A quick run through all previous posts shows that until early 2009, most forums members seemed genuine and provided a lot of solid info to all posters.However, since then it just seems to be filled with those who point fingers and criticize -1. If you ask a question then its too naive and you dont deserve to be in Consulting2. If you answer a question, then you seem to assume everything and are a show offWell anyway, I wanted to wait until next week but what the hell - this is to ALL here who dont add much value to posts but seem to ridicule anyone possible and of course, me as well.So then, when I initially said I was offered a C3 at £56k and it was a done deal, I very recently also bagged a senior role in Deloitte. Being very clear in what my goals are, I approached ACN and after a few weeks of discussions, I have now been offered a role at M2 with a total package of £78k - that's more than a 100% increment from my previous salary and ACN knew this before making the offer as well.For those who always seem to pick a bone with me - just a handful of you wannabes or have-beens - there must be something that ACN and Deloitte see is me which, unfortunately, gives some weight to what I post on this forum.Aces

This is one of the best pieces of fiction that I have ever read. I'm going to forward it to Richard and Judy right now.

Aces,I don't work in consulting (yet) and have never posted anything negative on here. I do read this forum with some interest as a (tainted) insight into the world of consultancy and have too noticed a tendency towards base name-calling.That said.....you sound like a right sanctimonious, self-satisfied ononanist.PsCongrats on the new job

"I very recently also bagged a senior role in Deloitte"Despite accepting a role with a total package of £78k at Accenture? Now assuming that ACN have bettered the offer from Deloitte, so therefore it's likely you were offered a role at Manager at the very highest within Deloitte - not bad but hardly a "senior" role.

I try to remain positive and offer a slightly different view as I am not a consultant, but I am a Practice Manager and am responsible for all of the resourcing, hiring and firing etc...I think I may have made a reference to you and your likeness to a man-sausage previously.You have done nothing to alter that view and I maintain that you will probably go far.

Hi Boroboy - to be truthful the Deloitte offer was the catalyst for ACN to offer me a better package so Deloitte was not close to revised ACN package.For me personally and professional it is a big step up. You are right in stating that in general neither Deloitte's nor ACN's offers are 'senior' but for me they are given I was initially offered a C3 and I have just about 7yrs exp in an unknown mid sized Consulting outfit - for ACN to move from C3 to M2 is really decent and I'm happy with how things turned outTo the rest - as I always say, the forum is ruled by losers and have beens with nothing better to do than demoralize and ridicule new comers on just about evetrything - keep at it, atleast you seem to think you are good at something in your lives!!! Aces

Hi Aces. Congrats on wrangling a better deal. There are a couple of conclusions you have that I just can't figure out your reasoning for. Care to enlighten?1) "the forum is ruled by losers and have beens" - what exactly is this based on? I would be willing to bet there are quite a few people here, including those mocking you, who are more successful than you and got further in 7 years than you did2) Continuing on from that, when did people belittle you or call you a loser? I'll admit I don't follow every thread here but I've seen your name a few times. What I've seen is people sniggering at your gushing excitement for a yet-to-be employer, or your willingness to advise based on precious little knowledge on a forum populated by people with a lot more relevant experience. What I have not seen is people mocking your career or calling you a loser.

Aces,on numerous threads you have declared that Acn HR do no budge on joining grades / do not respect non big 4 consultancy experience.So either you are are liar or are wrong!Lots of people work on this forum appear to work for Acn. Given the amount of information you have regaled us with, it wont be that hard to work out your real identity when you do join - you could be a marked man! I will personally be looking out for all C3s who join SIT / CHT rather than M2s.

whoa, £78K.... u in the money!!!!!

Thanks for that. Well, the reason for my observations on typical posters here are based on the below. This will be long and I'm pretty sure there will be a comment on that as well :-)1. Agreed many who pass snide remarks have a lot more experience than me but then, that does not give them the right to constantly pick on what I post. Why is it improbable that someone with lesser experience than them can be right?2. Why is it wrong to be excited on a brand new role/job and just be happy about it? Is it against forum rules to sound excited? Has life become so dull in Consulting that securing a brand new job cannot be followed by excitement of starting something new in life? And who said excited utterance is childish or naive? If you know how some of these top Consultants laugh and agree to ever comment a client makes while at a dinner gathering, you will know who really is childish!!!3. Posters keep saying I talk so much about ACN even before I join them - 'So What?' is my question. I have recently gone through the hiring process, interacted with atleast 5 guys who have accepted offer so why cant I know a little about ACN before I join them? I have not once claimed or posted on ACN's internal workings, projects, clients etc - most of my posts have been about the initial process steps. The best part of all this is none of those who question me actually have any concrete answers to directly contradict me!4. When I recently put a question on ACN basics, I was faced by a barrage of insults - and I dont understand why. So what if I ask those questions - what is a forum meant for anyway? Do take a look at that post to see what I mean - I clearly stated I was asking some very basic questions for answers from those on the ground - yet people have remarks to pass. Its better to ask questions openly than assume things. You can ask Company HR people all you want, wait till you start working to get some answers cleared but what is really wrong in asking these before hand on a Consulting forum?5. Finally, the ego of some on here is commendable. Whether you are right out of college or have 100yrs exp in the field, you still need to respect everyone - taking jibes, making snide remarks only belittles those who resort to such demeanour.So yes, this forum indeed has decent posters who contribute a lot but are not always active members. The ones who are sound more like college kids waiting to pass remarks and make comments - are they really people in their lates 30s, early 40s with successful careers? And thats the reason I term such posters as have-beens or losers who cannot find an iota of happiness, do not sound mature and only while their time away ridiculing othersI was initially quite happy when I stumbled on this forum by accident but I feel now feel I would have been better off not posting on here in the first place. There's a lot of negativity here and it clearly shows in almost every post.Aces

