Forging my own path combining a mix of skills
March 7, 2022
Christina Chin joined Accenture as a graduate in October 2017, not really knowing what she wanted to do in her career. In the four years since, she’s become an associate manager, blending her unique skills in design and data analysis while taking advantage of the many opportunities Accenture provides. Find out more about her story.
When I was at uni, I was studying design but didn’t really have any clear idea of what I wanted to do. When I heard about the Accenture graduate program, I didn’t know if it would be a long-term plan for me, but I knew that consulting would give me the chance to explore a lot of different industries. Then, the more I found out about Accenture, its culture and the company values, I knew it was somewhere that aligned with what was important to me in my own life.
Four years on, Accenture continues to tick all the boxes for me. I joined for the diverse career opportunities, but I stay for the culture. The people here are so supportive and I genuinely feel like we’re a family, where we’re all here for each other. Whether you’re an analyst, a consultant or a manager, we have hilarious chats, go out for drinks and help each other out.
Opportunity is everywhere, if you step up and take it
I’ve been able to take advantage of lots of opportunities within Accenture. When I first joined, I didn’t get assigned to a project for three months, so I really took advantage of this time to embrace some of the training on offer and get to know people. I went into the office every day, to make sure people knew about me and what I could do. Initially, I felt like I didn’t have a place as I have a unique skill set, being part of applied intelligence with a design background. Eventually, I forged my own path combining data and design, getting my personal brand out there and now 4 years later, we’re building that capability even further.
Los Angeles, California | DigitalWorld Competition, the top 10 presenters
Speaking of building capabilities, one of the things I’ve grown the most from in my time at Accenture is the exposure to C-suite clients very early in my career. I think the interaction and engagement with senior executives is something that a job in industry doesn’t give you easily, but the learning potential is phenomenal. While it can initially feel a bit intimidating at first, I was given so much support from managers and you quickly realise that even senior executives are just regular people too. One client executive even offered to be a mentor for me and the potential for professional growth has been fantastic.
Los Angeles, California | DigitalWorld Competition, delivering my 6 minute speech on AI Heart
Without a doubt though, the most incredible – and fun! – opportunity I’ve been given at Accenture is some of the travel for training I’ve been able to do. I was lucky enough to join pre-pandemic, which means I’ve been able to do some amazing things, with the most significant being one of the top 400 entrants in an internal competition on how digital technology can solve a worldwide issue. With my idea of using AI to prevent cyberbullying in social media, I was sent to Los Angeles, where I was one of the top 10 entrants supported to further develop my idea into a six-minute pitch. Then as one of the two winners, I was sent to Kenya where I worked with a startup accelerator to help African tech startups for a week on how to quickly grow and scale their businesses. As a young consultant, it was such a formative experience that I’m so grateful for. Plus, because I’d been travelling a lot in Australia, with projects in Melbourne and Brisbane, I’d racked up lots of points so have been able to use those to travel gold class for my international travel! I felt so cool and so young compared to everyone else in the airport lounge.
Nairobi, Kenya | working with an Artificial Intelligence start up.
Wow designing pitch decks can be SO funny.
Now, I feel like I’ve really found my path at Accenture. I’m able to blend my analytical and creative skills to help clients with critical and strategic thinking. My current project is pretty awesome – I have a lot of freedom to find ways to add value to the client through constantly analysing data and using that to shape their direction through data visualization and design thinking. It’s a journey that I never could have imagined just four years ago.
Are you ready to discover your own potential with Accenture? Applications for the Accenture Graduate Experience are open until 3 April 2022. Apply now!
