Accenture: An insider guide - Gymkhana

Accenture 

2005 Edition 

WetFeet Insider Guide

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2005 Edition 

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Table of Contents 

Accenture at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

The Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Industry Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Organization of the Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

On the Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

Analysts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

Consultants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

The Workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 

Lifestyle and Hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

Workplace Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 

Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 

Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Vacation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Career Path. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

Insider Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 

Getting Hired. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

The Recruiting Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

Interviewing Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

For Your Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 

Recommended Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 

For Further Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 

The Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 

Et Cetera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Accenture at a Glance 

At a Glance 

Headquarters 

Accenture is incorporated in Bermuda and does not have a fixed headquarters, 

though the center of power is expected to shift slightly toward the Boston area 

when it’s new CEO takes the helm. It has offices in more than three dozen U.S. 

cities. Accenture’s recruiting function is based in its New York office: 

1345 Avenue of the Americas 

New York, NY 10105 

Phone: 917-452-4400 

Fax: 917-527-9915 

www.accenture.com 

Primary Competitors 

IBM, EDS, BearingPoint, Capgemini, Computer Sciences Corp., McKinsey & 

Company 

Key Differentiating Factors 

• Accenture has about 95,000 employees in 48 countries. 

• Accenture provides everything from hard-core technology support and toplevel 

strategic advice to outsourcing and human resources. 

• The firm has a strong, young, and innovation-oriented culture. 

In the Recruiter’s Words 

“From a campus standpoint, we really look for people with a broad and diverse 

set of experiences—computer science, management information systems, 

economics, even through liberal arts.” 

“Hiring has definitely increased from fiscal year 2003. With our market picking 

up with the economy, that’s had ripple effects.” 

“Come to the interview with several substantial and recent stories in mind, ones 

which you believe demonstrate your interpersonal strengths, analytical prowess, 

and ability to overcome challenges.” 

1

At a Glance 

What Insiders Say 

In the interview, “I was asked how you handle team problems, individuals who 

don’t work, people who miscommunicate. It was easy but you have to be 

honest.” 

“It’s very different from working in a traditional position, because you’re 

working on a project. It focuses you.” 

Career Ladder 

• Accenture employees follow a defined career path with set milestones. New 

employees move from analyst, to consultant, to manager, to senior manager, 

and in some cases, to associate partner and partner. IT employees work as 

programmers before moving into system analyst positions, and then in some 

cases, into manager roles. 

• Undergrads who join the firm as analysts can generally move to the 

consultant level in 2 to 3 years. Undergrads entering into strategy start as 

business analysts and may leave to go to business school after 3 or 4 years. 

• Midcareer hires join at almost any level, depending on their programming or 

industry experience. 

Hiring Estimates 

Accenture is hiring 30,000 people worldwide for its fiscal year ending August 

31, 2004. About 8,000 of those positions are in the United States, and of those, 

1,600 to 1,800 are likely to be new analysts that have just graduated or have a 

few years of experience. 

2

Estimated Compensation, 2004 

Undergrad Hires 

Starting salary: $38,000–55,000 

Signing bonus: 

not usually 

Relocation bonus: 

depends on need 

At a Glance 

MBA Hires 

Starting salary: 

$60,000–100,000; a lot depends on work experience 

Signing bonus: $10,000–15,000 



Midcareer Hires 

Starting salary: $40,000–100,000 

Signing bonus: 

$0–30,000 depending on experience 



Source: WetFeet estimates; Accenture does not release compensation data. 

3

The Company 

• Overview 

The Company 

• The Bottom Line 

• Industry Position 

• Organization of the Firm 

5

Overview 

The Company 

Accenture has made a name for itself as one of the world’s leading management 

consulting and technology services companies. Formally established in 1989 by a 

group of partners from the consulting division of the various Arthur Andersen 

firms around the world, Accenture began life as Andersen Consulting. From its 

establishment until its incorporation in 2001, the company operated as a group 

of more than 40 locally owned partnerships in 40-plus countries. Some things 

have certainly changed since 1989: Arthur Andersen is no more, the Internet boom 

has come and gone, and Andersen Consulting became Accenture and went public. 

But there’s one thing that’s stayed the same: The company is still focused on 

delivering top-notch consulting and technology services to organizations all 

over the world. 

Today, Accenture is a consulting behemoth with 95,000 employees toiling away 

in 110 offices in 48 countries. The company’s traditional stronghold is systems 

integration, but it also lays claim to formidable strategy, technology consulting, 

human resources, and outsourcing practices. Accenture’s deep client roster is a 

veritable who’s who list, one that straddles a multitude of industries; in addition 

to a sizeable percentage of Fortune 500 companies, Accenture also consults to 

a wide range of governmental and nonprofit organizations. Scoring massive projects 

with high-profile organizations is the name of the game at Accenture. It made 

headlines in June 2004 when an alliance led by Accenture won a Homeland Security 

Department contract worth up to $10 billion. 

Of course, the sputtering economy hit consulting companies hard, and Accenture 

was no exception. In fact, as one of the few public consulting firms, it is 

particularly sensitive to trends in the economy. For the first few years of this 

6

decade, it introduced successive waves of layoffs and 

slowed down its recruiting efforts. Employees worked 

longer and networked harder to make sure they wouldn’t 

find themselves “unstaffed,” or without a project and 

thus more vulnerable to getting laid off, for too long. 

Says one insider, “In the bad times, you get a sense of 

your internal worth. The best people, in theory, wouldn’t 

ever be available for a project because if you’re out there 

networking, you’ll never be unstaffed.” 

“ ” 

Accenture can be a 

great place to have a 

career—you’ll have 

the resources and 

clout of a huge 

company behind 

you—but it’s not for 

everyone. 

The Company 

Since mid-2003, insiders report that the mood has 

changed. The firm has “turned the taps back on,” for new hires, says an 

insider, and skilled analysts and consultants again find themselves in demand 

for projects. 

Increased hiring stems directly from a rebound in the economy and, in particular, 

the industry sectors Accenture serves. Communications and technology, financial 

services, products (companies ranging from health care to travel services), and 

resources are all growing at double-digit rates. For its 2004 fiscal year, the company 

expects net revenue to rise 15 to 16 percent, up from 2 percent in 2003. 

When corporations slashed their spending budgets during the downturn, contracts 

with government agencies helped. They continue to buoy earnings. In the first 

6 months of 2004, operating profits from its government sector made up 14.5 

percent of total revenue. Meanwhile, it’s increasingly focused on outsourcing, 

taking over whole IT or human resources functions for clients. In the last 

year, Accenture has inked outsourcing deals with big firms such as Best Buy 

and Deutsche Bank. Outsourcing now contributes nearly 40 percent of total 

revenue. And in keeping with the trend rippling throughout the rest of Corporate 

America, it’s helping companies move some of their operations offshore. 

7

The Company 

With a brighter business outlook, some of the work strains seemed to have eased. 

People don’t feel the need to put in extra overtime just to keep their job. But 

make no mistake, the work is demanding. And the firm attracts the kind of 

people who like to reach for high hurdles. “One plus about working here is the 

kind of personality traits you can pick up—people here are at the top of their 

game, A-types, go-getters,” says one insider. 

Accenture tries to keep things from getting too intense. It keeps open lines of 

communication between on-site employees and home-base operations through 

regular e-mails, team and industry-specific meetings, and local get-togethers. 

Everyone has a career counselor who works as the employee’s advocate when it 

comes to staffing. The company also commits a ton of resources to training, and 

passes on to its employees discounts on services, like cell phones, that come with 

being a big multinational firm. It’s also got prestige: Accenture ranked first in its 

industry in Fortune’s 2004 list of “America’s Most Admired Companies.” 

Due in part to its university recruitment, Accenture has a youthful collegiate environment 

in which employees have the energy to work hard as projects intensify as well as 

the chance to relax with each other and interact socially. It’s not unusual for local 

offices or project teams to play softball or have dinner together. 

At work, insiders report a positive and cooperative environment. The atmosphere 

might get a little stiffer when promotions are being decided. But the ability to 

work well with one’s colleagues is a point of pride at the firm. 

