kind of sport or collaborative
social activity, especially if it involves volunteer work. This is also a great
place to emphasize leadership skills - if you not only play softball but
organize the league, make sure to say so.
6. How many oranges are sold in the United States each year?
Creativity counts, but make sure you base your answer in reality. Again, don't
be afraid to ask questions in order to set up your response (for instance, you
might ask how McDonald's has performed against its competitors over the
last five years, then consider why it has performed the way it has).
Questions to Ask
1. What challenges do you see for Accenture in the coming year?
Accenture has a very complex and frequent review structure, which your
interviewer may or may not be pleased to share with you. Nevertheless, it's
important to ask the question, thereby showing your interest in building a
future for yourself at the firm.
Again, a good way to show your long-term interests in the firm, but also
important to know given the varieties of career development paths available
at Accenture.
"They should definitely be able to give you a good answer on this," says a
former consultant, "as in my opinion, this is one of the issues facing"
Accenture.
Compensation
Salary
Analyst (1st year): $35,000-$60,000 (depending on practice, alma mater and
cost of living adjustment, with strategy consulting analyst offers at $60,000
and process at the low end of the range.)
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36 LIBRARY © 2003 Vault Inc.
Accenture
Getting Hired
Perks
Travel per diem
• Flexible time
• "Landing spots"
• Overtime pay (until manager level, in all service lines but strategy)
“Cliffs Notes
for Careers”
– FORBES MAGAZINE
On the Job
Day in the Life
9:15 a.m.: I get to my desk and start going through my voicemails, e-mails
and octels (which is just a fancy name for an intra-office voicemail). I return
phone calls and log onto Instant Messenger, which I use to stay in constant
contact with various client team members throughout the day. I spend the rest
of my morning catching up.
12:00 p.m.: Lunchtime. My client site is enormous, and I can eat at the onsite
cafeteria, but I try to get outside at least once a day to breath some non-
recycled air.
1:00 p.m.: I get back to my desk, check my messages and start putting
together a PowerPoint for a presentation next week. Like most of my
colleagues, my afternoons are dedicated to writing - either presentations,
training guides or code.
4:00 p.m.: I've still got some work on the PowerPoint, but my messages have
built up over the last three hours, so I spend the rest of the day replying to
them.
6:00 p.m.: I'm outta here. Accenture doesn't stress working overtime,
especially in this economic climate where clients are very price-sensitive.
Fine with me - I meet some coworkers in the lobby and go for a drink, then
head home.
Technical Architect
9:00 a.m.: I arrive at my client site. I'm involved in a multi-year government
contract building and supervising back-end architecture, so my days have
gotten to be pretty routine. Nevertheless, there are spikes when I find myself
coming in at 8 am for several weeks in a row.
9:15 a.m.: After saying good morning to my coworkers, I sit down and start
through my messages. As someone involved more on the services side of
things, my highest priority is the task list, which consists of requests, both
internal and external. Sometimes routine, sometimes emergencies. Once I get
through my messages, I start in on the list, which usually lasts the entire
morning.
1:00 p.m.: Lunch time. These days I'm pretty involved with what I'm doing,
and there's nowhere nearby to go eat, so I usually just bring my lunch and eat
at my desk.
1:45 p.m.: Lunch is done, and I start in on the thing I'm actually getting paid
to do: writing code.
4:00 p.m.: Client meeting. I'm in touch with client employees all day, but
about twice a week we have team meetings with people from the client side.
These are usually voice conferences, but occasionally they involve sit-down
meetings.
4:45 p.m.: Back to my desk, I take care of the messages I didn't want to
answer in the morning, and then return to the code.
5:45 p.m.: I'm never really done with coding, so I work until a good stopping
point. But I rarely stay beyond 6 p.m., except during crunch times, when I'm
lucky to get out by 7 p.m.
Career Path
For undergraduates
At the entry level, new employees are called analysts. After two years at
Accenture, analysts become consultants. Consultants in process and IT
competencies are told they don't need an MBA to move up at Accenture.
"They tell you that they spend so much money training you, you don't need
an MBA," says one insider. "But if you do have one, they won't spit at you."
Still, "many leave after two years of their own accord." The exception is
strategy consultants, who "must have MBAs to be promoted." "They do
expect you to go for your MBA after two years as an analyst," confirms a
strategy consultant. "You can only stay for three years at the most, then they
kick you out." "In process, people start applying for their MBA after two
years. The Accenture line is that everything you need to succeed is right here.
If you go and get your MBA, you can come back to process, but you end up
CAREER
40 LIBRARY © 2003 Vault Inc.
Accenture
On the Job
right in the same place you started from," says one insider. "You might move
up a little faster, or start at a slightly higher salary, but there is no reason to
do it. After about two years, people start clearing out for their MBA."
For MBAs
MBA-level consultants say that the career path at Accenture is fairly rigid,
"which can be either a comfort or a hindrance, depending on your mindset."
Most of the consultants at Accenture who have MBAs work in strategy, since
"there is no real need for them in process or IT, and I think there are a handful
in OHP." After getting the MBA, consultants are considered "senior" and stay
at that level for three years before becoming a manager. "It used to happen,"
says one savvy insider, "that you could become a partner at Accenture after
spending 10 years at the company, or five years in the case of MBAs. But
now that the firm has grown so drastically, it takes about 14 years to get to
partner. In the meantime, Accenture has created a junior partner level, which
can be attained after a decade. The process is faster in strategy; fast-track
senior consultants can make full partner within seven years."
