Hi all,I would like to share my experience, good and bad, and give a word of warning to those looking to secure employment at Accenture UK . I joined Accenture late 2013 as a C2/3 and have just handed in my notice mid-2015 to start working for a smaller consultancy. I am questioning myself why I hadn't done this earlier now.Positives:Accenture has a great brand reputation along with some very talented people within the workforce.Accenture has great clients it works with across all disciplines.Accenture focuses on targets and sales – but which company dosnt?Reasonably good with the expenses policy… For example. If you have to leave your home before 6.00am then you can claim breakfast. If you leave the office after 21.00 then you can claim your dinner and catch a cab home.It’s fairly easy to get a job after working at Accenture as it’s got that reputation. Really good company for women because when they go on maternity leave they give full pay.Negatives:Very sales focused and hugely based on body shopping (regardless of skill set) in any location required in the UK. Be prepared to travel a lot be prepared to get burnt out. Be prepared to do very long hours, work on the weekends and don’t expect any credit or time to compensate. This company is very facetime based. You feel like you cannot leave before your manager otherwise this will affect your rating. People within your own team will start calling you a ‘part timer’ if you leave earlier than everyone else. Analysts get bullied and are used as powerpoint /excel to do admin type jobs like formatting powerpoints, set up meeting rooms, dial into meetings for the managers.Consultants are required to think a little but still get bruised by the managers aka still involved in admin. Most of the managers are under pressure to deliver to the client. So they will micro manage what the consultants and analysts and take all the credit for it. SMs are totally sales focused as this will depend on their bonus so they have a clear mission.MDs are treated like gods… One MD once said thank you to me. I still remember that day!On the other hand, once, I went to say hello to an MD who got promoted from SM. This totally got to his head and he replied. “Go away from me before I give you some work to do”. Summary and my personal experience:I would avoid working for Accenture. When I first started I was 'sold' a role and promised to a client despite the career discussions I had had through the recruitment process. I joined as a C2/3 and have been pushing for a promotion to M1 which never happened, despite the promises been made and having achieved my objectives. The senior manager who was supposed to represent me was focused on me selling more roles to the client, eventually an attractive looking blond girl came in who then took over from my role and I was pushed out eventually. That SM is now on LOA. Advice to succeed:If you can’t beat them, join them!!! This rule applies in Accenture. I got sold for a role which I absolutely hated which was completely away from my base location (despite roles within the surrounding area). Eventually I had to lie to another candidate (new joiner) to promote how amazing role it was so they could take over from me. Network as much as you can so you can find your own roles in areas that you are interest in. Don’t rely on your resourcing manager!!!Favouritism applies, and drinking/socialising with the right people WILL help you!If your female then you may want to consider wearing high heels and low cut tops. This MAY help in promotion.Avoid any bench time, your name will flag up on a hit list and you will get approached for internal work which will not benefit you in any way, nor will it get you any recognitionThis post written up is purely a warning to someone looking to work at Accenture in the UK. Take as little or as much as you need from it.

Good summary, sounds very much like my two years there. I got out and joined another (big) consultancy and I am much happier. Can't recommend working there.

I quit Accenture and joined an Indian SI in their consulting practice for better designation/pay. Now, I regret my decision for quitting Accenture. I had better experience with Accenture in terms of learning/quality projects. Now contemplating a move to Big 4.Perspectives differ

People's mileage will vary depending on the team/practice they end up in and the specialty they have.

low cut tops? Where do I sign up?

[quote]low cut tops? Where do I sign up?[/quote]Accenture women are invariably hot

Sound advice Shera. What division were you in and where have you left to, if you don't mind me asking?

[quote][quote]low cut tops? Where do I sign up?[/quote]Accenture women are invariably hot[/quote]Agreed. If you were to rank Deloitte, PWC, KPMG and Accenture in hotness of women. Accenture would win by a country mile. It's where I met my lovely wife ;)

[quote][quote][quote]low cut tops? Where do I sign up?[/quote]Accenture women are invariably hot[/quote]Agreed. If you were to rank Deloitte, PWC, KPMG and Accenture in hotness of women. Accenture would win by a country mile. It's where I met my lovely wife ;) [/quote]You and 3/4 of the company - I was a novelty with my non Accenture wife!

Become the Favorite of a Senior ExecutiveDon’t ask for permission within Accenture Use your Data Gathering to Build Client RelationsNever Say No – Or at Least Be Smart About It"Fail Fast" and Be Ready to LeaveIf you are a new Accenture employee, these tips can help you get staffed on exciting projects and get the most out of your career at Accenture in terms of professional development and merits.

[quote]Become the Favorite of a Senior ExecutiveDon’t ask for permission within Accenture Use your Data Gathering to Build Client RelationsNever Say No – Or at Least Be Smart About It"Fail Fast" and Be Ready to LeaveIf you are a new Accenture employee, these tips can help you get staffed on exciting projects and get the most out of your career at Accenture in terms of professional development and merits.[/quote]This is nonsense, I'm all for having a joke but don't put nonsense dressed up as serious advice.

Just to add a little balance here, my experience has been the opposite. Get on great with the MD's, inside and outside of work. Work 9-5.30 pretty much every day. I have pressure to deliver but it's certainly not excessive, and during my time at ACN I think I have worked 1 unplanned weekend. Perhaps I am lucky, or perhaps you were unlucky, I suspect the 'real' working patterns are somewhere in the middle.

@Jack: You most definitely are lucky. Or an MC http://forum.top-consultant.com/images/forum/emoticon_smile.pngWhat practice to you work for within Accenture? I'd love to have your work life balance!I cannot remember the last time I met someone from the Digital or Technology Consulting areas of Accenture who had the pleasure of working 9am - 5.30pm most days. Most people I know, across all levels including Senior MDs, work roughly 10 hours a day with a peak of 11 - 12 hours one day of the week.I fully agree with the OP - The culture across Accenture has changed from being that of a consulting firm to that of an outsourcing firm. No amount of "Digital Strategy" talk or wearing faded jeans to work and pretending like we're working at Facebook or Google is going to change that reality. Delivery deals are won by undercutting the competition and, usually, Accenture isn't brought in to do strategy, they're brought in to deliver. Unfortunately, this means that the poor souls who have signed up to work on a delivery project work ridiculous hours just so that they can deliver an under-resourced, under-estimated and, more often than not, badly designed solution. And do they even manage to deliver on time despite working the hours? Sadly, No.Phew! Rant over.

[quote]I fully agree with the OP - The culture across Accenture has changed from being that of a consulting firm to that of an outsourcing firm. No amount of "Digital Strategy" talk or wearing faded jeans to work and pretending like we're working at Facebook or Google is going to change that reality. Delivery deals are won by undercutting the competition and, usually, Accenture isn't brought in to do strategy, they're brought in to deliver. Unfortunately, this means that the poor souls who have signed up to work on a delivery project work ridiculous hours just so that they can deliver an under-resourced, under-estimated and, more often than not, badly designed solution. And do they even manage to deliver on time despite working the hours? Sadly, No.Phew! Rant over.[/quote]Who is OP? What do you mean culture change? Does ACN develop its own capability or purely rely on vendors?

OP = Omniscient Prime, therefore listen what he/she/it has to say.