“There’s a culture of sharing. If someone happens to be an expert in Java 

for instance, I feel I can pick up the phone even if I’ve never talked to them 

before, and they’ll feel an extensive obligation, an esprit de corp, to help me 

out,” says an insider. 

As demanding as consulting can be, getting a job at Accenture can pose an 

even greater challenge. Whether you’re an MBA or undergraduate, you should 

be ready to sell yourself. 

8

The Bottom Line 

Accenture’s employees are often technically specialized and also educationally 

diverse. They’ve joined the company because they want to get in on the diverse 

range of professional experiences consulting has to offer. Competition for jobs is 

intense. To be successful, candidates should try to demonstrate both team and 

leadership experiences that combine technical and consulting know-how. If you 

land a job, you’ll be in fairly good hands. The company is committed to training, 

and once you’re ready to move on, just having the Accenture name on your 

resume will open doors. 

The Company 

9

Industry Position 

The Company 

Accenture is definitely one of the big kids on the consulting block. According 

to Consultants News’ 2004 ranking of the “75 Largest Consulting Firms in the 

World,” for the second year in a row, Accenture ranks second only to IBM in 

global market share and consulting revenue. Few consulting firms offer as wide 

a range of services as Accenture. Its technology and process groups compete 

with top technical consulting firms such as IBM and EDS, its human performance 

competency goes head to head with HR consulting firms such as Hewitt, and 

its strategy group takes on strategy firms such as McKinsey and Deloitte. 

10

20 Largest Consulting Firms, by 2003 Consulting Revenue 

Rank 

Firm 

1 IBM 

2 Accenture 

3 Deloitte 

4 Capgemini 

5 CSC 

6 BearingPoint 

7 Hewlett-Packard 

8 McKinsey & Co. 

9 Mercer 

10 SAP 

11 T-Systems 

12 Booz Allen Hamilton 

13 LogicaCMG 

14 Atos Origin 

15 Oracle 

16 Unisys 

17 Altran 

18 EDS 

19 TietoEnator 

20 Watson Wyatt Worldwide 

The Company 

Source: Excerpted and reprinted with permission of Consultants News June 2004; Consultants News/Kennedy Information, 

Peterborough, NH 03458 USA; phone: 800-531-0007; www.ConsultingCentral.com. 

11

Where MBAs Want to Work 

The Company 

Accenture doesn’t have quite the cache among MBAs that the large strategy 

firms such as McKinsey and Bain do. But in 2004 it moved up two notches to 

number 27, between PricewaterhouseCoopers and Lehman Brothers. The 

following ranking is a result of Universum’s 2004 survey of MBAs, who ranked 

the companies where they would most like to work. 

Consulting Firms that Ranked in the Top 50 

Rank Firm 

1 McKinsey & Co. 

4 IBM 

7 Bain & Co. 

10 Booz Allen Hamilton 

11 Deloitte 

13 Boston Consulting Group 

27 Accenture 

Source: Based on a study by Universum, published in Fortune. Ann Harrington, Fortune, 4/19/2004. 

12

Organization of the Firm 

View from the Top 

Accenture is a public company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange 

under the symbol ACN. At the top of the organization sits CEO Joe Forehand 

and the executive committee of partners and officers who report directly to 

him, followed by numerous steering and operating committees. Though the 

firm has no fixed geographical headquarters, it has big offices in major U.S. 

cities such as Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. 

The Company 

View from the Middle 

Accenture is organized into several partially overlapping industry areas that 

allow clients to choose from a smorgasbord of integrated consulting services. 

The company maintains five global operations groups: 

1. Financial services 

2. Government 

3. Communications and high tech 

4. Products 

5. Resources 

13

Nine service and solutions lines support the global operations groups: 

1. Customer relationship management 

The Company 

2. Finance and performance management 

3. Human performance 

4. Strategy and business architecture 

5. Supply chain management 

6. Technology research and innovation 

7. Technology solutions 

8. Microsoft solutions 

9. Outsourcing and infrastructure delivery 

Accenture’s five operating groups function as umbrella units for 18 separate 

industry areas and government services. The service lines are then broken 

down between business consulting or technology and outsourcing. Some of 

these groups could change by the time you get there; Accenture is continually 

shifting its organizational structure. That’s not surprising, given that it’s in the 

business of reorganizing companies and processes. “If we ourselves aren’t 

changing, that means we’re stagnant, and we’re not a few steps ahead of the 

client,” explains one insider. 

The tasks in the various service areas can vary widely. Customer relationship 

management, supply chain management, technology research, and technology 

solutions often involve more of the hard-core technology work. Members of 

the technology groups are more likely to work on-site for extended periods to 

implement new technology. The human performance group deals largely with 

the human resources and training issues that arise with technology work. 

14

Strategy and business architecture, as well as finance and performance management, 

involve higher level consulting work to determine the client’s business and technology 

needs. Employees in these service lines do often join engineering projects, but also 

handle a wide range of other related duties focusing on business process. Strategy 

and business-architecture consultants work at the highest levels of projects and 

might come in early on in a project to do trends and industry analysis. They often 

get paid more (after all, strategy has to compete with Bain, BCG, Booz Allen, and 

the other big-name, big-dollar firms). 

The Company 

One employee describes how various service roles overlap on a typical technology 

project: “First comes requirement analysis, where consultants help define the 

scope and design of the project. Then we work on common components, putting 

together the technology architecture. Training—gathering training needs to use 

the system—follows. Finally we build out the application, doing the detailed 

coding and user acceptance testing.” 

View from the Bottom 

With Accenture’s senior executives selling the firm’s pricey services on the basis 

of its highly trained workers, the firm encourages newcomers to constantly 

expand their skill set. For your first few projects, you’ll probably hop around 

between service areas, building programming and business skills along the way. 

Although some folks like to think of themselves as industry generalists, most 

insiders say it’s preferable and easier to stick within one industry and gain some 

specialization. “New analysts are encouraged to get a lot of different roles, 

because once people get to the 3- or 4-year mark, they’re starting to build up a 

resume that we use to sell them [to clients],” says one insider. “If you have 3 

years of experience in something you don’t really like, chances are you’re not 

going to stick around.” 

15

The Company 

Consultant teams do most of the work at the client site. These range from the small, 

paratroop-like squads of the strategy unit, consisting of two to five members, to 

massive mobilization units involving dozens to 100 or more folks from other service 

areas. Because of the nature of the work, Accenture project teams tend to be 

larger and more bottom-heavy than those of rival consulting firms that do less 

systems work. Many projects have an organizational structure worthy of a small 

firm: a senior manager or partner responsible for the most high-level client 

interaction, followed several managers who are each responsible for a part of the 

project and supervise two or three teams each of analysts and consultants. 

Many analysts and consultants will have their own cubicle and workstation at 

the client site. If they’re locally based, they may report every day to that station, 

just like in an industry job. Strategy consultants and senior managers, who tend 

to be more mobile, often work out of a laptop and “totes,” or moveable storage 

containers. 

Moving from job to job, compounded by the size of Accenture, can be a strain. 

One insider describes the downside of working in consulting this way: “It’s so 

big, you’re always changing clients, you never get a sense of belonging.” 

Perhaps mindful of losing touch with its far-flung staff, Accenture has instituted 

activities that connect consultants outside of work. Some are as informal as 

dinners out. Others might be as time-consuming as teaching other consultants 

about a new programming language. 

In 1998, Accenture created market unit–based “communities” of 150 or so 

employees grouped by their location and industry practice. These communities 

meet quarterly in most cities to discuss everything from business to personnel 

issues. The ostensible purpose might be to hear a presentation by a resources 

consultant in Dallas. But they are really all about networking. “It’s to feel like 

you belong to the company, to not get overwhelmed by the fact that it’s a big, 

international firm,” says one insider. 

16

On the Job 

• Analysts 

• Consultants 

On the Job 

17

Analysts 

On the Job 

Analysts at Accenture come into a market unit and the Core Analysts Program 

(CAP). After an initial 2-week training, when they might participate in a mock 

client engagement, they get staffed with an industry group. The CAP affords 

them the chance to develop core skills through plenty of training as well as onthe-job 

experience. “We expect all analysts to go in and be information sponges. 