Training
Training for entry-level process consultants consists of three weeks at the
home office where, according to one analyst, "they basically put a hose down
your throat," and another three weeks (traditionally at St. Charles) "where
they try to revive you." Process analysts, during their initial training, learn
how to "paint windows" - that is, create windows in Visual Basic and put code
behind them, which is reportedly "fun." Every year, consultants return to
their classrooms for further training. Accenture invests about 8 percent of its
revenue in training its employees to reach ever-greater levels in various
practice areas. Strategy consultants spend about two weeks at St. Charles
"learning business models, balance sheets, value chains, Porter's Five Forces,
that kind of thing." "The view of Accenture says a tech consultant, "is that
the methodology is so good that anyone can learn anything. Still, I don't see
a lot of history majors trying to learn C++."
One process analyst says that Accenture "does spend a lot of money training
you. Everyone comes out of school knowing different things. You work in
teams while training on computers. I mean, if you're right out of liberal arts,
you can probably learn, but you're not an MIS student." "They put you in a
group to learn coding. There are three people in the group. Typically, one
person is good, one is pretty good and one sucks." "There are consultants
there who act as your bosses. They are being evaluated too, for their skills as
supervisors." Can you wash out? "There are horror stories," one analyst
admits.
Staffing
Consultants are staffed on projects "by a staffing coordinator who is in charge
of you. You call them, or they call you. You don't have much control over
your assignments. You have a little more control as a manager, but you never
have much control," says a manager. Strat consultants, on the other hand, say,
"networking to find your next engagement is encouraged."
Much feedback
Insiders say Accenture is "very focused on feedback." Feedback reviews take
place every four months. Your manager on your project conducts the reviews
(if you've had more than one project within the past four months, both
managers will review you). At Accenture, "they want to make sure that the
evaluations are as objective and fair as possible. They analyzed some of the
highest performers at Accenture to find out what objectives to quantify. Now
they have 15 business criteria and five personal criteria. The business criteria
are things like analytical skill and presentation. The personal criteria are
tenacity, attitude - that kind of stuff." There shouldn't be any surprises,
because "before every engagement, the manager goes through the sheet with
you and lets you know what is expected of you." The reviews are both oral
and written, and consultants are given ratings. "You get a number, 1 to 5,"
says a process consultant. "One is the best and very rare. If you have
consistent 1s, you get promoted to manager in five years. If you have 2s or
3s, you can be promoted in five and a half or six years. If you have 4s, it will
take you six years. If you have 5s, then they give you a cube and tell you to
call employment agencies."
"You really do have to play the game," says a consultant. "You can't ruffle
the feathers of your manager. You have to get along. The thing is, a lot of
the reviewers are not that much more older or experienced than you. They
are not particularly qualified. Some of the reviews are based on personal
factors." As you become more senior, "part of your review is how much and
how well you contribute to Knowledge Xchange." (Knowledge Xchange is
Accenture's internal electronic library, containing project plans, deliverables
and more.) Strat consulting is said to be more "non-hierarchical and
easygoing. Because Accenture is a breakaway organization and Strategic
Services broke away from process, we have a flat and entrepreneurial feel."
CAREER
42 LIBRARY © 2003 Vault Inc.
Accenture
On the Job
Summer internships
Accenture is "desperate to hire people from top-tier schools," and its
internship program does its best to attract those bright-eyed MBAs. (Most of
them are MBAs and work in the management consulting service line, though
the consultancy also has an internship program in business process for
undergraduates. Interns are treated as "senior consultants" (or in the case of
undergrads, full-fledged analysts). Accenture hires and deploys interns all
over the world. One intern who spent a summer in New York says, "There is
no big marquee event, like the Booz Cruise (a four-day Booz Allen cruise to
some tropical locale), but there are small fun things. In Europe, there is a trip
to EuroDisney. And here in New York, there was some kind of event every
Thursday. We went to a Mets game, or one week, we took a small boating
trip all the way to Boston." All summer events at Accenture "are sponsored
by an industry group, like health care or energy. All the associates from that
group come, and you get to meet them and talk to them."
Most assignments that come down the pike for summer interns seem to be in
"strategy and logistics." "You have a staffing coordinator, and you tell them
your preferences. The coordinator then matches up supply and demand.
They do a good job of matching up your specific interests." Former interns
say they are "treated and staffed as a regular member of the team-you discuss
strategic issues with key clients, formulate strategy and make presentations."
This is definitely a working summer: "Some people work 14-hour days,
though that is not the norm. Fifty to 55 hours a week is." In general, "people
don't work on weekends."
Summer interns are reviewed twice: "midsummer and end of summer." They
are assigned "a few people: a peer, someone who's been a senior [for] a year,
and a manager or partner. They are responsible for guiding your career." The
reviewer is typically "the person you're reporting to on your project, and your
performance is quantified to a certain degree." Offers come on the last day
of the summer, normally from the mentor.
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Final Analasys
Accenture, with more than 75,000 employees, doesn't look like it will be
overpowered by its competition anytime soon. By any standard, it has come
a long way since 1989, when the firm had a comparatively piddling 21,000
employees. Just over a decade old, the firm is now the second-largest (in
terms of revenue) consulting firm in the world (behind IBM Global Services),
and it has positioned itself as one of the leading technology and process
solutions firms worldwide. The firm is hurting somewhat from the downturn
in the economy, as many companies have opted to delay major investments
in technology. Nevertheless, Accenture has done remarkably well - proof that
size does matter, but also that a big operation can be a flexible one. If the firm
is able to use its IT expertise to carve out a greater share of the general
management consulting market, the future holds even greater promise.
professionals.
Recommended Reading
A great way to familiarize yourself with "Accenture-think" is to visit the
"Research and Insights" section of the company's web site. Of particular note
are Outlook, Accenture's online magazine, and the white papers produced by
the Accenture Institute for Strategic Change.
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