Accenture Questions

[sillyflowa]

Hello everyone! I have an upcoming interview (which happens really soon; too soon!) for a consulting analyst position in Vancouver. I've read a lot of the other threads on RFD, (esp. all the ones Commie has posted on :) ), but they were all dated for 2007 or earlier. The new season of recruiting has begun, and I just had a few questions to make sure the interview info is still valid... if anyone can assist it is greatly appreciated!

1) Based on past threads, it seems like all the rounds of the interviewing consisted of behavioural questions, which have plenty of practice ones available online. Does Accenture not use case questions in the interviews? Should I practice some anyway? What about IQ, puzzle, or mental math questions? (Had previous interview with Deloitte & 2 out of 3 interviews were case-based.)

2) I have a Bcom & little to no technical skills in the way of programming, writing SQL etc. I have some work experience on a project team that did deliver a CRM solution (I wrote up some business requirements, did some testing; basically nothing that a Bcom person can't do) and also did some performance measurement at another internship. My question is; is this enough to be a consulting analyst? Furthermore, how much about 'technology' do I really need to know up front? I'm worried that I just don't have the technical aptitude as a comp sci or an engineer as of yet, and will get sifted out because of it. I'm more than willing to learn, but I dont know if they'll be willing to train.

3) Regarding travel; does Accenture send people out mainly to work on projects close to the analyst's home office? (I am hoping this is true so the travel time is less than what i imagine.) I answered that I'd be willing to travel up to 75% of the time on the online application; but now after reading the threads, it seems like 95% is more like it... & do analysts work from home on fridays regularly, or is this reserved only for upper management? This isn't a huge concern for me b/c i'm still young & healthy etc; but I am hoping to stay young(-looking) & fit even after I get a good job, and all the travelling doesn't sound like i'd be able to squeeze in much exercise. I'd be too pooped/busy with work...

My apologies if any of these questions can be answered via a google search, but desperate times calls for desperate measures & time is just not on my side right now..... grr!

THANK YOU TO ALL IN ADVANCE :)

[PennyArcade]

1. Consulting interviews and case based questions go hand-in-hand. Expect one in ANY consulting recruiting process. Read wetfeet and vault guides to handling the case interview. Practice with people: it is the best way to learn.

2. Show that you are eager to learn and pick up things fast: if you got the interview, then they think you have enough technical expertise. Give structured examples of where you were put in situations that you are quick to learn and adapt: a critical aspect of consulting.

3. 75% means that you'll be at the site 75% of the work week, which basically means monday-thursday. I don't know about accenture's travel likelihood, but if the client wants you out at their site, you're going. The only way you can stay in shape is to utilize the hotel gym. It is a pretty strange lifestyle one has to get used to, but it is kinda fun.

Good luck on your interview!!

[sillyflowa]

Very good advice. Yeah, living in a hotel gym sounds kind of strange to me, since I am currently a daily hot yoga go-er. Perhaps I can bring along voice recordings and turn up the thermostat in my hotel room haha. Anyway I shouldn't be worrying about this; I should be practicing my cases. Damnit! Why didn't my university prepare me for this.....

Thanks so much!

[bonedogg]

Hello everyone! I have an upcoming interview (which happens really soon; too soon!) for a consulting analyst position in Vancouver. I've read a lot of the other threads on RFD, (esp. all the ones Commie has posted on :) ), but they were all dated for 2007 or earlier. The new season of recruiting has begun, and I just had a few questions to make sure the interview info is still valid... if anyone can assist it is greatly appreciated!

1) Based on past threads, it seems like all the rounds of the interviewing consisted of behavioural questions, which have plenty of practice ones available online. Does Accenture not use case questions in the interviews? Should I practice some anyway? What about IQ, puzzle, or mental math questions? (Had previous interview with Deloitte & 2 out of 3 interviews were case-based.)

2) I have a Bcom & little to no technical skills in the way of programming, writing SQL etc. I have some work experience on a project team that did deliver a CRM solution (I wrote up some business requirements, did some testing; basically nothing that a Bcom person can't do) and also did some performance measurement at another internship. My question is; is this enough to be a consulting analyst? Furthermore, how much about 'technology' do I really need to know up front? I'm worried that I just don't have the technical aptitude as a comp sci or an engineer as of yet, and will get sifted out because of it. I'm more than willing to learn, but I dont know if they'll be willing to train.

