Accenture Technology Solutions - What are they like to work for?

krd

x43r0 wrote: »

The shortsightedness of this is astounding.

That's a poor use of English. I have a vague idea of what you're trying to say. That's not really an appropriate use of the term short sighted.

Do I really astound you? I hope you were sitting down when you read my comment, and didn't fall over in a faint. I hope I didn't overwhelm you.

I'm assuming what he meant by always client facing is that they are usually working on the client's site.

Yeah, and a lot meetings and waffling in meetings.

We have consultants from accenture in with us at the moment and they are essentially part of the team for the period they are with us (about a month so far and another few ahead). They behave and work like the other software engineers on the team,

Maybe you're all good "marketing material".

they have their own desks, computers etc.

You don't say. I thought they'd be sitting on the floor with crayons and magic markers.

x43r0

If you're not going to constructively contribute to this then why do you bother?

You seem to have some sort of beef with Accenture or its consultants. What's the problem?

Your coming dangerously close to trolling, which is disappointing to see from a seemingly experienced poster




[Mods]Apologies for going off topic

Eoin

krd, tone it down please.

Mrs OBumble

x43r0 wrote: »

We have consultants from accenture in with us at the moment and they are essentially part of the team for the period they are with us (about a month so far and another few ahead). They behave and work like the other software engineers on the team, they have their own desks, computers etc.

The difference is that they probably don't have their line managers on the same site. So their employer needs to be convinced that they have the professional maturity to deal with this, and the communications and interpersonal skills to represent the employer well and manage client expectations - without having a manager directly watching.

This, IMHO, is what "client-facing" means.

John_Mc

krd wrote: »

Just to say something, that is important and not be a smart arse. A lot of these companies are far more about marketing than technical skills.

You might have the greatest technical skills in the world. If they don't think you're that suitable for "customer facing" stuff, you will not get the job.

This can be a real kick in the teeth for young people who've worked hard at building their technical skills, but find it very difficult to get work, because they're not really "marketing material". Actually, being a real techy, could work against you.

A client facing role for a software developer/engineer/programmer is one which has just as much emphasis on being a strong communicator and team player with soft skills (documentation, presentations, training others etc), as it does on being technically capable or experienced.

You can be an excellent programmer but have no people skills, and this will obviously work against you when you apply for any client facing role in any company, which is exactly why I pointed out that Acn are almost always client facing.

It is absolutely nothing to do with "marketing material" as the marketing has already been done by the time you start on the project. You aren't selling or marketing anything - you're delivering a technology solution so you still need to have strong design and development skills and experience.

krd

removed

BostonB

John, I dunno what you did, but I wouldn't expect a xmas card

John_Mc

BostonB wrote: »

John, I dunno what you did, but I wouldn't expect a xmas card

Nor do I!

davephpcss

redvine wrote: »

Have an interview with these coming up except for the Technology Consulting?

Does anyone know what people go onto do after working for Accenture after 2-3 years?

Would like to know what career path id be getting into

Wow this thread has gotten ruined to say the least.

Hey Just had my interview for Technology consulting the other day so any questions you might have i'll try to answer, I found questions like the one you asked hard enough to find answers for because the honest answer is you could be doing many different things depending on where Accenture see's best fit to place you,
From my understanding you enter into Accenture as an Analyst between 1-2 years later you will progress into the Consulting field, from here I suppose it's all about climbing the corporate ladder and it might be good to mention you see yourself in a Management position in your latter years this shows you have ambition.

John_Mc

davephpcss wrote: »

Wow this thread has gotten ruined to say the least.

Hey Just had my interview for Technology consulting the other day so any questions you might have i'll try to answer, I found questions like the one you asked hard enough to find answers for because the honest answer is you could be doing many different things depending on where Accenture see's best fit to place you,
From my understanding you enter into Accenture as an Analyst between 1-2 years later you will progress into the Consulting field, from here I suppose it's all about climbing the corporate ladder and it might be good to mention you see yourself in a Management position in your latter years this shows you have ambition.

You will probably spend 2-3 years at analyst level before being promoted to Consultant, but ultimately this is decided on how well you perform in the performance reviews.

As I said at the start of this thread, if you work hard and have the right attitude then this is recognised in the performance reviews and you will be rewarded/promoted for it.

krd

John_Mc wrote: »

A client facing role for a software developer/engineer/programmer is one which has just as much emphasis on being a strong communicator and team player with soft skills

"strong communicator", "team player", "soft skills". What do any of those things really mean.