We want them to be learning how we work, soaking everything up,” says one 

insider. 

After 12 to 18 months, they attend another round of training at Accenture’s campus 

in St. Charles, Illinois. “We found that having the client experience earlier was 

very helpful for our new analysts, to get on-the-job training,” said an insider in 

recruiting. 

Accenture’s business model revolves around throwing large numbers of people 

into big projects where they focus on implementation and execution work. With 

more seniority comes increased managerial responsibility, and ultimately, selling 

the firm’s business to new clients. But at the start, analysts are considered the 

“pack mules” of the consulting staff, says one insider. “You’ll do number crunching 

and heavy analysis . . . rather than the high-level thinking—this is calculations, 

building models, analyzing data line by line.” 

18

Typical Responsibilities 

Duties vary depending on the project, but insiders tell 

us that the first year typically involves the following 

types of tasks: 

• Mapping business processes 

• Gathering and analyzing client data 

• Developing design parameters for projects 

• Designing computer modules 

• Interviewing client management and employees 

• Writing computer code and configuring software (IT) 

• Preparing user-training materials 

• Implementing recommended changes at client site 

• Developing training models 

“ ” 

We expect all 

analysts to go in 

and be information 

sponges. We want 

them to be learning 

how we work, soaking 

everything up. 

On the Job 

Strategy 

On the strategy side, Accenture hires a small number of undergrads into 

business analyst positions. “People on strategy spend more time analyzing the 

industry, competitive analysis, identifying trends, valuation, economics,” says 

one insider. “Traditional consultants deal with processes from an operational 

standpoint—how they run the business. That’s not to say sometimes the two 

don’t bleed into one another.” 

Here’s a list of typical day-to-day tasks: 

• Develop key performance metrics 

• Conduct industry research 

• Facilitate the flow of work units through their teams 

• Discuss specific issues with in-house experts 

19

• Assess existing technology 

• Conduct market research 

• Develop and maintain client relationships 

• Perform benchmarking analysis 

• Analyze current systems and problems 

• Recommend new approaches 

• Present findings to team members 

A Day in the Life of a First-Year Analyst 

On the Job 

8:30 I get into the client site. While I take a few swigs of my coffee, I check 

e-mails I got from the client. First I glance to see whether any problems 

sprouted up overnight. Then I check the requests that piled up earlier in 

the week. Is there anything that’s a must-do today? Finally I sift through 

my Accenture e-mails. 

9:00 Open Microsoft Word and figure out where I last left off on the 

documentation for the system we’re implementing. It’s pretty long— 

two-thirds to go. Well, no time like the present. 

12:00 It’s the manager’s birthday today, so the team heads out to lunch. Thank 

goodness, I’m starved. 

1:00 Back to the office. I dive back into the documentation. One page at a 

time . . . 

3:00 I nab a half-hour with one of the consultants when he gets out of 

meetings. I’ve never done one of these documentation projects before, 

and I want to make sure I’m on track. Is this what I should be doing 

here and here? 

3:30 He was really helpful with feedback. I keep working and make the 

necessary updates. 

4:00 Time for a status meeting with the rest of the team. Gives me a chance 

to stretch my legs. I walk over to another building on the corporate 

campus, where I meet up with my manager, the rest of the team, and 

some members of the client firm. We go over what everyone’s working 

on, ask questions about the project. It’s a good way to get to know 

members of the team who work in different offices. 

20

5:00 My manager has a cube in both buildings, so I just stay at the other 

building and work on more detail analysis from his desk. 

6:00 Time to head out. But first, I’ll stop by another consultant’s cubicle for 

an update on our project’s softball team. They got the jerseys. But who 

decided we were the Mariners? 

A Day in the Life of an Experienced Analyst 

8:00 Arrive at client site. Spend 45 minutes checking client e-mails, voice 

mail, and Accenture e-mails. There are so many! Working with people in 

different time zones means my inbox really fills up when I’m not here. 

9:00 Meet with the internal team to discuss any problems and what we need 

to get done today. 

10:30 Back to my desk to tackle my ongoing work for this project. This time, 

it’s mostly trends analysis and market research. 

12:15 Time for lunch. That means walking down to the sandwich shop, 

grabbing something, and eating at a private table in the corner—my 

workstation. 

1:00 Time to meet with the clients, who are right down the hall. We go over 

progress to date, discuss certain initiatives, make sure we’re on the same 

page. 

3:00 Back at my desk, working on deliverables—the work we’ll present to the 

client. If only I can concentrate on it for a few hours . . . 

4:00 Not so fast. My teammates have some questions about a technical aspect 

of the project they know I’ve handled before. We talk and go over the 

problem. 

5:00 I might just have enough time to finish up the presentation before I 

leave. Now where was I? 

6:00 I’m on track to meet this week’s deadline, so I leave earlier than usual. 

Tomorrow’s going to be a long day, so better take off while the going’s 

good! 

On the Job 

21

Consultants 

After a couple of years with the firm, Accenture’s undergraduate hires can become 

consultants. Consultants have many of the same day-to-day tasks as analysts, with 

one big exception: They manage a small team. “After a few years at the firm, you’d 

be in a supervisory capacity—you’d be responsible for the output of three to five 

people,” says one insider. 

On the Job 

Also at the consultant and manager levels are those advanced-degree holders 

(e.g., MBAs and/or CPAs, especially those in process and strategy) who are 

deemed ready to perform at this level. Many MBAs are also hired as experienced 

analysts, bringing them a year or two closer to the consultant position than a 

new analyst with just an undergraduate degree. Often MBAs go straight to the 

firm’s strategy unit. Says one insider in recruiting, “Typically folks we target are 

completing degree programs with a strategy emphasis. They combine that with 

pretty significant work experience, and it gives them a nice package.” 

Typical Responsibilities 

• Lead project meetings 

• Monitor and report on project status 

• Lead presentations 

• Interview vendors 

• Supervise analysts 

• Facilitate brainstorming sessions 

• Conduct client interviews and workshops 

• Assess existing technology and future needs 

22

• Develop acceptance criteria 

• Oversee implementation of technical applications (IT) 

• Develop and implement financial models 

• Oversee training applications 

• Conduct structure analysis 

A Day in the Life of an IT Consultant 

8:30 Arrive at the site. Check my e-mail to see if tests found any bugs over 

night. Yep, there are a few critters in this system. 

9:00 Meet with the tester to get more information about the bugs. What’s the 

impact? By when do we need to resolve them? 

10:00 It’s a high-priority bug, so all hands on deck. I shove aside my other 

work and focus on clearing up this problem. 

12:00 Almost there, but not quite. Still, I need refueling. I head for the elevator 

bank and grab a sandwich at the coffee shop downstairs. I read over any 

Accenture e-mails I might have glossed over while I munch through my 

lunch. 

1:00 Work out the last kinks. There! Now I can shift my attention to new 

development and new features we’re considering for this project. 

3:00 Meet with clients and other Accenture consultants about some of the 

new features we’re planning. It’s a good time to make sure we’re in touch 

with the client’s needs—and pick some of my colleagues’ smart brains. 

4:00 I start working on a proposal for one of these features, trying to distill 

what people want and what we can do. 

5:00 I check back with the client to make sure everything’s OK with that 

earlier problem. Then I’m back on our proposal. 

6:30 Time to head out. A bunch of folks from my last project are meeting to 

watch the game at 7:00 and I’ve told them to save me a stool. 

On the Job 

23

A Day in the Life of a Strategy Consultant 

On the Job 

7:30 I’m at my computer, waiting for the aircon to kick in. I need to wrap up 

a PowerPoint presentation that’s due this morning, so no time for chitchatting 

with clients over the coffee maker. 

11:00 Finished! I click through the slides with my supervisor, and we go over 

the presentation. 

11:30 She suggests an early lunch, to which I happily agree. Even if it’s a quick 

one. 

12:00 We head over to the other building and find the conference room where 

we’ll meet some of the client managers. We present the PowerPoint and 

answer any questions they have. 

2:00 The meeting wraps up and my supervisor and I head back to the other 

building. We usually have a post-mortem on big meetings. This time we 

discuss how the meeting went while we walk. 