3) Regarding travel; does Accenture send people out mainly to work on projects close to the analyst's home office? (I am hoping this is true so the travel time is less than what i imagine.) I answered that I'd be willing to travel up to 75% of the time on the online application; but now after reading the threads, it seems like 95% is more like it... & do analysts work from home on fridays regularly, or is this reserved only for upper management? This isn't a huge concern for me b/c i'm still young & healthy etc; but I am hoping to stay young(-looking) & fit even after I get a good job, and all the travelling doesn't sound like i'd be able to squeeze in much exercise. I'd be too pooped/busy with work...

My apologies if any of these questions can be answered via a google search, but desperate times calls for desperate measures & time is just not on my side right now..... grr!

THANK YOU TO ALL IN ADVANCE :)

Hi,

I will try and assist as much as possible.

1) Unless you are being slotted for a Strategy group (or a specific Managament Consulting group), you will most likely not go through a case type interview. Your interviews will mainly be behavioural based ("tell me a time when...", "give me an example of...").

2) We have recently gone through a re-structuring whereby groups were created based on specific skill (both functional and technical). As a consulting analyst you will have the opportunity to perform a wide range of tasks/roles. If you have interest or gain deep skills in a particular area (i.e., crm, org behaviour, technology etc), you will be placed in the appropriate group as a consultant (after at least 2 years as an analyst).

3) Travel varies. As an analyst, you may not have much opportunity to travel since you are a "generalist". As you gain specific skills and experience, you will travel to wherever the demand for your expertise is (could be close, could be far). I know people who have travelled for all of their Accenture careers, and I also know people who have not travelled at all. Your travel schedule is usually mon-thurs and we do a great job of trying to balance you work/life. That being said, there may be projects/times where you need to be at the client site 5 days a week.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks

[sillyflowa]

Thank you so much bonedog. The Accenture-specific advice is greatly appreciated. It definitely sounds like a position that I can excel in and I hope to ace my interview!

Thanks again.

[mvelic]

left them 4 months ago, would never go back. poor employer: high retention rates, below-industry compensation, working-to-death of junior resources (including analysts in consulting), core values not lived by senior management, impossible to jump ships to other areas of the organization.


read http://www.ratemyemployer.ca/employer/employer.aspx?l=en&empID=166

[CeoOfKFC]

left them 4 months ago, would never go back. poor employer: high retention rates, below-industry compensation, working-to-death of junior resources (including analysts in consulting), core values not lived by senior management, impossible to jump ships to other areas of the organization.


read http://www.ratemyemployer.ca/employer/employer.aspx?l=en&empID=166

"Accenture consulting hires people straight from University, without experience, and put them in charge of important projects."

Agreed. Used to work for Deloitte and it was the same culture.Typical of the other big firms as well (Accenture, IBM etc). Placing new grads on important projects (ex. ERP) with limited training and no junior level experience yet they are being charged out at 200+ an hr. Client gets screwed if the project fails or goes over budget with sometimes little or no value. Bill, Bill, Bill is the motto for some of these firms and in the end its all about utilization and money.

[mvelic]

Bill, Bill, Bill is the motto for some of these firms and in the end its all about utilization and money.

Absolutely. in the internal HR system, every employee is tracked using a utilization metric called Chargeability, which is the percentage of time being charged to a client's bill code. Executive management is constantly trying to bring this metric near 100% and anyone not being fully chargeable better be looking to get staffed on a project real soon.

[commie]

1) Based on past threads, it seems like all the rounds of the interviewing consisted of behavioural questions, which have plenty of practice ones available online. Does Accenture not use case questions in the interviews? Should I practice some anyway? What about IQ, puzzle, or mental math questions? (Had previous interview with Deloitte & 2 out of 3 interviews were case-based.)

2) I have a Bcom & little to no technical skills in the way of programming, writing SQL etc. I have some work experience on a project team that did deliver a CRM solution (I wrote up some business requirements, did some testing; basically nothing that a Bcom person can't do) and also did some performance measurement at another internship. My question is; is this enough to be a consulting analyst? Furthermore, how much about 'technology' do I really need to know up front? I'm worried that I just don't have the technical aptitude as a comp sci or an engineer as of yet, and will get sifted out because of it. I'm more than willing to learn, but I dont know if they'll be willing to train.