They all sound like desirable attributes, but what do they mean. Does "strong communicator" mean someone who is intelligent, someone who can talk to anyone and be understood. It doesn't. Does "team player" mean someone who is generous with their colleagues, and doesn't actively try to compete against them to the detriment of the project. It doesn't. Do "soft skills" mean there is anything soft, or even nice about the person. It certainly does not.

"Soft skills" is really just a mystified term for how people make us feel in our bellies. It's ageism, racism, sexism, snobbery, jealousy, fear, difference. That someone threatens you in any way. They're cleverer than you, they're better looking than you, they're older and more experienced than you, they have different lifestyle from you, they don't like what your like, they don't like rugby, they're "weird".

(documentation, presentations, training others etc), as it does on being technically capable or experienced.

If you email a power point presentation. You are distributing information.

If you're in conference room, projecting a power point presentation onto a screen, to a group of people all sitting around in their suits, you are marketing. Even if they're not external clients, it's just some noise to make it look like stuff is happening when there isn't. Marketing.

And right. The "training" that goes on in companies. Especially in IT. Someone who doesn't have a clue, or any technical background, spouting gibberish for days over power point presentations. But they have better "people skills" - it wasn't a wast of time.

You can be an excellent programmer but have no people skills, and this will obviously work against you when you apply for any client facing role in any company, which is exactly why I pointed out that Acn are almost always client facing.

Being the most excellent programmer in the world, you could have decades of experience. Does Accenture hire these people, or does it automatically bin their CVs. Going instead for "young and dynamic", fresh looking people. Better marketing material. Someone who has the "people skills" to look good in a clients office.

Suralan Sugar has said engineers are bad for business. What he means is they're bad for marketing.

If all the "people skills" people were such great communicators, how come their "communication" is all a one way street. That if you don't speak in their dumbed down language, you're the poor communicator. That the "great communicators" can only speak, or be spoken to, by people just like them. The reason someone like Suralan says engineers are bad for business, is they make people feel stupid when they talk to them. They alienate the important people - the people with the money. And that's what all this "great communication" is all about.

It is absolutely nothing to do with "marketing material" as the marketing has already been done by the time you start on the project. You aren't selling or marketing anything - you're delivering a technology solution so you still need to have strong design and development skills and experience.

Marketing, isn't just the prelude to a sale. It's an everyday rolling process. This is why large IT firms employ so many people who have little or no technical skills. It's not so their warm fuzziness can magically get production to run smoother - because it definitely does not - and anyone who says so, or thinks so, is deluded or lying. It's because they're better "marketing material". And that is what brings the money in.

It took me a long time to accept that. Because when you think about it, it's a really rotten way to run the world.

"Marketing" is really how big IT business works. It creates the business. British Airways, wanted a computerised ticketing system, they go with the big boys. They get thousands of meetings, and power point presentations. Hundreds of project managers - system analysts who have no technical experience or exposure, just someone thought they'd have the right "personality" for the job - which they do. They end up with over 500 servers, and it costs them hundreds of millions, and millions to keep running. Ryan Air put out a tender for their ticketing system. Some students do it, and Ryan Air's ticketing system is just four servers.

And no if, buts, or aahs.

The National Health Service in the UK has spent billions on a system that is to be abandoned, because it doesn't work. But funnily, the contractors are still working even though it's to be abandoned, because they have such a copper tight contract. More power point presentations. More "young and dynamic" managers sending emails to each other on their black berries over the weekend. They're not at the rugby, they're at the desks of their home offices.

When Bret Easton Ellis was writing American Psycho, he went and spent months with young Wall Street hotshots, trying to find out what they do. Whenever he tried to ask them specific questions to get to the meat of their everyday activity. They were always evasive, changing the subject to their new watch, or their suit or new business card.

They were in marketing. The person was the product.

I remember when I was young and foolish talking to a senior manager at one of the big service companies. Just asking her some really basic questions about the stuff they were using. She actually got really aggressive with me - and a little flustered - I couldn't figure out why, I was just asking some basic questions about the systems they sold. Me being naive I thought maybe she had a good reason - corporate secrecy.

It wasn't. She couldn't tell me because she didn't know. She was upset because I was showing her up as fraud. A senior manager at big IT firm, who knew nothing about IT.