2:15 I’m back at my desk trying to tackle a bunch of other work that’s piled 

up. I open up a spreadsheet but then . . . 

2:30 One of my teammates, a new analyst, has a question about the analysis 

he’s responsible for. I’ve done this twice in past projects, so I sit down 

with him and show him the ropes. 

3:00 Back to my desk and check to see how far I’ve got on my file. 

3:05 Not so fast. Another colleague comes by with a different problem. I sit 

down with her, discuss what she’s tried, and give her some advice. It’s a 

tricky one, and we spend an hour trying to untangle it. 

4:30 Yikes. How did it get so late? I try to get at least half of this report 

done. 

6:00 I head for the door, but I’ve got a laptop in hand. I’ll have to wrap up 

this work tonight because my manager wants to see it tomorrow. Oh 

well, it was going to be quiet evening at the hotel anyway. 

24

The Workplace 

• Lifestyle and Hours 

• Culture 

• Workplace Diversity 

• Compensation 

• Travel 

• Vacation 

• Training 

• Career Path 

The Workplace 

• Insider Scoop 

25

Lifestyle and Hours 

Analysts and consultants should expect an active daily work schedule that gets 

filled up quickly with meetings, technical problem solving, and individual report 

work. There’s not a lot of down time: Insiders are continually responding to 

demands from managers, teammates, or clients. One insider estimates that 

consultants spend 20 to 50 percent of the day in meetings. When you’re not 

interacting with the client or fixing bugs, you’ll try to squeeze in an hour to 

concentrate on analysis and documentation projects that may be assigned to you. 

Accenture folks often find themselves on deadline, as teams finish stages of the 

bigger project. “There are some self-enforced and some very hard ones. Generally 

no one likes to delay a project. At the same time, if this doesn’t get done, you 

don’t like to move on to the next change,” says one insider. 

The Workplace 

Projects can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few years. Regardless of how 

short or long they are, projects operate in cycles. So consultants can expect to 

work longer hours and even some weekends when a big deadline looms. “Its 

sort of like a college class schedule,” says one insider. “There are times when 

things are slow and chugging along, times when you put a little more in and if 

you pace yourself you should be fine.” Says another insider, “I have had to 

work a few nights, but nothing too crazy. As you get higher up in the company, 

you tend to work a few more hours, but that is expected with the nature of the 

job. I have only had to work weekends once, but that was told to me ahead of 

time and it was due to the nature of the project (a week-long assignment in a 

sunny location, which I didn’t mind at all).” 

26

Aside from a busy schedule, travel is definitely a part of the Accenture lifestyle. 

For the most part, that means spending the week with the client and a long 

weekend at home, often for months at a time. “When you’re more junior, 

you’re going to be dedicated to one client, so it’s not like you’re going to be 

flying into Chicago on Monday and then Des Moines on Wednesday,” says one 

insider. Still, travel takes it’s toll. “Everyone tells me you get sick of it after a 

year,” says another. 

The Workplace 

27

Culture 

Accenture is a company on the move, one that’s engaged in a wide variety of 

projects in a bunch of different locations. As such, Accenture’s culture can vary 

from one extreme to another depending on the client you are working for and 

the office in which you reside. Employees who work at the client site, especially 

for extended periods, will find themselves interacting with the client’s culture as 

much as Accenture’s. “On average, we aspire to blend in with our clients. In my 

projects, I want client people on our team, I want them to be integrated,” said 

one insider. “We go to lunch together, go out after work. That’s probably very 

typical except on the large tech projects, where you have a pod of people in the 

back room.” 

The Workplace 

Says another, “We spend 85 to 95 percent of our time at the client site. It may 

be a little less true these days, because we actually have offices, where we can 

work for clients at an Accenture office. But most of the time, it’s at the client site.” 

Two recent events—the downturn in the economy and the transformation of 

the firm from one owned and run by partners to a publicly owned firm—have 

left their mark. 

“Because we’re now a public company and our finances are subject to analyst 

scrutiny, there’s more focus on financials and profit margins than there was 

before. That has a trickle-down effect—there may be less money for someone 

to put in a training budget, for instance.” The insider adds, “If there were 

changes, it’s hard to say if they were due to strictly economic factors or going 

public and needing to be more investor-friendly.” 

28

Another change that followed the firm’s stock listing 

has been awarding bonuses. “At the consultant level, 

your bonus is going to be relatively small compared to 

your salary. It’s mostly affected by the firm at large, 

and to a somewhat lesser extent by your industry 

group,” is the way one insider describes them. 

Accenture has a youthful atmosphere that lends itself 

easily to making contacts that will last as you move 

from project to project. “Over all, people like going 

out with each other after work. It’s pretty young, and 

there’s quite a bit of socializing, especially when 

you’re out of town.” 

“ ” 

It’s definitely more 

collegial than some 

other firms. They 

encourage 

teamwork. You get 

off the plane and 

you don’t know any 

of your colleagues. 

Within an hour, 

you’re working 

together. 

In spite of the youthful, work-hard/play-hard atmosphere—or maybe because 

of it—employees respond well to Accenture’s high standards, which require a 

lot of dedication and self-discipline on the part of the employees. As one 

insider says, “You do get a lot of opportunities. You’re there because they can’t 

do something internally, so you continually have to prove your worth.” 

And finally, the people at Accenture seem to genuinely like and respect each other. 

Good interpersonal skills and a willingness to help are definitely more common than 

“me first” attitudes. Of course, people who don’t play well with others are probably 

not a good fit for consulting. Insiders consistently proclaimed the willingness of 

colleagues in different cities or even countries to respond to a request for help at the 

drop of a hat. “We have a very strong collaborative culture. If I go on the 

[companywide] portal, and post questions, I immediately get answers,” says 

one insider. 

The Workplace 

29

Workplace Diversity 

Accenture has spent a lot of time trying to recruit and make working conditions 

amenable to people of color and other minority groups. The diversity program 

focuses on themes such as mentorship, recruitment, career counseling, schedule 

flexibility for parents, and retention of women and minorities. Accenture’s 

Chief Diversity Officer Kedrick Adkins has created the Diversity Advisory 

Council, a group of leadership partners with representation across all segments 

of the company. This group is instrumental in setting strategic direction and 

implementing key initiatives. 

The Workplace 

In terms of recruiting, Accenture offers internships, jobs, and scholarships 

through INROADS, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Society 

of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Once employees start working, Accenture 

offers a sponsorship program in addition to its recruiting program. Sponsors 

work with others on the employee’s behalf, particularly when it comes to salary 

increases or promotion discussions, and the company’s diversity unit is pushing 

to get women and minorities strong sponsors. 

“We are spending a lot of time working with our senior leadership. That’s not 

to say that we didn’t have their interest and visibility before, but I spend the 

vast majority of my time working with our senior executives on diversity-related 

opportunities, such as recruiting and promotion,” says Adkins in a recent 

interview in The Black Collegian. “I report directly to our CEO, Joe Forehand, 

which speaks volumes to the importance our company places on diversity.” 

In addition, the firm offers diversity training. Some highlights include a 3-hour 

instructor-led course that demonstrates the importance of appreciating and 

30

valuing the dynamics between men and women; the “diversity principle,” a 

1-hour course that underlines that diversity in the workforce is a key company 

priority and shows how stereotypes can contribute to a nonproductive work 

environment; and “the diversity principle in motion,” a group workshop on 

recognizing inappropriate behaviors related to differences in the workplace. 

As far back as 1994, Accenture was named one of the “100 Best Companies 

for Gay Men and Lesbians” in the Ed Mickens book of the same title. Among 

the seven networking groups that comprise its Local Office Diversity Program 

is one for gay and lesbians. Plus, Accenture extends domestic partner benefits 

to U.S. personnel in same-sex relationships under its medical, dental, and dependent 

life insurance plans. The plans and their benefits are the same as those available 

to spouses of married personnel, wherever it is legally possible to do so. Children 

of same-sex domestic partners can be covered under the same rules as those 

for children of married personnel. 

