Who I am won’t change where I’m headed

Rana’s first year as a graduate at Accenture has been a whirlwind of opportunities. While he’s taken every opportunity with both hands, he’s also learned that he can do it all while being his true self.

I applied to Accenture because it’s one of the top-rated consulting firms in the world, but also because it gave me the opportunity to use my technical background and my much larger desire to work in a more people-facing environment.

I studied Aerospace Engineering and Science and it has nothing to do with what I’m doing now, but being employed by Accenture opens the door to many opportunities.

As long as you show interest and passion for a cause, Accenture can and will facilitate it.

Since starting as a graduate in early 2018, I have two leadership roles on top of my day to day role. I am currently the president of the Technology Associate Academy, a program that supports graduates through training, social events and mentoring across their first two years as part of Accenture Technology. This role has exposed me to Senior Managers (SM) and Managing Directors (MD) I otherwise would not have had the opportunity to meet.

No matter your title, people here are friendly and happy to teach. That was a big fear I had coming into Accenture, that there would be a lot of expected knowledge that I didn’t have.

The second leadership role is that I am the Pride Tech Co-Lead. I volunteered myself as a helper for the Tech Pride Community but it turned out that there was a gap for a leader in this area of Accenture's Pride Community and the next thing you know I am the Co-Lead, so it snowballed really fast but I have no regrets.

Sharing my story

There’s nothing close to monotony in my different roles.

I have been thrown into the deep end with managing events, coordinating people and budgets, attending and planning meetings with SM’s and MD’s. Most importantly, it’s given me opportunities to be a leader in areas that I am truly passionate about.

The pride community in particular is very close knit. Having had my own struggles, it was especially eye-opening to meet and hear from so many people from different cultural backgrounds.

I’m still very nervous when I talk about it because I am very close to my mum and dad, but coming out to them was difficult. Coming from a traditional Indian background, they were very thrown aback, but they’re making great strides towards it.

Some of my Accenture family

For me personally, Amit Bose’s story gave me hope. I met him through the Pride community and it was important for me to see that not all Indian families have to conform to stereotypes. I had a lot of fear around that topic, and being able to find someone I could truly relate to gave me confidence.

Me and my boyfriend (Cam) at his University Ball

There is no doubt that the pride leadership position had opened many doors for me. I’m leading an Ally call where the conversation topic is “Colour and Pride”. I’m leading the charge to discuss experiences and the hardships that people from different cultural backgrounds face in coming out. It’s not something that’s often discussed in our community.

I will be also be traveling to Japan to be 1 in 5 people from Australia and 1 in 40 people across APAC to participate in the LGBT leadership training program. This is an opportunity for emerging Pride at Accenture leaders, which I was offered because of my significant contribution to the network.

This program will not only expose me to Accenture’s global community but it will give me the opportunity to learn more about what it means to be a leader in the pride community and a leader at Accenture.

I used to fear that who I am would hinder my career progression but I don't feel like that at Accenture. The sky's the limit here and I am excited about what's to come.

Pondering Hot Air Balloons in Turkey