I hope everyone is doing well in this challenging economic environment. The good news is that we currently seem to be hitting a bottom and hopefully we’ll continue to see positive economic indicators.

If you find yourself negatively impacted by the current environment and out of work here a couple things to keep in mind when looking for a new job:

I hope everyone is doing well in this challenging economic environment. The good news is that we currently seem to be hitting a bottom and hopefully we’ll continue to see positive economic indicators.

If you find yourself negatively impacted by the current environment and out of work here a couple things to keep in mind when looking for a new job:

Earlier this month Accenture participated, as it has in the previous 5 years, in International Women’s Day. Held on March 8th every year, International Women’s Day is a global celebration of the major political, economic and social achievements that have been realized by women. As part of Accenture’s celebration of the day we held live events for employees and clients in over 100 locations in 29 different countries. At Accenture we realize that women are critical to our business’ success and these great events are just one example of the many ways that we strive to attract, retain and advance women by fostering and building their skills.

Learn more about Accenture's celebration of International Women's Day and how we support the retention and advancement of women at Accenture through our unique women's initiatives.

Did you hear about the job fair in Arizona where a number of people showed up to the University of Phoenix stadium? It made the news with people waiting over 2 hours just to enter the event. My brother was one of those people. He waited in line for two and half hours before entering the stadium. Thank goodness it was not summer! Recently laid off from a major cable company, he was on the hunt for his next opportunity with his two bachelor’s degrees in hand (accounting & finance). A major grocery store chain was to attend the event. Looking at the list of other companies, my brother admitted this was the only company of real interest to him. Walking around, he finally came upon the company. Eager to provide a resume he was given a card that directed him to apply online to open positions. Not sure what this exactly meant, he was able to strike up a conversation with a person at the booth. They chatted about the company and the job fair overall. Upon leaving, this person handed my brother a business card and asked him to contact her if he had applied to any of the positions on the company website. A short time later my brother did apply to a position on the company website and made his job fair contact aware. A short time later he completed interviews and was offered a position utilizing his experience in accounting and finance. Yesterday was his first day and I do hope all goes well!

We are changing the way we work and communicate with one another at Accenture. As part of a wider Collaboration 2.0 program of virtual communication, we have been implementing Telepresence capabilities into a number of our key locations. You may have seen the commercials on television for this technology that allows for virtual face to face meetings through High Definition screens and cameras. The below picture is of some of our employees utilizing the tool in one of our offices.

Those that have had a chance to take advantage of this have given great feedback thus far on the technology’s benefits. It has allowed our company to realize millions of dollars of savings through travel and accommodation cost avoidance. It has decreased the “wear and tear” on some of our travelling Consultants and it also benefits the environment due to the fact that we are cutting back on travel related CO2 emissions.

Well the last time you heard from me I was getting ready to go out on maternity leave. Now I am a back, and to be honest I have been back for a while. I have had the opportunity to work in some great recruiting roles as I transitioned back to work. I’m on a flexible work arrangement now. My arrangement – I work from home most of the time. Nice! Like most working parents I am constantly working to balance. I’m working on some topics for future blog posts. Today I thought I would share a search tip on Accenture Hot Jobs. Did you know that from the accenture.com home page if you type US hotjobs in the search bar you can access a listing of current ‘hot jobs’ in the US? Check it out.

Recently within Accenture Recruiting we’ve been hearing an increasing number of questions around how Accenture practices corporate citizenship and how we give back to the community. What our candidates are essentially saying is “As a potential employee of Accenture, I want to make sure that the company that I may work for takes concrete actions to make the world a better place." This is definitely a noble concern and one that Accenture shares at its core.

Accenture’s approach to Corporate Citizenship is modeled around giving three resources that we have access to: Skills, Time, and Money. We direct these resources to initiatives at a global or local level. Below are some interesting examples on projects that we currently have underway.

Never before have we had access to the networking tools that we currently have on the internet. I would encourage any professional in any industry to use these tools. However, the key is to use them wisely.

Why network:
The goal is to attempt to make connections with those in your industry that may be able to open doors in your career that you would otherwise not be exposed to. You may also have the opportunity to gain knowledge as it relates to your industry and skill set.

I am a Technical recruiter, that’s what I do… I don’t think I ever said, “When I grow up, I want to be a recruiter” I fell into it. I liked to tinker on the internet, which led to internet research, which morphed somehow into finding programmers pre- dotcom boom.

I have never formerly said thank you to all the candidates that I have talked with that have both inspired and educated me. Over the years, I have had the privilege of talking with some pretty sharp individuals that introduced me to a concept, or idea, that stayed with me long after our initial conversation had ended. Nothing has touched me more than someone discussing an algorithm with a sense of deep appreciation, not unlike that felt when admiring a great work of art. It was that appreciation and gratitude for their craft…. That has inspired me throughout the years.

Thanks to Lynn Smith for her assistance on this.

During the interview process, most of us are focused on selling ourselves to our interviewer, and we are often a bit nervous. Some of us clam up when we are nervous, a number of us do the opposite, and we talk too much. Some of us our very comfortable during the interview process, but I would venture to say those folks are in the minority.

Lynn Smith recently spoke with Imrana. She is an employee in our NE practice. Thank you both for your time.

