Wokring for Accenture

smileawhile55

Hi there,

I was wondering what it's like to work for Accenture?
I'm a software dev of about 5 years and was thinking of applying.

Anyone any experiences?

Thanks,
smileawhile55

micromary

I actually work for them. They are ok to work for in fairness and you do not work the long hours as I was made to believe beforehand. However the downsides are that the pay is low especially as against competitors, the bonuses are also poor, it feels like you are in a school run by a religious order (it is quite strict and regimented), stress is very high especially at the end of the month and staff turnover is quite high. They also love stupid Town Halls/Meaningless meetings and training sessions that do nothing at all to improve your working life but is just basically a talking shop. Hope that helps!

huggles85

Hi there, I work for them but am based in the London office.

In terms of benefits comparing to previous jobs they are above and beyond. Pension, shares, healthcare, holidays (30 days a year in my case) are all excellent. People are their main asset so I have always felt as an employee you have the upper hand due to high staff turnover as mentioned above. If you are half decent and not a complete tosser its almost impossible to get fired from the company. Those that don't fit the bill however are 'managed out' and I've seen younger people (i.e. analysts just in from Uni) been unfairly tarred in the past just because they didn't fit in on a project that wasn't their interest or background.

There is an 'up or out' culture but I have never felt under pressure to move up within a particular timeframe.
In terms of staff I can say hands down I am working with 'best in class' type people. You get to meet all sorts of people who all share the common thread of being hard working and ambitious which makes for a good environment, in my experience no matter what the problem there has been always someone to help out which really makes a difference when the proverbial hits the fan.

In your case it sounds like you'd be in an internal role or would you be on client? Both are very different experiences. If you are on client prepare to be flexible, if you dont like to travel this isnt a job for you, unless of course you get a client you're on in the same place for years on end (not happened to me yet).

In terms of hours mine have varied depending on client but on the whole they've been fine. You are expected to put the work in when required though.

Downsides for me have been the feeling of it being a boys club in terms of promotion, e.g. I've worked on clients who've had people on my level who I am just as good as but they have been given 'better' roles due to previous work relationships, previously knowing the client etc etc blah blah blah which on paper doesnt seem like much but can really grate after a while. Promo is therefore highly political and not always based on talent.
Agree with post above, some meaningless calls, town halls etc.
Some ego'ists depending on your department - you'll know them when you see them, trust me.
MD's who pretend to care but really dont, i.e. consultancy through and through - either do or dont care in my view, dont 'pretend'.

Overall I've worked in consultancy previously along with industry and for me, despite the flaws, ACN is the best place Ive worked so far.

Hope this helps, any Qs just PM me.

CloudCumulus

Hi, hope it's ok to add to this thread.
I did an arts degree 7 years ago and worked in a shop until last year, then some english teaching, now doing a postgrad in business and possibly a masters.
Do you think i would get an interview? Or beyond thst? Any light snooping i've done on linkedin seems to be people who did their degree and masters straight away and are all around 24 years old.

youcancallmeal

Short version - Avoid at all costs.

Long version - I was hired as a software developer to specifically work on a project they were in the process of tendering for and they told me was basically in the bag. I was warned not to join by other people in the know but because I was being hired for this specific project I figured it would be good experience as I would be building something from the ground up and I can just move on after if I don't like it. So of course they didn't win the tender process and I was thrown into the pool of software developers available to work on any project.

I was quickly snapped up and got on a project with what was reportedly one of the best clients to work for. I was working with new technology and processes and I was pretty happy. About a week in my team leader takes me into a meeting and starts telling me that I was sold to the client as being a Senior Software Developer and that's what the client was paying for. Now admittedly I was going a bit slow because I was still trying to get up to speed with this tech I had never worked with before. So my team leader is telling me I basically need to be an expert in this tech because the client is paying for one and meanwhile I'm there getting paid a good bit below the going rate for a software developer. It was a high stress environment just because Accenture are desperate to save money and impress their clients. After the project was finished I was not kept on in the same client to work on other projects because I was costing them too much essentially.

After that I was on 'the bench' for nearly 2 months. In that time I was asked to do stupid things like go to Galway and work on some legacy visual basic project for 9 months, I said no. Eventually I was sent to another client which was really difficult for me to get and then told I was basically had to do manual testing. I immediately went looking for another job and fortunately was successful in getting one quickly. Handing in my notice to Accenture very satisfying.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of reasons I have about why it is not a good idea to work for Accenture. If you want I can go on but you get the idea...

doc11

youcancallmeal wrote: »

Short version - Avoid at all costs.