3) Regarding travel; does Accenture send people out mainly to work on projects close to the analyst's home office? (I am hoping this is true so the travel time is less than what i imagine.) I answered that I'd be willing to travel up to 75% of the time on the online application; but now after reading the threads, it seems like 95% is more like it... & do analysts work from home on fridays regularly, or is this reserved only for upper management? This isn't a huge concern for me b/c i'm still young & healthy etc; but I am hoping to stay young(-looking) & fit even after I get a good job, and all the travelling doesn't sound like i'd be able to squeeze in much exercise. I'd be too pooped/busy with work...



Bonedogg has given you very good responses to your questions. I'll just add a few points.

1) Are you a new grad recruit? and at what stage of the interview process are you at? Accenture, typically will do 1 very short 10-15 minute screening interview on campus....they'll interview like 50-60 people on campus for a very brief period. With only 1 or 2 questions....stuff like....why do you want to work for Accenture?
They will cut this list down to 15-20 candidates and do another more indepth 2nd interview, also likely to be on-campus.....then the 3rd interview will be the office visit.....95% of the time the questions will be behavioral type questions, remember to use the SAR approach to answering them..They are looking for how you structure your answers, not so much what your answer actually is.

2) no technical knowledge required for a consultant on the process side of things...They will train you on what you need to know...what you need to demonstrate is the desire to learn new concepts, and the ability to quickly learn new technologies and processes.
Some of the best consultants in the past had been arts and communications students.

3) As Bonedogg mentioned...travel depends on what group you are with and what type of clients you are working with. Since you are in Vancouver....Look at what sectors are strong in that region....if you are in those groups/clients then travel will be minimal...Example, If you are in the financial sector working on CRM solutions, then most likely you will have to travel...as most of the head offices and project offices in the financial sector for a large consulting firm like Accenture will be in Toronto or the USA....
But if you are in the Oil&Gas, Mining, or Government, then you might have a chance to work on a local project.
Just look at what types of clients Accenture(or for that matter any consulting firm) has...and what skillset you have...and you can see if travel is going to be a big thing.
For myself, i have been travelling for over 11 years now, even though I have moved up the ranks in the consulting field. Due to my area is SCM in manufacuturing firms. There are not many manufacturing firms in the Toronto area that are in my firm's target market...But if I was to be in the financial sector, then travel will be minimal.


In general, there will be people who hated working for the big consulting firms, and then there will be people who enjoyed it..Just like any other industry.
However, as a new grad, what industry will provide you with so many opportunities to learn and exposure to new things than consulting? Also, the exit opportunities are plentiful once you have a few years of experience.
The important thing is YOU have to make the most out of this....You have to be a quick learner, quick on your feet, feel confident.....chances are, the folks that constantly b8tches about working for one firm, will feel the same working for other firms...most of the time, its usually the person that is doing the complaining.....

[bonedogg]

Absolutely. in the internal HR system, every employee is tracked using a utilization metric called Chargeability, which is the percentage of time being charged to a client's bill code. Executive management is constantly trying to bring this metric near 100% and anyone not being fully chargeable better be looking to get staffed on a project real soon.

One thing that needs to be understood before joining a consulting firm (not just Accenture) is that they are a client services business. A consultant's job is to advise clients (be chargeable). If they are not chargeable, then they are not making the company any money. That being said, business need will always trump personal desire to an extent. In my experience, the company has done a great job of accomodating my personal preferances. But I had to earn it.

Also, there are number of reasons why one would not be chargeable. I won't get into the details.

[sillyflowa]

Hmmm, very interesting. I have heard in the past from coworkers (from various places; McKinsey, Deloitte, Accenture & BCG) that your salary as a junior consultant/analyst isn't really worth the hours you put it. Apparently, it evens out to be about minimum wage if you do the per hour calculation. But yes, Commie - I am a new grad, so I am definitely looking for a place where I can learn as much as possible, have the opportunity to build relationships, see many industries etc. That's what is mainly attracting me to the consulting field right now; not so concerned about the $$. The hope is that if I can work hard now and pay my dues, I can be rewarded in the future.

