Which would you choose in my situation between Accenture and CapgeminiAccenture - ACGPro's1.) Perhaps better brand name than Cap on the CV2.) Higher pay by about 3KCons.)1.) No choice over alignment- Really want management consulting, but 70% chance i will be in tech- could screw up my career path/ambitions2.) Start date is in 2013. I want to start now as I've graduated, Cap will be in a few months.Capgemini ConsultingPro's1.) Earlier start date, so I can get my career going sooner2.) Will definitely be in management consultingCons1.) I dont feel it has the quite as much prestige as ACN. I dont plan on being a consultant for more than 5 years, and want good exit opportunities. ACN has more layman prestige.2.) Pay is lowerSo if you were in that situation, which one would you choose.

Hi max,Let me make it clear that I am a former Capgemini staff and I have never worked with Accenture.That said, I have several friends that have worked for Accenture.I think you should add fun to Capgemini's pros. It operates a relaxed atmosphere and you will like going to work most days. I left while still in the junior ranks and moved to strategy roles in industry. I have been told by someone on this top-consultant forum (who claims to be in the more senior ranks) that it is less friendly in the upper ranks and more competitive.On the other hand, all my friends at Accenture really emphasis the bad, face-time and backstabbing culture in Accenture. Most hated working there and stated the primary benefit keeping them there is the pay and the brand. What I observed about the Accenture staff that switched to Capgemini was (1) they were relieved at the friendlier, unpretentious culture and (2) some brought hints ot he Accenture culture and quickly made enemies.In terms of prestige, a Capgemini brand has never held me back so far as a non-strategy house can take one. Those in the industry that will hire (non-laymen) know Capgemini. I have used it to get a decent number of strategy roles.So, imo, it is left to you to decide if you will sacrifice good culture at Capgemini for a 5-10% pay premium at Accenture, which I think might be across all grades, not only junior ones (I am not sure).

I guess the question I am really asking is for someone who is interested in business consulting, with possible MBA >>> MBB route in mind, which is betterAccenture Tech Consulting or Capgemini Management Consulting

You'll understand my reluctance to get involved in a "which firm is better" discussion and so I don't usually pass judgement on such things.However in this instance you're being presented with two quite different career options as one is guaranteeing you a career in management consulting and the other is only offering the possibility of a career in management consulting. I would say that moving into management consulting once you've spent several years in tech consulting is far from a given. It's not a certainty that you'll get into one of the business schools that'll give you a shot at MBBB; and even if you do you might not succeed in securing a role with them. So you have to be wary that the career direction you start out in now with a non-MBBB firm may be the career direction (in consulting) that you are tying yourself into long-term.We're more of an experienced hires business than a graduate recruitment business and so I can't give you any insight as to whether Accenture may be willing to negotiate around the alignment issue. Could be one to at least explore with them so that long term you don't have any reason to look back...This is my own take on your situation - it's not a reflection on the firms as I'd say exactly the same thing if the firms were reversed in terms of the offers they are making you.Hope this helps and good luck with making the right callTony RestellTop-Consultant.com

My advice is to go for Capgemini - the most important thing is the content of your work. It's a decision between getting started now on the path you want with CapG, rather than waiting a year only to probably not get what you want at ACN.

Have worked in consulting at both.1. Capgemini grad scheme is good - the best part of the firm by a long way. Be aware that at the end of your two years you are not in reality guaranteed a job - you need to be picked up by one of the teams based on your performance, networking skills etc AND whatever their recruitment appetite and forward view happens to be at the time.. There's a bit of an auction process round the best, so if you are good you can do a deal on salary, within limits 2. Just because a firm says it does management consulting doesn't mean that's all it does; this can be largely brand positioning. While there is a small strat team, a great deal of what CC does is in reality bodyshopping "consultants" onto big programmes based around technology. It's quite hard to define what some of these roles actually are - there's definitely a culture of "tech services have sold a 30m project so we should be able to get 3m of that as our share"Either route - just go in with your eyes open..

As overall firms, I'd have said go for ACN over Cap. But if you really want mgmt consulting, go for the mgmt track at Cap. Once you're in IT, you can change but it's difficult / unlikely.I would however also point out that Cap > MBA > MBB may also be tricky (I doubt Cap is great at placing into the top MBAs, but happy to be corrected). The more likely path would be Cap > other Big 4 or boutique, which is not a bad thing at all.