I have to admit I was initially cheered by Aces' enthusiasm and then progressively annoyed at his lack of forum etiquette and obsessive need to have the last word on everything. Anyone with an ounce of maturity would recognize that in an anonymous forum insults will fly, and "wit is educated insolence" - so why be offended?Aces, I really don't give a levitating coitus what level or salary you are, you're the most immature and thin skinned n00b on this forum at the moment, which makes you fair game for the slings and arrows of our esteemed posters many of which are both helpful and obnoxious in equal measure. Sorry we can't live up to your Disneyland ideal and all hold hands, but such is life. In fact, your whining and name calling (losers and has-beens, ouch!) merits a far harsher response than what you've been getting so far, and yet for some reason you've been getting off relatively easy. I shudder to think what you must be like IRL - psychotically helpful but constantly in need of approbation.

Hi Form Losers and Has-Beens, Never-weres and never-will bes.I don't wish to be arrogant or in any condascending, but as I am better than you, I am going to have the last word thus.Mercifully, after seeing the error of their silly ways, Accenture have increased their medicore mid-fifties (THATS not going to put the Cristal on the table) offer to a much more resplendent upper 70's role which will put me in my rightful place among the elite. (which of course I will outshine VERY quickly).Not bad for a working class lad with seven years of mediocrity, a degree in sports and liesure management sciences (with special mention to the media modules) 2:2 from Camberwick Green University (by Post).You too can be like me. Oh actually no you can't because I'm great and you're not.Aces.Accentures new Crown Jewell.Or Bell-End.

Aces,I too have read many of your posts and to be frank have generally ignored them. You are a philistine. You believe your salary (or to be more precise the salary which you have been offered but not yet received or justified) makes your wisdom irrefutable. What rubbish! The value of advice is in the simple expression of experience and values learned – not the payslip of the advisor.PS – its not even that great a payslip. Even ignoring inflation I was earning more than you in 1996 (seven years after graduating).

Aces you have somehow managed to distort seeking help on this forum to insulting almost every contributor you come into contact with, and alienating more or less everyone. Mr Cool has spelt it out perfectly - I strongly suggest you take his advice while you still have a career.

As I said - name calling here is only reserved to those who greater experience and knowledge.The extent of my words was a mention of so called losers and has-beens without being specific but see the number of those offended then resorting to such beautiful language and words to describe me.......my my, what a pity it must be to be you lot!!!Well keep at it. Happy to be the scapegoat that helps all you anonymous characters vent out some frustration....Aces

Mr Cool and Mars a day - I respect your posts and the amount of information on them has been truly helpful.Please note that I brought money into this specific post purely because of the earlier treatment vetted out on me. Until then I never used money to prove a point or say I am superior so Mr Cool what you said is not fair at all. You defo are a lot smarter and sensible than the ones I refer to in this forum.I ask again, why is it that when I have provided answers to some questions about ACN's hiring process that I was singled out? No one seemed to contradict or state I gave out INCORRECT advice, all they seem to do is say I am tallking even with joing ACN. And asking a few questions on ACN basics for some info does not mean I deserve such cr@p. That wound me up and I thought why not join in the fun!Aces

To diverge slightly from the main topic of this thread (namely whether Aces is a bell end or not), if he is indeed telling the truth then this marks a departure from the ways I know Accenture to traditionally operate. Could it be that attrition is running so high that to achieve their target growth rates they're willing to do anything to get billable bums on seats? I'm so glad I left when I did. Especially since Aces will soon be joining...

Bob I'm also interested in this - front what I am seeing and hearing, Acn are still lowballing in the market, and being inflexible on most offers. It would be good to get some views - anyone?

You gotta hand it to the kid though - £78k is a great salary! Especially if he got it upped to that level from £56k! I'd be a cocky little twerp too if I managed to pull off one like that. He he.

