New to this forum so hoping for some good advise.I worked for Accenture for 1 year in 2002 as a new grad Analyst doing testing before deciding to up sticks and travel for a year. Since returning I've qualified as a CIMA accountant working in manufacturing which involved process improvement, finance etc and more recently general finance & management in a senior position in the legal industry.My plan was always to move back into consulting pref Mckinsey as always saw them as the top dogs but also thinking of perhaps Accenture MC and the usual others.My question is will Accenture etc be interested. As a CIMA accountant currently managing up to 80 people with a wide range of skills including PM I have 9 years of good experience. I've worked there before so know the culture....where should I be aiming in terms of grade etc...As I'm new to Consulting per se any advice on how to get back in would be welcome..Thanks.

Yes - I would say they would be very interested. They have a Finance and Performance Management Practice of c100 which recuits accountants with just your kind of experience. With 9 years, but no consulting experience, I would say that you should be aiming for Manager level, but fairly senior. I would be surprised if they would bring you in at a more senior level than that without a consulting background but I think your experience will stand you in very good stead.ACN won't be put off by the fact that you have worked there previously. I know of 2 very good friends who used to work there, left, and are going through the interview process again - they are always looking for good people.I would use a recruitment consultant to do your app for you, because they are looking at so many people right now that your application might get lost in the mix of all of the applications they have if you try to do it yourself.Good luck.

Thanks for the advise Trinny. Its good to know that they wont be put off by me having worked there before. Any suggestions on recruitment consultancies that are preferred suppliers for Act?Thanks

You could cut out the middleman:http://careers3.accenture.com/Careers/UK/Experienced-Hires/default.htm

You could try Peter Nicholls at Michael Warwick Nicholls. He's put me forward to a few F&PM roles, including Accenture, and seems to know his stuff.

I would also say Pete Nicholls at MWN. He knows ACN really well and is great - really helpful, honest and really cares about what he does.Good luck, T

I'm sure rakesh would be thrilled to help.

ADVISE>ADVICE.

What would AJ gain by going through a recruitment consultant against applying to Acn direct?

That's a good question - what would I gain form going through a consultant? I've never used one before..I presume they use their own CV proformae which eliminates the risk of you messing up at the very beginning.Apart from that what other benefits are there?

Go direct when you can - no middleman and you may even be a more favourable candidate that way (no fees for acn to pay, plus I bet hr have a target for direct recuits)

As before, check out http://careers3.accenture.com/Careers/UK/Experienced-Hires/default.htm they even appear to haev some current mgr and snr mgr roles.If i were you i wouldn't settle for less than snr mgr with your experience.

Various reasons why using a good and recommended (as above) recruitment agent is beneficial:- large firms receive so many direct applications that they can often get lost and without an agent, there's no-one to chase it up and manage the process- any decent agent should be able to help and coach you through the interview process- should you get to offer stage, they will negotiate on your behalf, obviously with your approval, and should do this with your best interests at heart - the more you get, the more they get. It can often be tricky and difficult to ask someone who will potentially be your manager for more money.