Long version - I was hired as a software developer to specifically work on a project they were in the process of tendering for and they told me was basically in the bag. I was warned not to join by other people in the know but because I was being hired for this specific project I figured it would be good experience as I would be building something from the ground up and I can just move on after if I don't like it. So of course they didn't win the tender process and I was thrown into the pool of software developers available to work on any project.

I was quickly snapped up and got on a project with what was reportedly one of the best clients to work for. I was working with new technology and processes and I was pretty happy. About a week in my team leader takes me into a meeting and starts telling me that I was sold to the client as being a Senior Software Developer and that's what the client was paying for. Now admittedly I was going a bit slow because I was still trying to get up to speed with this tech I had never worked with before. So my team leader is telling me I basically need to be an expert in this tech because the client is paying for one and meanwhile I'm there getting paid a good bit below the going rate for a software developer. It was a high stress environment just because Accenture are desperate to save money and impress their clients. After the project was finished I was not kept on in the same client to work on other projects because I was costing them too much essentially.

After that I was on 'the bench' for nearly 2 months. In that time I was asked to do stupid things like go to Galway and work on some legacy visual basic project for 9 months, I said no. Eventually I was sent to another client which was really difficult for me to get and then told I was basically had to do manual testing. I immediately went looking for another job and fortunately was successful in getting one quickly. Handing in my notice to Accenture very satisfying.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of reasons I have about why it is not a good idea to work for Accenture. If you want I can go on but you get the idea...

DRTL hired as software developer and not good enough so put on manual testing.

You weren't kept on because you weren't good enough(worth the money) so they hired someone else/better.

CloudCumulus

I've heard a few negatives from the IT professionals actually, I wouldn't be going for that though.
So my question of 'will it affect my chances because i didn't do college all in one go?' still stands!

youcancallmeal

doc11 wrote: »

youcancallmeal wrote: »

Short version - Avoid at all costs.

Long version - I was hired as a software developer to specifically work on a project they were in the process of tendering for and they told me was basically in the bag. I was warned not to join by other people in the know but because I was being hired for this specific project I figured it would be good experience as I would be building something from the ground up and I can just move on after if I don't like it. So of course they didn't win the tender process and I was thrown into the pool of software developers available to work on any project.

I was quickly snapped up and got on a project with what was reportedly one of the best clients to work for. I was working with new technology and processes and I was pretty happy. About a week in my team leader takes me into a meeting and starts telling me that I was sold to the client as being a Senior Software Developer and that's what the client was paying for. Now admittedly I was going a bit slow because I was still trying to get up to speed with this tech I had never worked with before. So my team leader is telling me I basically need to be an expert in this tech because the client is paying for one and meanwhile I'm there getting paid a good bit below the going rate for a software developer. It was a high stress environment just because Accenture are desperate to save money and impress their clients. After the project was finished I was not kept on in the same client to work on other projects because I was costing them too much essentially.

After that I was on 'the bench' for nearly 2 months. In that time I was asked to do stupid things like go to Galway and work on some legacy visual basic project for 9 months, I said no. Eventually I was sent to another client which was really difficult for me to get and then told I was basically had to do manual testing. I immediately went looking for another job and fortunately was successful in getting one quickly. Handing in my notice to Accenture very satisfying.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of reasons I have about why it is not a good idea to work for Accenture. If you want I can go on but you get the idea...

DRTL hired as software developer and not good enough so put on manual testing.

You weren't kept on because you weren't good enough(worth the money) so they hired someone else/better.

LOL, worked with people like you in Accenture, glad I left.

youcancallmeal

CloudCumulus wrote: »

I've heard a few negatives from the IT professionals actually, I wouldn't be going for that though.
So my question of 'will it affect my chances because i didn't do college all in one go?' still stands!

Most of their hiring is graduates but they do take on what they call 'mature hires'. I'm not sure what type of role your looking for but if you're dead set on trying to get in then having someone on the inside that can refer to you is your best bet. They are big time into hiring people who refer internally

irishguy1983

Check out this website

http://exposingevilempire.com

This how much people can end up hating the place - avoid at all costs.

CloudCumulus

Thanks al, if I may call you that. I have an insider friend. I'll need to mull it over anyway.
Try to gey some nice cushy civil service type job here or become a hopeful mature at 29 and have to move to Dublin 😩