Sponsor Spotlight Q&A With

What will I do starting in your industry/your organization?

At Accenture Strategy, your journey starts with the Accenture Strategy Consultant Development Program (ASCDP), a unique career development program designed explicitly for the needs of new MBA hires. The 12-15-month program will give you the core strategy skills and knowledge, as well as exposure to our business, our various industry and functional practice areas, and our people. The program will:

• Provide you with the tools and resources to help you acclimate to Accenture;

• Ensure you develop and build core strategy skills and knowledge, quickly;

• Increase your exposure to Accenture Strategy, our various industry and functional teams, and people.

Through ASCDP, you’ll help clients lead in the New, by solving their biggest business challenges, on issues such as digital disruption, competitiveness, global operating models, and talent and leadership.

What does your organization / industry in general look for in new hires/students from MBA programs?

At Accenture Strategy, we seek MBA candidates who have:

• Intellectual curiosity and passion for working on areas at the intersection of business and technology;

• Relevant industry, functional and/or strategic experience;

• Strong critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills;

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Tell me about how much flexibility I’ll have in creating my career path? (For example, is there a set path, is it entrepreneurial, many options, few paths?)

You will have incredible opportunities to build and grow your career, creating your own career path – but with the guiderails that come from an organization that invested over $900million in learning and development in the last fiscal year.

Your journey will start with the Accenture Strategy Consultant Development Program (ASCDP), a unique career development program designed explicitly for the needs of new MBA hires. The 12-15-month program will give you the core strategy skills and knowledge, as well as exposure to our business, our various industry and functional practice areas, and our people.

Through this program, you’ll have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects across multiple industries (e.g. life sciences, retail, consumer goods and services) and functional areas (e.g. mergers & acquisitions, digital strategy, talent and organization).

Towards the end of the 12 to 15-month program, and in discussion with your career counsellor and mentors, you’ll choose to align to a specific industry or function of interest to you.

After that, we’ll continue to provide you with all the support and tools you need to continue to grow and develop, including Strategy College (our unique campus-style learning and development program where you will continue to develop your core strategy, digital and leadership skills, throughout your career)and access to our virtual learning networks, digital classrooms, comprehensive digital learning library and over 24,000 online courses.

As you grow in your role, you can look forward to rapid career progression through the business:

Throughout your time at Accenture, you will also get support and mentorship from Accenture leaders, who’ll help you to navigate the complex environment we operate within, give you access to their industry and functional expertise, and help you to shape and achieve your professional goals. And of course, as part of Accenture, a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations, with approximately 469,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, there are unlimited opportunities and career paths available to our people.

Many of our MBA/ASCDP alumni are in senior leadership roles within Accenture Strategy or Accenture; others have gone on to C-suite and senior leadership roles in other Fortune 500 organisations; and some go on to launch and build their own start-up businesses.

Is it possible in this job / industry to make a successful career work alongside other activities and interests such as hobbies or family life? How?

Yes, absolutely!

At Accenture Strategy, we are responsible for helping our clients define and implement outcome-driven strategies that are enabled by technology, in an industry-specific context. To achieve this, one of our core values is to attract and retain the best people, and our leadership team is committed to ensuring that our people feel comfortable, live a well-balanced life, and as a result, be productive.

We are committed to inclusion and diversity, because it’s the right thing to do, and because we recognize that it it makes us smarter, more competitive and more innovative – and it’s a key part of what makes Accenture a great place to work. So we understand how important it is to create a flexible working environment that encourages and empowers it’s people to achieve a good work-life balance.

One of the building blocks to our leadership DNA is whole person. We take a multi-dimensional look at helping our people succeed professionals and personally – by being physically energized, mentally focused, with a sense of belonging and purpose.

To see this in action, and hear some of our people talk about how they get the right work/life balance, please click on the following videos:

• Jenica McHugh, Technology Strategy Senior Manager, Philadelphia

• Eric Weiss, Business Strategy Senior Manager, New York

What kind of advice can you offer a new MBA admit who wants to work at your company? Tips for the process of landing an offer.

• Get to know us - and the work we do. Read our case studies and points of view. You can find these at www.accenture.com/strategy And follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to keep in touch with our latest news and events. Attend our information session and events that we hold at your school.

• Reach out to your school’s Accenture Strategy recruiter and ask to connect with alumni from your school who are at our organization so that you can learn about their career path and experience at the firm.

• Take the time to learn what strategy consultants actually do and if that is something that excites and motivates you. If so, then start working on your casing skills.

• If you find that Accenture Strategy could be the right place for you, stay engaged throughout the recruiting process.