On a happier note; I passed the first screening round. No parties yet; 'cause now I'm going to stress about the second round! (Really appreciate everyone's comments & personal experiences! It's going to help me through.)

[axnotizes]

"Accenture consulting hires people straight from University, without experience, and put them in charge of important projects."

Agreed. Used to work for Deloitte and it was the same culture.Typical of the other big firms as well (Accenture, IBM etc). Placing new grads on important projects (ex. ERP) with limited training and no junior level experience yet they are being charged out at 200+ an hr. Client gets screwed if the project fails or goes over budget with sometimes little or no value. Bill, Bill, Bill is the motto for some of these firms and in the end its all about utilization and money.

From the employee's perspective, I don't know what so bad about it. You are fresh out of school. You got to play a important role. It may suck for the client, but I don't know why it is so bad for the Accenture employee. You are basically place in a position which forces you to learn quickly.

Or do you prefer a brain-dead McJob flipping burgers?

[commie]

From the employee's perspective, I don't know what so bad about it. You are fresh out of school. You got to play a important role. It may suck for the client, but I don't know why it is so bad for the Accenture employee. You are basically place in a position which forces you to learn quickly.

Or do you prefer a brain-dead McJob flipping burgers?

The down side from the employee's perspective is that its a very cut-throat industry...All your colleagues and fresh grads starting with you are their top recruits and most likely graduated in the top 5-10% of the class..
Your typical Type A person. Who are all gunning for the partner track...

Couple with the fact that consulting firms rate their employees mainly from how profitable they are to the firm in the form of their utilization rate. Most firms want their staff at least 80% billable for the year...some even as high as 90%...So in a given year, you have 2080 hours to work(40hoursx52 weeks)...You figure out how many hours that leaves for vacation and benchtime to meet your target.
Which tends to drop as you get promoted to more senior roles, as you are expected to do more B&P work and will be less billable.

It really does take a certain individual to succeed and enjoy a consulting industry. Its not for everyone.
Thats why you hear of stories from people who joined a consulting firm and absolutely hates it....its not that those people are not good enough to be a consultant...It might be that they don't have the personality to fit in this industry.

[CeoOfKFC]

The down side from the employee's perspective is that its a very cut-throat industry...All your colleagues and fresh grads starting with you are their top recruits and most likely graduated in the top 5-10% of the class..
Your typical Type A person. Who are all gunning for the partner track...

Couple with the fact that consulting firms rate their employees mainly from how profitable they are to the firm in the form of their utilization rate. Most firms want their staff at least 80% billable for the year...some even as high as 90%...So in a given year, you have 2080 hours to work(40hoursx52 weeks)...You figure out how many hours that leaves for vacation and benchtime to meet your target.
Which tends to drop as you get promoted to more senior roles, as you are expected to do more B&P work and will be less billable.

It really does take a certain individual to succeed and enjoy a consulting industry. Its not for everyone.
Thats why you hear of stories from people who joined a consulting firm and absolutely hates it....its not that those people are not good enough to be a consultant...It might be that they don't have the personality to fit in this industry.

+1 and work life balance is very dismal

It is VERY tough but if you are young and dedicated then WORK will be more important then personal life. If you are required to travel 75%-100% of the time and you have that special someone that is clingy then it is something they will have to understand or it will not work. I would consider myself and many other consultants under these travel requirements "Road Warriors".

I made it clear to my then girlfriend that I am choosing this path and it has worked out career wise in terms of experience and business relationships. Another tip: if you are that single person, when on a date etc it will work in your person interest NOT to mention you are a consultant since it may turn off that person. The title Analyst is a good replacement :)

From the employee's perspective, I don't know what so bad about it. You are fresh out of school. You got to play a important role. It may suck for the client, but I don't know why it is so bad for the Accenture employee. You are basically place in a position which forces you to learn quickly.

Or do you prefer a brain-dead McJob flipping burgers?

No, but there are other jobs (Business Analysts etc) that do not follow the career path and culture of consulting. It is just a career you have to research and ensure its something you want to do and not just strictly for the title and money. But at least if you start as a junior most likely you will only limited to documentation and "grunt" work and have very little direct contact with the client (which will be handled by more seniors).