Cap. Definately. Yes Acn has the stronger brand, but at this point in your career brand isnt too critical - better to get on the right track from day 1 as you'll find it harder to move to consulting from tech if you join in IT at Acn first. And you wont be waiting around - given the volatility of the economy that Acn job in 2013 could be on hold or gone by the time you get there. and in any case soon as you have completed your grad training you need to move - whether its Cap, Acn or anywhere else - to shake off the perception you are a grad and a bit of experience and start to be seen as the consultant.And Cap's brand isnt bad at all - not as strong as Acn perhaps, but content wins over brand every time.

agree with Baykus - though by way of exception there is an ex-Cap partner at Bain and another at Booz. conversely, a MicKinsey partner came to Cap a few years ago as a regional practice lead and completely bombedmy standard advice re Cap would be to get the grad scheme under your belt and possibly another year, then move on.. goes slowly downhill after that

[quote]Cap. Definately. Yes Acn has the stronger brand, but at this point in your career brand isnt too critical - better to get on the right track from day 1 as you'll find it harder to move to consulting from tech if you join in IT at Acn first. And you wont be waiting around - given the volatility of the economy that Acn job in 2013 could be on hold or gone by the time you get there. and in any case soon as you have completed your grad training you need to move - whether its Cap, Acn or anywhere else - to shake off the perception you are a grad and a bit of experience and start to be seen as the consultant.And Cap's brand isnt bad at all - not as strong as Acn perhaps, but content wins over brand every time.[/quote]Just to clarify, I would still be in ACN 'consulting', just in the tech consulting part not management consulting. Is it quite feasible to switch from tech consulting >>> MC, either within a firm or going across to say a Big 4. If ACN did put the job on hold (or reneged), seeing as the gap between offer and start date will be 17 months, I would be livid beyond belief!!!

its feasible to move across from IT consulting to management consulting...but not easy, and competition internally at Acn to make that move will be intense. moving across to Big 4 in tech consulting will be straightforward, moving from tech consulting to business consulting from Acn - Big 4 will be anything but straightforward.This is why I advocate the Cap offer. If you want MC then start there if you can. Nothing wrong with tech consulting, but if its not what you want and can go straight into mc then it makes sense to do so.

As mars says, it's possible to move from IT > mgmt, but v difficult and an unnecessary risk to take with an offer straight into mgmt con on the table. You have a much better chance of moving into ACN mgmt consulting in a few years time by going to Cap now than you do to ACN - take the offer and don't look back.

acid test, tell a girl (or guy) you like in a bar you work for Capgemini or Accenture and see if they are impressed by either. Neither? Exactly. The branding only matters to consultants themselves, no one else will know the difference, most people in the 'street' wont recognise Cap, Acn, McKinsey..Dont fool yourself OP into thinking the brand will do the work for you. Its not the firm you join which will make your career, its what you make of the opportunities you find.Crikey I'm getting philosophical in my old age.

[quote]As overall firms, I'd have said go for ACN over Cap. But if you really want mgmt consulting, go for the mgmt track at Cap. Once you're in IT, you can change but it's difficult / unlikely.I would however also point out that Cap > MBA > MBB may also be tricky (I doubt Cap is great at placing into the top MBAs, but happy to be corrected). The more likely path would be Cap > other Big 4 or boutique, which is not a bad thing at all.[/quote]I don't see why he needs to move from Cap to Big 4 to get to a boutique. Cap pays better than the Big 4s and he can still use Cap to go to a boutique.Furthermore, I would not be worried about using Cap to get to a top MBA. People with far weaker company brands get to top MBAs. If he is at Cap, he just needs to worry about his academic profile, PS and GMAT scores. Cap would be just fine for the application.

Nobody knows the difference and in the long run it's the same, so I would go with the one with the closest starting date._______________________________________Dumitruhttp://emea.nttdata.com/ro/home/index.html

[quote]Nobody knows the difference and in the long run it's the same, so I would go with the one with the closest starting date._______________________________________Dumitruhttp://emea.nttdata.com/ro/home/index.html[/quote]Lets hope he's not still waiting on the accenture start date, 5 years on...

[quote]Nobody knows the difference and in the long run it's the same, so I would go with the one with the closest starting date._______________________________________Dumitruhttp://emea.nttdata.com/ro/home/index.html[/quote]Lets hope he's not still waiting on the accenture start date, 5 years on...