Opportunities for Women 

Like the consulting industry as a whole, Accenture has relatively low female 

representation among its very senior management. At last count, three of its 

21 management committee members were female. Still, the number of women 

in top positions at Accenture has steadily increased over the past decade. The 

percentage of female senior-level executives rose from 5.8 percent in 1994 to 

10 percent in 2002. However, in 2002 (most recent available) women only 

accounted for a little more than 14 percent of all promotions to partner status 

globally and 19 percent of all promotions to partner in the United States. 

The Workplace 

In general, insiders report plenty of women in the workforce, though some 

areas attract more than others. “There are quite a number of females, but it’s 

very polarized. It’s often in testing and functional design, and less in 

31

technology,” says one insider. Another says, “When I was hired in, not many 

women were hired at the same time. I think that’s just coincidence, though. On 

my current project, more than half of my team members are female and they 

hold positions at all levels.” 

In 1995, Accenture leadership created a U.S. Women’s Initiatives team composed 

of eight women partners and led by Managing Partner Pam Craig. These women 

represent all U.S. regions and industries and work closely with the firm’s CEO to 

identify strategies that will attract, retain, promote, and advance women at 

Accenture. Some of the programs include local women’s initiatives (31 women’s 

teams in U.S. offices), mentoring/sponsorship, training, and work-life integration. 

The firm works hard to make it possible for working mothers to achieve a worklife 

balance, with such options as part-time schedules and job sharing. 

The Workplace 

“Accenture gives great emphasis to providing opportunities for personal growth 

and advancement for women,” says a female insider. “Additionally, all of my 

mentors at Accenture have been men—each of whom has shown an enormous 

interest in providing feedback and helping me achieve my personal goals and 

aspirations.” 

Accenture’s efforts earned it the praise and notice of outsiders. In September 

2003, the firm made its debut on Working Mother’s 18th annual “100 Best 

Companies for Working Mothers.” That same year it won a Catalyst award for 

its efforts to include women in its workforce. Catalyst, a nonprofit research and 

advisory organization working to advance women in business and the professions, 

honors innovative approaches with proven results taken by companies attempting 

to address the recruitment, development, and advancement of all managerial women, 

including women of color. 

32

Compensation 

Accenture has been known to pay well and to offer significant raises. Though 

the weak economy brought back salaries for both MBAs and undergraduates 

to preboom levels, the rebound is trickling down to even new hire levels. 

Undergraduate hires can expect to start in the $40,000 to $55,000 range, and 

insiders report raises are anywhere from 10 to 20 percent a year. 

MBAs and other advanced-degree holders entering the strategy practice should 

start from $60,000 to $100,000, depending on office location, educational background, 

and work experience. Of course, many MBAs move to the level of manager a 

few years after they start, getting an additional salary boost when they advance. 

“A lot of the MBA programs are people who have pretty good experience—4 

or 5 years experience in some fields,” says one insider. “Typically when we hire 

off the higher-ranking MBA schools, we’ll bring those people in at a manager 

level with the expectation that they’ll be a senior manager fairly soon.” 

Note: Compensation numbers are based on WetFeet research; Accenture does 

not release this information. 

The Workplace 

33

Travel 

Most of Accenture’s work takes place at client sites, and you’ll often need to 

travel to get there. For some, this is a perk, and for others, a trying routine. 

To try to lessen the burden of being away from friends and family for days at a 

time, the firm follows a “seven to seven” schedule, meaning consultants leave for 

the client site around 7:00 a.m. on Monday morning and are at home by Friday at 

7:00 p.m. Many return to their home city on Thursday night and then work from 

their home or a local Accenture office on Friday. “The plus is that you’re spending 

more nights at home than at the apartment. The downside—you’re still 

spending three nights away,” says an insider. 

The Workplace 

Some insiders report that travel has subsided from years past. “We tend to have 

much larger contracts and that lets you forecast what your demand is, rather 

than having short-term demand where you’re bringing in short-term resources.” 

On the flip side, strategy consultants, whose project work can be as short as a 

month, can find themselves in several cities each year. 

A lot of factors go into whether you end up in Honolulu or Manhattan, starting 

with your skill set and whether you’re in an industry group that’s clustered around 

certain cities. And not everyone ends up living out of a suitcase 4 days a week. 

Consultants in government services, not surprisingly, can work for years out of 

their home base—as long as it’s Washington, D.C., or another big capital city. 

“It’s really just luck of the draw. It’s very much timing—if you happen to be 

available at a time when there’s a big demand for a project that’s in another city, 

you’ll be on that project.” 

34

Accenture also has a program called Flexible Fly-Back, which means you do not 

need to return to your home office every weekend. Instead, every other “flyback” 

(for assignments within the United States this equates to once every 2 weeks), 

you can fly anywhere else as long as the ticket is no more than what it would 

cost to fly home. For instance, an employee who is headquartered in Los Angeles 

but working in New York could fly to London for the weekend instead of back 

to Los Angeles. Accenture employees may also fly friends or family members to 

their engagement locations. This provision is also available on cross-border 

assignments. 

The Workplace 

35

Vacation 

In September 2002, Accenture started its PTO, or paid time off, program. The 

firm doesn’t distinguish between vacation, personal, or sick days, providing 

employees with greater flexibility than a traditional vacation and sick time bank 

approach. From the corporation’s viewpoint, the PTO approach reduces 

unplanned absences and allows smoother business operations. 

Analysts and consultants get 25 PTO days, which include both vacation and 

personal days. Employees who work in outsourcing or the internal business 

functions at Accenture add on PTO days as they work—18 days for the first 

5 years, then 21 days for the next 5 years. 

The Workplace 

In terms of being able to actually schedule vacations, due to the relatively stable 

nature of project work, a consultant can and will reach a point where the work 

will start to taper off. As such, scheduling is a fairly straightforward process— 

unlike that of other consulting firms. 

Insiders report that the firm strives to maintain a good work-life balance, whether 

that means helping employees get home on the weekends or recognizing overtime. 

“Managers are quite aware of the time and effort that you put into a project, 

and they never hesitate to appreciate you. While it is not necessarily company 

practice, some of my managers have bought me dinner on nights that we work 

a little longer,” says one insider. 

36

Training 

Accenture provides technical and managerial skills development. At the entry 

level, employees in the consulting workforce can expect at least 300 hours of 

core training during their first 5 years. The training enables consultants to build 

a common corporate culture, and the firm sees it as a competitive advantage. 

So do other firms. Insiders report that Accenture analysts are often recruited by 

competitors in part because of the thorough training they receive at Accenture. 

A key component is a 2-week visit to the Accenture facility in the Chicago 

suburb of St. Charles, Illinois. Analysts used to attend classes at the corporate 

campus shortly after they started work. Recently the firm shifted the schedule, 

and it now sends new recruits to St. Charles once they have several months of 

on-the-job experience. 

“It makes a lot more sense,” says one insider. “I would have been able to get a 

lot more experience from St. Charles after a year than right off the chute . . . 

also, it’s expensive for the firm to do it at the front end.” 

But Accenture won’t throw you into a big project cold. Most analysts start with 

a week’s orientation, followed by 2 weeks of guidance on skills necessary for 

interacting with a client and working on the project. Training helps consultants 

develop critical skills such as leadership, value creation, relationship building, 

business and technology acumen, selling, and methodology. But it also teaches 

hands-on skills such as programming languages used in the debugging and data 

analysis that occurs in so many of Accenture’s projects. 

The Workplace 

In training and thereafter, they are instructed on how to think, act, and speak 

like an Accenture consultant. As a result, people in Accenture all use a uniform 

37

usiness language, so cross-group (or transnational) communication poses no 

problem (in theory, at least). One insider says, “Our 2-week training course in 

St. Charles consisted of 180 people from all over the world. Not only are the 

trainees from all over the world, but the trainers are as well.” 

New consultants also learn how to use the Knowledge xChange, Accenture’s 

internal information-management system, which enables them to tap into 

mountains of data from all of the firm’s consulting assignments, regardless of 

business group or geographical location. 

Accenture is increasingly offering training in an online format called 

myLearning.accenture.com. That’s a common way that Accenture employees 

learn new skills. For ongoing training there’s also a 3-day classroom training 

conducted by the company’s top leadership. 