She would just go along to meetings with clients and tell them "buy our systems, they are the best, because I'm pompous, I'm wearing an impressive suit, and I drive a big car". And of course since their clients were in marketing too, they'd take her word for it.

BostonB

You've obviously had some very poor experience where you've worked. But can I suggest you'd be better started a seperate thread on that, as it doesn't seem Accenture specific.

hardCopy

krd wrote: »

John_Mc wrote: »

A client facing role for a software developer/engineer/programmer is one which has just as much emphasis on being a strong communicator and team player with soft skills

"strong communicator", "team player", "soft skills". What do any of those things really mean.
<rest of massive quote snipped>

Funny enough, Ryanair's ticketing system is run by Navitaire, aka: Accenture.

Lombardo86

krd wrote: »

When Bret Easton Ellis was writing American Psycho, he went and spent months with young Wall Street hotshots, trying to find out what they do. Whenever he tried to ask them specific questions to get to the meat of their everyday activity. They were always evasive, changing the subject to their new watch, or their suit or new business card.

They were in marketing. The person was the product.

This is seriously rambling on - No real relevance to anything. Are you assuming that any young 'hotshot' is in their position due to looking fresh as you say. That is a ridiculous statement - I am in my current position as i worked hard in college, got good results and of course spruced it up a little in my job interview. Who doesn't. You seem to have some bad blood in general

John_Mc

Wow. That was some rant - it no doubt took you hours to write that rubbish. Are you finished yet?

Your blatant bitterness and chip on the shoulder is obvious in every post and it's destroying this thread. Run along now thanks

krd wrote: »

"strong communicator", "team player", "soft skills". What do any of those things really mean.
<large quote snip>

John_Mc

Yeah sorry about that - thanks for cleaning it up Eoin

krd

John_Mc wrote: »

Wow. That was some rant - it no doubt took you hours to write that rubbish.

No it didn't. I can write this rubbish nearly as fast as I can speak it.

Are you finished yet?

Nearly.

Your blatant bitterness and chip on the shoulder is obvious in every post and it's destroying this thread. Run along now thanks

I'm sorry I'm not clappy handy enough for yah.

The best techies I know have difficulties getting decent jobs. Whereas the preppies, who seem to have a masters in hair gel, get all the good ones.

There are people out there with lots of tech experience, who can't get jobs. Agencies bin their CVs. And that's purely down to a marketing problem - they're just not the right product.

srsly78

If you can't get a job then you are a pretty lousy techy :pac:

Regarding Accenture: large service companies like this are kind of a running joke in IT You often read stuff "the code looked like it had been written by someone from Accenture" on the The Register very often But it's a good place for younger guys to get experience I suppose, just don't plan to stay there for long. They are just a middleman, you can be an independent contractor and earn a lot more than the permanent accenture guys.

BostonB

A lot of techies are poorly informed about the real world value of other skills.

John_Mc

krd wrote: »

I'm sorry I'm not clappy handy enough for yah.

The best techies I know have difficulties getting decent jobs. Whereas the preppies, who seem to have a masters in hair gel, get all the good ones.

There are people out there with lots of tech experience, who can't get jobs. Agencies bin their CVs. And that's purely down to a marketing problem - they're just not the right product.

Disclaimer: This is strictly my own opinion

I hardly expect you be be clappy hands but you've been making ridiculous statements and seem to have a gripe with me even though you don't know me or anything about me.

Your last post is essentially saying what I said earlier in this thread, except that what you consider "marketing", I (and others on this thread) consider as being a good communicator and team player. This is a fundamental requirement of any role where you are interacting with the customer or client.

Some of the best techies I knew in college were introverted, often arrogant and obnoxious, and simply could not explain something at a high level to a non-technical person.

They were exceptionally bright but had problems socializing and generally getting on well with people. Needless to say that they are not ideal candidates for a role which is client facing and requires good team work.

I would bet good money that these exceptional techies of yours fall into this bracket.

The bitterness you seem to have from this position is irrational and nothing to do with Accenture or any other company. It is a simple fact of life that people are only suitable for certain roles, regardless of the industry or their intelligence or ability.

PK2008

I get the feeling krd's job was either outsourced to Accenture or his application to Accenture has been turned down (or both)...... the smell of lemon off his posts.