[commie]

Another tip: if you are that single person, when on a date etc it will work in your person interest NOT to mention you are a consultant since it may turn off that person. The title Analyst is a good replacement :)



Interesting....I found that by mentioning i was a management consultant, i was able to get more dates... ;0)

[CeoOfKFC]

Interesting....I found that by mentioning i was a management consultant, i was able to get more dates... ;0)

+1
Case by case basis though :)

[goob3r]

Yes, consulting isn't for everyone. Attrition is high. Not necessarily because people find the work difficult and not for them, but "better" opportunities (more money, work life balance, school) come around. You get your experience and you leave for greener pastures, sorta speak.

And it's true that no matter how much work life balance is stressed, ultimately the client's demands prevail. It's good to have flexible people in your life that understand.

[sillyflowa]

Gosh this is making my decision more difficult. I'm glad I'm getting the 'real deal' here, to help me make an informed decision. OK technically speaking, I don't have a real "decision" to make yet, as I have yet to receive an offer, but I have been invited to the final office visit. Fingers crossed if I don't mess up real bad I think I should be in the clear. I hope I don't jinx myself! I am young, but I do have friends I enjoy to see often. I also got into the habit of exercising pretty much daily (hot yoga!), and I love food-related activities & cooking which I won't be able to do anymore if I'm never home.

Work life balance..... or an experience of a lifetime?? Work life balance... or coworkers I actually want to befriend? Work life balance.... or challenging, meaningful work and networking opportunities like none other??!?!??! Darnit, I'm so torn!

[CeoOfKFC]

Gosh this is making my decision more difficult. I'm glad I'm getting the 'real deal' here, to help me make an informed decision. OK technically speaking, I don't have a real "decision" to make yet, as I have yet to receive an offer, but I have been invited to the final office visit. Fingers crossed if I don't mess up real bad I think I should be in the clear. I hope I don't jinx myself! I am young, but I do have friends I enjoy to see often. I also got into the habit of exercising pretty much daily (hot yoga!), and I love food-related activities & cooking which I won't be able to do anymore if I'm never home.

Work life balance..... or an experience of a lifetime?? Work life balance... or coworkers I actually want to befriend? Work life balance.... or challenging, meaningful work and networking opportunities like none other??!?!??! Darnit, I'm so torn!

Some more insight:

Assuming you will be on out of city (which is usually the case) you will be spending more time with co-workers, management, and the client then your family and friends. You WANT to make friends with coworkers as well as users from the client side and it helps.

Managing friends locally or from university etc is very difficult and it is something you have to just deal with whenever you are in town or over MSN etc. I do admit though I have lost touch with some of my friends due to my job and that I'm in town at most once a month.

The experience is well but you just have to put the personal life aside while your learning, meeting deadlines, and in some cases surviving on the projects.

Exercise will be tough I'll tell ya that. But I dealt with it and I still in "shape". Just cant workout at a gym like your used to in most cases.

Work/life sacrifices are worth it in consulting especially if your young :)

[iamfat]

bump! any news :)

[sillyflowa]

Thanks very much for the advice. The opportunity does sound exciting, and the spontaneity of where I may go next does give me a thrill... All the people I've met so far from the company have been super friendly and open; I can definitely see them as people I could work well with and befriend for the long haul. The kind that I would actually want to hang out with outside of work (a good thing!) But for now, I gotta prepare for the office visit like there's no tomorrow so I actually earn the opportunity to make this life-changing decision! As Commie mentioned before, they told me that it'll be 2 interviews with execs, presentations, Q&A. I'm not sure if its just me, but I find it incredibly hard to think of more intelligent questions, when almost all my questions have already been answered through past rounds and extensive research on the company...

Anyway, the visit is on Friday, so I'll let interested folks know how it goes!

[PennyArcade]

Depending on your level of education, the execs can ask you some difficult questions.

If you are going for a tech-style consulting, be sure to be up to date in whatever space they are hiring you in. For example, what does SAP have in their pipeline of next gen products? What are the trends in the mainframe space? What are Accenture's competitors doing?

Also, think about how the current market situation is doing to Accenture's business and think of a few ways you think that they can overcome those challenges. They don't need to be the right answer, but be sure you provide sound reasoning.

Lastly, if you are at the MBA level, make sure you know what's happening in the markets. I got asked some finance questions that I was totally not prepared for and in the end killed my chances at a large consulting firm: don't make the same mistake.