The Workplace 

38

Career Path 

Most undergraduates enter the firm as analysts (or as business analysts, in strategy). 

Most MBAs enter the strategy service line as consultants or experienced analysts, 

if they lack significant prior experience. 

Accenture employees follow a defined career path with set milestones. New 

employees move from analyst, to consultant, to manager, to senior manager, to 

associate partner, and finally to partner. The chart below shows the opportunities 

for applicants in each of the three main categories: undergraduates, MBAs, and 

midcareer candidates. 

“The whole theory, in those couple of years, is that not only do you get the initial 

foundation, but it’s like a blank check to jump around with clients and get a 

broader experience,” says one insider about the Core Analysts Program. “After 

you’ve been with the firm for a few years, the expectation is that you’ve aligned 

with an industry group and specialty group. The further you go on, the more 

valuable you are if you have something unique.” 

Accenture Career Path 

Job Title 

Eligibility 

The Workplace 

Analyst (except strategy) Undergrad hires, for 1½ to 3 years 

Business analyst (strategy only) Undergrad or MBA, entry-level hires, for 2 to 4 years 

Consultant 

New MBA hires and analysts with at least 2 years’ experience 

Manager 

Consultants with 2 to 4 years’ experience 

Senior manager 

Managers with 3 to 4 years’ experience 

Associate partner 

Experienced managers 

Partner Those elected to firm’s partnership (currently 2,300) 

Source: WetFeet research. 

39

Opportunities for Undergraduates 

Undergraduates join the CAP as analysts and, except in strategy, can generally 

find opportunities to move straight up the career ladder without investing a 

small fortune in another degree. On the strategy side, Accenture has a business 

analyst program for undergraduates. 

Depending on needs, Accenture offers a limited number of paid 10- to 12-week 

internships for undergraduates, typically in the summer before their senior year. 

The profile is similar to that of a full-time entry-level analyst. That is, they must 

have technical skills, a strong GPA and show involvement in extracurricular 

activities. 

The firm also sponsors several minority internship programs, including: 

The Workplace 

• Entry-Level Summer Intern Program, in which the firm works with 

identified star candidates from key schools and programs. This program 

includes a 3-day leadership conference. 

• Student Leadership Conference, in which the firm provides top students 

who are unable to perform internships with a 3-day leadership conference to 

learn about Accenture. 

• Accenture’s Commitment to Empower Successful Students Program is a 

multiyear mentorship program targeting top African-American and Hispanic- 

American students at key sources. 

• Diversity Leadership Weekend, in which students attend a 3-day leadership 

event led by Monster.com. Students get to network with each other during 

summer by attending workshops and information sessions. 

40

Opportunities for MBAs 

MBAs start as experienced analysts or consultants (some MBAs with little relevant 

work experience start as new analysts), and move up to manager, senior manager, 

associate partner, and partner. The trip to the top could take as little as 10 years. 

Insiders report some executives prefer to stay at the senior manager or manager 

level if they want to stay involved with the operational, hands-on side of consulting. 

Associate partners and partners spend much of the time selling the firm to 

clients. 

“You might be hired in strategy, [and] you’d be focused much more on analysis,” 

says an insider. “You’re involved much more on the early phases of a project. 

You wouldn’t be in a role at the tale end.” 

Opportunities for Midcareer Candidates 

Midcareer hires come into the firm at any level, from analyst to senior manager. 

“It varies greatly by profile and experience,” says an insider in recruiting. Many 

industry hires occur when Accenture expands and pulls in consultants knowledgeable 

in a skills area or industry sector. Often they come from a rival firm or 

within the industry. But consulting or industry experience doesn’t necessarily 

mean you’ll enter as a manager; with just a few years of work experience under 

your belt, you may still start as an analyst. 

The Workplace 

“We do it, but it’s usually because there’s a specific skill, and we need to have 

it,” says on insider. 

“It didn’t used to be common, but it’s increasingly common, because we’ve got 

a lot bigger. When we’ve branched out, we’ve needed to hire for a certain 

expertise,” says another insider. But experienced hires can sometimes have 

difficulties. “I’ve heard people say that they have a unique expertise that isn’t 

41

valued properly,” adds the insider. “Sometimes we were more interested in the 

process of doing something rather than the expertise. We put a lot of emphasis 

on methodology.” 

International Opportunities 

Accenture has offices in 48 countries and is well known around the world. In 

fact, the lion’s share of its hiring for its fiscal year 2004 is taking place outside 

the United States. And in the first 6 months of 2004, non-U.S. business accounts 

made up 54 percent of the firm’s net revenues. But Accenture doesn’t currently 

offer many opportunities to go abroad. 

Instead, the firm prefers to staff locally. The most common way to do a stint 

overseas is to be staffed on an international project, which is only going to 

happen if your particular skill set is in demand and if you have the requisite 

language skills. 

The Workplace 

“I wouldn’t say it’s the norm,” says one insider in recruiting about overseas 

assignments. “If the client has a global presence, they have a large project-need 

outside the United States, we may deploy consultants,” says the insider. “We 

take interest in these opportunities seriously, or if they have a background in 

language, etc., that would make them particularly valuable.” 

42

Insider Scoop 

What Employees Really Like 

Neither Burnout nor Rust 

Sure, Accenture consultants, especially in strategy, can get tired of the meeting/ 

deadline/meeting routine when projects heat up. Working out of town and 

flying back for a Friday to Sunday stay in your hometown can take its toll. But 

there’s a silver lining to the kind of work they do: the opportunity to, in essence, 

start a new job every 6 to 12 months. When things go as they should, consultants 

spend enough time on-site to truly know the client’s business and culture, but 

not so much time that they burn out. “One partner told me the partner lived in 

periods of 2-year chunks. You keep reevaluating and saying I’ll stay another 

2 years, and chances are, before long you’re a partner,” said one insider. 

People Helping People 

Though it’s surprising given its size, Accenture gets good marks for openness, 

responsiveness, and flexibility. Insiders regularly highlight their colleagues’ 

positive attributes when describing the atmosphere of the firm. “High performing, 

results-oriented, generally quite energetic,” says one insider about the people. 

It’s fairly young, although the slowdown in hiring over the last few years took 

away a little of that Accenture U. feeling. “We probably had a bit of a demo 

graphic shift, when we stopped the pipeline for recruiting. Now we’ve turned 

the taps back on,” says the insider. 

The Workplace 

Accenture employees often embrace the networking possibilities the company 

provides, even if that means meeting after hours to plan a class and then teach 

43

it. They seem ready to spend a little of their personal time helping unknown 

colleagues, because they know they’ll get that service back some day. Managers 

and partners are reportedly approachable on projects. And the firm, while large, 

isn’t inflexible when it comes to individual needs. “If you’re determined enough, 

if you’re persistent and not too much of a pain, you can usually get what you 

want,” says one insider. 

Opportunity Knocks 

Accenture is a great name to have on your resume, and it’s a great place to learn 

about a variety of industries and get quality training. One insider describes the 

typical departure points for consultants this way: “A lot of people leave between 

year 1 and 2—a lot of people who thought travel was fantastic and it wasn’t 

their cup of tea. The next batch, people leave at the 4-year mark. These people 

tend to leave because the headhunters drive them crazy, people who want to 

take advantage of the fact that we invest a lot in their training.” 

The Workplace 

The insider continues, “The next big area are people who leave between year 7 

and year 10. These people are leaving for a combination of getting very good 

roles, sometimes with clients. Or they’re starting to have a family, and it 

becomes a bigger deal being away.” 

Watch Out! 

Know What You’re Getting Into 

Contrary to what some MBAs might think, not everyone would give up his left 

tooth to get a strategy consulting job. Accenture’s strong suit has traditionally 

been systems integration, and insiders report that a lot of people are attracted 

to the firm because of its tech reputation. In fact, new analysts often don’t realize 

the scope of activities that Accenture consultants engage in. 

44

“The biggest misconception that new people have is around the technology 

parts of the business. It often depends on who they’ve interviewed with,” says 

one insider. “Sometimes they think they’re going to do lots of technology and 

want to know why we aren’t building a system. Then on the flip side, people 

who have done organization design, then they’re testing a system, and that’s not 

what they expected, either.” 