Well we lost two people last month to ACN, both drove hard deals and both profited.One was on £115 with us and went for enough more to make it compelling (he intimated it was £145 or so). The other was on £60 and achieved £85 (saw the evidence). For us it would have meant jumping him two bands and he just wasnt ready for that.I actually believe Aces story without making judgement on him being a bell-end. (Although to be fair he's not helping himself in that department)ACN are buying aggressively and I can evidence it but to do so would compromise our anonymity on here, which is a bit of a shame.

SP - you are correct, in some practices acn have been handed some incredibly aggressive growth targets. If this were a proper forum I'd suggest you "pm" me as I think I know and was involved in your second example; as it is some sm's are skills interviewing one candidate per day.

Many companies don't realise that growth is driven by winning more business, as opposed to recruiting more people.Let's hope that the "incredibly ambitious growth targets" doesn't end up in "crash and burn" with a load of redundancies in a few years' time.I'm sure ACN have thought all this through thoroughly, however, and know what they're doing.

Cynic, I know that I lost my two to a piece of 'nearly-sold'business which I would guess is at 90% with just some fancy dancing around LD's and other such contractural niceties.Word around the sewing circle was that these two were client-led between two houses and whoever got them, got closer to the finishing tape. But thats just tittle tattle and worth nothing.Nonetheless, I would be surprised if they dont announce a full victory and start date in the next month or so.But your right, in two years time when its delivered, the VR's will start flying around. 'Twas ever thus....'

Cynic, SP, Mars and other,I cannot speak for Acn salaries, but I am running a portfolio of programmes at a large bank where ACN are one of the major consulting suppliers (Del-Boy and Eee!-Why? are also here – what joy).We have had staff shortfalls in areas that would normally go to Acn for first dibs but they have turned them down due to scarcity of benched resource. These were standard acn BA positions – nothing weird.

Mr Cool, is there any work you could farm out to some highly skilled consultants from a small firm that has a bit of FS/banking knowledge and probably very little FS/banking experience compared to what you're used to (think consultants with a background in economics and 1-2 years experience in FS gained half a decade ago)?Times are always tough for small companies. We may not have the bandwidth of ACN, but we often do a better job on projects where we're able to compete - and we're cheaper too (no fancy offices stuffed full of glamourous Australian receptionists who have a £500 handbag habit to maintain). Support your local friendly firm of "real people" consultants rather than a faceless corporate behemoth with corporate shareholders in shiney suits to keep satisfied! He he.

Cynic,In a heartbeat if I could. Sadly every bank I work at has a preferred supplier list and contractors like me are not allowed to go off piste. The PSL tends to be all the old favourites on the basis that they are consistent and reliable and no one gets fired for hiring EY/ACN/CapG/etc/etc. There is room on the PSL for smaller firms, but you need to be clear about the specific niche in which you compete. Then you need to work for a year to get on it, then you need to give big rate discounts.

I would cynic if you were in CME.

Thanks Mr Cool. :-)Out of interest, how would we go about trying to get onto the PSL - what is the process?

Hehe, thank you too Shoe Polisher. Sadly however I had to google CME to find out what it stands for... that shows how much I know about it. :-)

CynicOfficial process is to approach Procurement. They will ask for some brochures and print outs from your webs site, some financial checks and a statement of which area you specialise in. They will then invite you to a meeting which they will cancel on average 5 times in order to close “big negotiations” elsewhere. When you finally meet they will explain how important they are that you must include them in all discussions. They will then forget who you are and what you do. Some years later you will hear that another firm has been invited to do exactly the type of work at which you excel, but at twice the rates that you would have been happy with. You’ll go back to procurement and hopefully the guy you dealt with will have left the company, allowing his replacement to blame him. You will continue on this cycle for 3-6 years until you finally make it onto the PSL for a very specific niche. As no work is ever initiated through procurement you will then never hear from them again, but you will be on the list. You are then free to sell directly to end-clients and say “Yes we’re on the list”.ORIgnore the list and sell directly to end-clients that you meet through networking. Spend so much time with them that when procurement are finally dragged into the discussions (belatedly by the end-clients who all hate procurement because they add no value) you have such a substantial knowledge advantage over cold-competitors that you cannot lose the deal. The end-client will force a “waiver” against the PSL. Procurement will compromise and let you do the work as long as you simultaneously go through the hoops required to get on the PSL.I always did option 2.

CME - Chicago Mercantile Exchange?

Internet time must be running backwards on this thread... going from utterly useless to interesting discussion, albeit one I can't add to other than to confirm that yes, ACN are severely oversubscribed in some industries (but surprised they would turn down FS BA positions - as I personally know some FS MCIMs on bench! weird)

@shoe polisher, i'm pretty sure the SM salary range at ACN goes nowhere near 145, he would have to have gone in as a L4 SE i assume?

@anon.I wish I could share more, but to do so would completely give the game away and that wouldn't ethical/fair/right.If you just watch the ACN PR machine over the next couple of weeks, all will become clear.