Final tip: consultants always like structure. Frame your answers.

As for questions to ask: get their opinion on questions you asked beforehand, like what they think the direction of accenture should be, how they think Accenture should handle the current crisis. Better yet, if you can get their names, google them and search for them in linkedin to find what their interests are and whether they have been quoted in any news sources. Always good to talk about their interests.

[axnotizes]

Exercise will be tough I'll tell ya that. But I dealt with it and I still in "shape". Just cant workout at a gym like your used to in most cases.


Just get a hotel with a nice gym. Is not hard to get a decent workout.

[bonedogg]

Just get a hotel with a nice gym. Is not hard to get a decent workout.

I actually workout more when I travel:

1) hotel gyms are sometimes better than my condo gym
2) I like running outside in different cities (hate running on the treadmill)
3) Sometimes I have nothing else to do

[iamfat]

time to pop the champagne? :)

[sillyflowa]

Hello everyone!! I'm so sorry I didn't remember to check back into this thread to give promised updates & info regarding the final interviews. I have been so anxious all week, waiting for the results so I didn't want to have any early celebrations that might jinx me completely. They said they'll give us the results by the end of this week, so still no offers at this time, (I might check back in over the weekend with anger, rage and tears) but I'm hoping for good news. Thank you for the support :)

So I had my interview last Friday, there were about 20 candidates present and 10 greeters, who were analyst/team lead level. So many candidates! No idea how many they were going to hire. Last year I heard they cut 50% of the candidates.... They gave a few presentations (one from HR about the benefits/compensation/training, and one from a partner going over Accenture's background, structure, strategy etc.), we each had 2 interviews (one-on-one, behavioural-type interviews with senior managers), and finally there was a "life in the day" of an analyst session where they presented the 'real deal' to us, assuring that none of the questions we asked in that forum would be judged. (not sure how true that can be, as I know even the greeters were probably making mental notes of everyone throughout the day).

Anyway, here's my conclusion of the day: it was actually really fun! :D (Wow I'm a dork.) I was initially very stressed out in the morning, the only thing I could blurt out when meeting people was "I'm so nervous!". Real professional. But as the day went on I relaxed a lot more, and the greeters as well as some other candidates were all very friendly which definitely helped. Hope that I didn't become too chummy with everyone... I have to say, interview #2 was 200% better than interview #1. By the end of the day, I went up to thank the first manager who interviewed me, and I believe he had already forgotten my name & face. Oh dear. They looked like they were going to hold a 'review' meeting at the end of the day, and from the sounds of it they ranked all the candidates in that meeting. How they do this, I have no idea... (Aside: I've never worked in HR - how do you rank candidates fairly when they've been interviewed by different interviewers?)

I honestly feel like it seems like a good place to work, based on the people I met. They are all people that I can identify with, and even people that I'd be friends with if we met outside of work. The downers may be the $$ for the workload, but... I think the lifelong relationships might actually be worth it. I think I can stick out the lifestyle for awhile at least. My family on the other hand, are kind of hesitant about me potentially working here (they want to see me more often, they want me to have a less busy schedule & so forth). As well, start dates are in 2009 (earliest Jan) and if I get an offer, I'd have to find some way of making quick $$ until then (hello starbucks/restaurants/retail). Despite all that, I put in a lot of effort & I really hope I'll get an offer!!! :cheesygri fingers crossed....

So there you have it. Regardless of whether I got the job or not, I tried my best and the full 2008 interview process, including my feelings, emotions and personal thoughts have been documented in this thread. I hope this will be useful for future candidates and even recruiters at Accenture.

Wish me luck!

[brucemeng]

good job sounds like u did well

I hope u get it

[rainmaker]

Offers are going out right now.

[rainmaker]

Anyone else heard back? I'm currently weighing it against some other options, have yet to receive my paper offer though so I don't have as precise of details as I want.

[iamfat]

Anyone else heard back? I'm currently weighing it against some other options, have yet to receive my paper offer though so I don't have as precise of details as I want.

salary?

[springroll]

Looking forward to seeing you who accepted your offers!

Don't hestitate to reach out if you have any questions. I, along with other Accenture folks here, would be happy to answer them.