Jack-of-All-Trades? 

The bottom line to working in Accenture’s consulting practice is that you could 

easily end up with bit parts on a variety of projects, from writing training scripts 

to proofing user manuals to helping screw in large computer systems. The 

possibility for different types of project work seems only likely to expand as the 

firm builds out newer areas, such as outsourcing and offshoring, and partners 

sell clients packages of services—from high-level strategic thinking to nuts-andbolts 

system installation. 

“If you look at the firm like a bell curve, the far right would be pure strategy. 

We’re not pure strategy. We can do strategy and technology and outsourcing,” 

says one insider. “For Accenture, on a typical deal, the business consultant says 

we’ll implement the technology or we’ll outsource the function. The client 

might say, ‘If you execute it, that’s great, how about the strategic direction?’” 

The downside of working on different types of projects means “you’re a jackall-trades 

and a master of none,” says one insider. But rest assured, you will 

specialize whether you want to or not. Managers typically staff their projects 

with analysts and consultants who have particular industry, programming, or 

business analysis expertise. The more projects of a certain type that you do, 

the more likely you are to be a master of some. 

The Workplace 

45

Get Out and Mingle 

Almost from day 1, Accenture analysts and consultants have two jobs: working 

on a project for clients, and working to make sure they’ll be staffed on a good 

project when the current one ends. Of course, client work takes up the bulk of 

consultants’ time, energy, and focus. But insiders say it’s important to keep in 

touch with colleagues from past projects, acquaintances met at local industry 

gatherings, and anyone who might work on a project you’d want to join. In a 

word, networking. 

“You really don’t want to tempt fate by just plodding along,” says one insider. 

“In the best of times, you’ll just get marginal projects. In down times, you may 

not get projects at all. You really have to work hard to get to know people.” 

The Workplace 

46

Getting Hired 

• The Recruiting Process 

• Interviewing Tips 

Getting Hired 

47

The Recruiting Process 

Accenture has a fairly focused recruiting strategy. Recruitment areas are determined 

separately by industry needs. Accenture targets schools and applicants who fit 

those needs as well as those who fit its goals for retaining a diverse workforce. 

Local Accenture offices send out representatives from those groups to conduct 

marketing and interviewing at the selected schools in their areas. 

Accenture also accepts applications from students at schools at which it doesn’t 

recruit. The company advises would-be candidates to speak first with their campus 

career center to learn whether there’s a liaison at their school. If Accenture 

does not visit your campus, students are encouraged to apply through the 

company website, by submitting a resume. Students should visit Accenture at 

www.campusconnection.accenture.com. The site also lists the locations currently 

hiring entry-level analysts. 

First-round interviews with Accenture take place on campus or by phone. 

They are really an initial screening, lasting from 15 to 20 minutes. But don’t be 

surprised if the manager throws some behavioral questions out at this stage. 

The company looks for people who can handle deadlines, work with colleagues 

in an office and act professionally with clients. “We go through a fairly involved 

assessment process,” says an insider in recruiting. 

Getting Hired 

Some questions you may be asked: 

• I’ve seen your resume; can you make it come alive? 

• Why consulting? 

• Why Accenture? 

• What group within the firm are you interested in? Why? 

48

• When was a time in your life that you had to 

meet deadlines? 

• How do you react to tough situations? 

“ ” 

Be honest—some 

setbacks often lead 

to other great 

examples of how 

someone handled 

them self. 

The second-round interview lasts 30 to 45 minutes 

and spends more time on behavioral questions, skills, 

and experience. “The manager wanted to know more 

about which group I was interested in, technology or 

process. He gave me a lot more detailed questions, like 

‘How do you handle team problems, individuals who don’t want to work, 

people who miscommunicate?’” says one insider. In other words, your interviewer 

will be looking for two things: examples from your background—usually school 

or work experience—that will shed light on how you’ll perform as an Accenture 

employee, and evidence of how you operate as a problem solver. 

There’s more of an art to giving knockout answers to behavioral questions than 

one might think. An insider in recruiting advises, “Be prepared to walk through 

stories in detail. Focus on the role that you played specifically, not what a team 

did overall.” 

A typical question in the first or second round might be: “Tell me about a complex 

problem you had to solve, and walk me through your thinking as you solved it.” 

The third round is mostly a formality, say insiders. Candidates meet with more 

Accenture executives, and if all goes well, can receive an offer from a partner. 

In general, “They basically want to see how you would handle yourself in a 

consultant-type role where you will be constantly changing projects and team 

members. They want to make sure that you can not only survive, but excel in 

this type of environment,” says an insider. 

Getting Hired 

49

“I would suggest that you pick a few examples out of your life where you have 

demonstrated these characteristics,” advises the insider. Don’t be afraid to give 

examples of leadership qualities the firm prides itself on. “They are looking for 

people who are very driven and who take charge of a situation when necessary.” 

The process for interviewing strategy candidates is much like that for candidates 

in the service lines, but with one exception: Strategy candidates are also asked 

to analyze and describe their thought processes related to case studies. 

“We ask general, open-ended questions that ask a recruit to describe a situation 

from his or her recent past,” says an Accenture recruiter. “We believe in the 

premise that past performance is the best indicator of future performance. 

Therefore, we are trying to understand what a recruit did, knowing that people 

often handle things similarly when faced with like situations,” says the insider. 

Getting Hired 

Each service line at Accenture draws people from distinct educational backgrounds, 

though the firm does make exceptions. Human performance hires, for instance, are 

likely to have degrees in areas such as organizational design, organizational behavior, 

industrial or organizational psychology, instructional design, executive leadership, 

liberal arts, and business with an organizational development or human resources 

concentration. Solutions operations hires generally have degrees in industrial 

engineering, management information systems, computer information systems, 

math, economics, or business administration. The various tech-oriented service 

lines hire folks with degrees in things like computer science, electrical engineering, 

computer engineering, management information systems, computer information 

systems, math, economics, and business administration. 

50

Undergraduates 

Accenture hires the bulk of entry-level undergrads from computer science or 

engineering programs, plus organizational management and economics. Students 

from “softer” disciplines can get jobs at Accenture, but human performance is 

probably the group most receptive to English majors and the like. For positions 

other than those in strategy, Accenture recruits at many schools; check with 

your recruiting center. 

MBAs 

Accenture hires a lot of MBAs—as well as other advanced-degree holders, 

such as PhDs, MDs, and JDs—and looks to programs far and wide to help 

fill its staffing needs. Compensation levels vary according to location and the 

candidate’s experience. 

Accenture recruits for strategy at such top MBA schools as Harvard, U.C. 

Berkeley, Wharton, University of Chicago, Stanford, Kellogg, and MIT Sloan. 

Midcareer Candidates 

Historically, Accenture has hired a substantial number of experienced people. 

These hires include some who have worked in industry and some who have 

worked for other consulting firms. If you don’t have a contact in the firm, the 

best bet is to contact the recruiting director at the office of your choice. In any 

case, you’ll want to think long and hard about how to show that you’re a good 

fit in Accenture’s famously strong culture. At this level, prepare to show how 

your specific technical or industry skills and knowledge match Accenture’s needs. 

Experienced candidates generally go through two rounds of interviews—a 

screening interview followed by a behavioral and skills-assessment interview— 

but the process is much less set in stone than it is for undergrads and MBAs. 

Getting Hired 

51

Interviewing Tips 

After the first round, which exists mainly to screen out candidates whose resumes 

or personalities obviously don’t fit with Accenture, recruiters use the behavioral 

interviewing technique to seek out personality types that will fit well in the firm’s 

culture. They’re looking for well-rounded types with strong communication skills, 

problem-solving abilities, an interest in technology, determination, a strong 

learning capacity, a willingness to work hard, and flexibility, among other traits. 

1. To prepare for your interview, think about your work and school experiences, 

paying special attention to times when you worked as part of a group. Try 

to take every relevant piece of experience you have and demonstrate how that 

experience has directed you toward consulting and Accenture specifically. 