What do information technology and standup comedy share in common? Just like a well defined project and a great punch line ….It's all in the Delivery

I receive scores of resumes every week from folks looking for a job within Accenture. Most (all should) have a cover letter attached. A good cover letter is short, concise, and lays out exactly what you are looking for and why you are qualified. It should give the recruiter a reason to call you. Following are some specific recommendations.

1) Proofread your cover letter and don't be afraid to use spell check. "I excell in many areas" or " I am called a perfectionist because when I do something if it is not perfect I will redo the hole thing" are good examples.

To someone outside of the company, Accenture can be a bit complicated to understand. Prior to applying for a role with Accenture, A great place to start is our careers page, Accenture Careers by Workforce. Here you can find opportunities by workforce, skill, high level information regarding the recruitment process, and where you fit in.

Accenture offers an interactive tool on the skills match page that can assist you in determination of a potential “best fit” within our organization based on the answers you provide. Accenture Technology Solutions - The workforce I recruit for offers a number of resources that can help you understand our organization, and where you fit in. Subscribe to our monthly newsletters. For instance, if you are interested in a career with Accenture Technology Solutions, subscribe to the ATS Newsletter, and check out some our case studies. Are you interested in any recruiting events going on in your area? Check out our Career Events page.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks! Since my last update just before a big interview day in Miami, all of the groups I support have been to Boston, Dallas and Chicago for interview days. I’ll be in Dallas on Friday to kick off our February schedule. It is safe to say Accenture is back to "recruiting as usual" following the holiday season.

Today I’m sending off communications regarding approved offers and training the new contract recruiters joining my team – so exciting! Thinking about training brings to mind the topic of navigating the Accenture website for jobs. More often than one would think, I get questions on how to find a job on the Accenture website. Here are my suggestions for navigating the site:

JSB - That is a great question and I failed to add this on my last post. I would work with your recruiter and see if you can move up your start date. If not, they may have some good ideas for you.

Hi –I hope everyone had a great holiday. Lynn Smith is an extremely talented technology recruiter that works on my team. She has been helping me with this blog and sent this to me last week. I thought I would share it with you.

One of the things I hear time and time again from talking to folks out there is the field is the desire for professional development. Many highly visible organizations dedicate a significant amount of time and resources to developing professional training programs and opportunities for increasing skills. It is well worth your effort to take advantage of the content these programs have to offer. However, if you talk to successful people, many of them will tell you, an invaluable component of their career progression was something they took charge of themselves: They found a mentor. The value of mentorship can not be over stated, and it requires some effort on your part.

After a week of proposing offers for interviewees that had a successful day Monday in Chicago with the Custom Solutions Architecture group, I am here to prepare details for the Portal and Content Management group interview day tomorrow. Along with a team member from Chicago we’ll be double checking everything in hopes of a smooth day. Wonder what we’ll be checking? E-mail and voicemail constantly – hoping that no interviewer or interviewee has to cancel at the last minute. We’ll also check out the space in the Miami Office (by the way…a better more trendy/high tech office than the old Miami Office I visited about 7 years ago), confirm catering and make sure we have all resumes and interview documentation to date available for the executive team.

Once I have everything set I’ll be checking in with my manager regarding some contract recruiter offers we’re getting ready to extend. There are a number of recruiters across the United States to fill the Accenture US open positions. Interestingly, recruiters are usually aligned by skill/group vs. location. For example, I am a technology recruiter for a few specific groups. I own some positions and am able to consider candidates in a list of 10 or so locations. These locations are determined by the executives in charge of those groups. The location(s) for each Accenture open position is listed at the very bottom of the job posting on the Accenture Careers site. If you check out position 00014142 as an example you will see locations listed for the Custom Solutions Architecture – Architect position: New York, Florham Park, Reston, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Segundo, San Francisco or Seattle.

What do I do on a regular basis?

Hi and Happy New Year!

Hi - I hope everyone has a safe and relaxing holiday season. I will probably take next week off, but have something again in January.

Prasad brought up Accenture Core Values in a comment (I will address the rest below) and asked what makes our core values different from others? I really don't want to turn this into a commercial, but the thought intrigued me.

Hi fellow bloggers, we have almost finished our Christmas shopping. With the twins it has almost all been online. Wow, that is easy. Might start being a new holiday tradition.

Thank you for the comments (I will get to them below). I also received several responses about who I specifically recruit for. As you may have read in my bio, I am the Service Delivery lead for Accenture Technology Solutions; Accenture Technology Solutions is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Accenture. We partner with Accenture's network of consulting and services experts to develop, implement and maintain leading-edge technologies for Accenture clients. I am still asked what Accenture means, the word Accenture quite simply is derived from “Accent on the Future.”

Welcome to my new blog! I was recently asked to share some of my experiences recruiting for Accenture. I have been here nearly 10 years and am constantly asked why I stay. The main reason is that every day I get to work with some of the smartest people I know. I also interact with people from all over the world with diverse interests, experiences and backgrounds.

I am really excited to engage in an open dialogue or should I say “diablog” with YOU. Do you wonder what its like to work here? Are there common character traits successful employees share across all organizations? I am sure there are recruiting questions out there I haven’t even thought about and I can’t wait to see what you all come up with! I will do my best to answer your questions as soon as possible. If I respond in the middle of the night please don’t think I am actually working. I have 12 week old twins and am probably feeding one (enjoy the visual).