Have the names, dates, and numbers for these experiences at your fingertips 

so you can mention them quickly, and then spend time explaining their 

significance. 

Getting Hired 

2. Be prepared to discuss your feelings and emotional responses to work 

experiences. Insiders tell us that a big part of Accenture’s behavioral 

interviewing technique is to ask how you felt about particular situations, 

especially those involving conflict: What frustrated you and how did you 

overcome that frustration? In what areas are you particularly confident 

and why? What difficulties do you experience on group projects and how 

do you address those problems? 

3. Do your homework about the organization. Reading this guide is a good 

start. But also visit the company website (www.accenture.com) and look at 

the “Careers” section thoroughly. Do job searches and read related job 

52

announcements to familiarize yourself with the Accenture language. You’ll 

definitely want to know the structure of the firm and the differences between 

the services, not to mention have a compelling rationale for choosing one 

service line over the others. 

4. Recruiters are always impressed by an educated query. This is your chance 

to interview the company as it interviews you. If you can get the interviewer 

to try to sell the company to you rather than vice versa, you will have made 

an impression. The following are a few questions to help get you started: 

- What are the specific expectations you would have of me as a new 

employee, and how will Accenture help me meet those expectations? 

- How much client interaction should I expect? 

- What would you say are the benefits of having so many different industry 

and service lines in one company? 

- How much leeway would I have in determining which industry or client I 

will work for? 

Getting Hired 

53

For Your Reference 


• Recommended Reading 

• For Further Study 

• The Numbers 

• Et Cetera 

55


Recommended Reading 

“Skin in the Game” 

Corporate clients, wary of expensive consulting projects that don’t live up to 

promises, are pressuring firms like Accenture to tie fees to results. 

Source: Daniel Lyons, Forbes, 2/16/04. 

“Sharing Gains, Risks; Accenture Finds Opportunity in Business 

Transformation Outsourcing” 

An interview with a senior executive about the burgeoning market for 

outsourcing and Accenture’s place in it. 

Source: Stan Gibson, eWeek 3/15/04. 

“The Incredible Shrinking Consultant” 

The consulting industry may be changing, and according to this article, 

Accenture may be one of the biggest beneficiaries of those changes. 

Source: Melanie Warner, Fortune, 5/26/03. 

“A Rose by Any Other Name” 

A good discussion of the wisdom of Andersen Consulting changing its name; 

in hindsight, it was a smart move. 

Source: Joanne Gordon, Forbes, 3/4/02. 

56

For Further Study 


Spend some time looking at Accenture’s website at www.accenture.com. 

A general resource for information about the consulting industry is Consultants 

News, which is published by Kennedy Information. For more information about 

this and other Kennedy publications, visit ConsultingCentral.com or the Kennedy 

Information website at www.kennedyinfo.com. 

Visit www.WetFeet.com for more information about a number of consulting 

firms, their jobs, and recruiting. And for help with your case interviews, check 

out the best-selling Ace Your Case series, also available at www.WetFeet.com. 

Finally, Accenture consultants have written or contributed to a wide array of 

books. For a taste of what you might be dealing with as a consultant, Check out 

What’s the Big Idea? Creating and Capitalizing on the Best Management Thinking,a 

book that gives insight on when to pursue an idea; Geeks & Geezers: How Era, 

Values and Defining Moments Shape Leaders, co-authored by an Accenture 

associate partner; Making Markets: How Firms can Design and Profit from Online 

Auctions and Exchange, co-authored by a senior research fellow at the Accenture 

Institute for Strategic Change; and The Future of Leadership: Today’s Top Leadership 

Thinkers Speak to Tomorrow’s Leaders, to which three Accenture professionals 

contributed. 

57


The Numbers 

Revenue (in thousands) for the 6-month period ending February 29, 2004, 

compared to February 28, 2003: 

Accenture Revenue 

Operating Group 2004 ($) 2003 ($) 1-Yr. Change (%) 

Communication & high tech 1,809,822 1,616,451 12 

Financial services 1,293,580 1,172,171 10 

Government 946,145 720,498 31 

Products 1,416,527 1,291,808 10 

Resources 1,092,895 950,985 15 

Other 4,825 4,241 14 

Total 7,256,792 6,516,470 11 

Source: www.accenture.com. 

58

Et Cetera 


Recruiting Contacts 

Accenture is probably coming soon to a school near you. If not, your chances 

of getting a position will be tougher. Nevertheless, take heart: The firm is 

hiring lots of people, many of them during the off-season. It’s best to contact 

the recruiting coordinator at your office of choice (check the Accenture 

website). If you’re a midcareer candidate interested in working in the United 

States, you can submit your resume at www.accenture.com. 

Key People 

Joe W. Forehand, Chairman and CEO (William D. Green will become CEO on 

September 1, 2004) 

Michael G. McGrath, Chief Financial Officer 

Stephan A. James, Chief Operating Officer—Capabilities 

William D. Green, Chief Operating Officer—Client Services, CEO designate 

R. Timothy S. Breene, Chief Strategy Officer 

59


Major Offices 

Accenture has hundreds of offices around the world. For a complete list, check 

out www.accenture.com. Also refer to the New York address listed in the 

Accenture at a Glance section. 

Large U.S. offices include: 

Chicago 

161 North Clark Street 

Chicago, IL 60601 

Phone: 312-693-0161 

Fax: 312-693-0507 

San Francisco 

Spear Street Tower 

Suite 4200, One Market 

San Francisco, CA 94105 

Phone: 415-537-5000 

Fax: 415-537-5037 

Dallas 

5221 North O’Connor Boulevard, Suite 1400 

Irving, TX 75039 

Phone: 469-665-0000 

Fax: 469-665-2000 

60

WETFEET’S INSIDER GUIDE SERIES 

JOB SEARCH GUIDES 

Getting Your Ideal Internship 

Job Hunting A to Z: Landing the Job You Want 

Killer Consulting Resumes 

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Killer Resumes & Cover Letters 

Negotiating Your Salary & Perks 

Networking Works! 

INTERVIEW GUIDES 

Ace Your Case: Consulting Interviews 

Ace Your Case II: 15 More Consulting Cases 

Ace Your Case III: Practice Makes Perfect 

Ace Your Case IV: The Latest & Greatest 

Ace Your Case V: Even More Practice Cases 

Ace Your Interview! 

Beat the Street: Investment Banking Interviews 

Beat the Street II: Investment Banking Interview Practice Guide 

CAREER & INDUSTRY GUIDES 

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Careers in Nonprofits & Government 

Careers in Real Estate 

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Careers in Venture Capital 

Consulting for PhDs, Doctors & Lawyers 

Industries & Careers for MBAs 

Industries & Careers for Undergrads 

COMPANY GUIDES 


Bain & Company 

Boston Consulting Group 

Booz Allen Hamilton 

Citigroup’s Corporate & Investment Bank 

Credit Suisse First Boston 

Deloitte Consulting 

Goldman Sachs Group 

J.P. Morgan Chase & Company 

Lehman Brothers 

McKinsey & Company 

Merrill Lynch 

Morgan Stanley 

25 Top Consulting Firms 

Top 20 Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals Firms 

Top 25 Financial Services Firm

Who We Are 

WetFeet is the trusted destination for job seekers to research companies and industries, and 

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One of the most frequent questions we receive is, “So, what’s the story behind your name?” The 

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Careers/Job Search 

Looking for a top-notch consulting and technology 

services firm with a youthful culture and a high-end client roster? You’ll find that and more 

at Accenture. Insiders say that having the Accenture name on your resume opens countless doors later 

on and that they have the distinct pleasure of working with the best minds in the business. Hiring is 

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Turn to this WetFeet Insider Guide to learn 

• How Accenture stacks up against the competition. 

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• What employees love most and like least about working at Accenture. 

• Detailed information about the workplace at Accenture, including the lifestyle and hours, culture, 

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• Tips from Accenture insiders for acing the interview. 

WetFeet has earned a strong reputation among college graduates 

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get behind the annual reports and corporate PR to tell the real 

story of what it’s like to work at specific companies and in 

different industries. www.WetFeet.com

Accenture: An insider guide - Gymkhana

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