Your Career. Your Adventure

After studying a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance) at the University of Sydney, Andrew embarked on the job hunt familiar to most graduates. When it was time to decide on a career path, Accenture Strategy stood out from the rest – with a unique company culture, international opportunities and an exciting range of projects.

Life-changing experiences from Day One

“Spending two weeks in Chicago at Strategy College (a “consulting university” training program for all new analysts) during the Olympics was one of the greatest times in my life. The first week involved experiential learning: a simulated working team environment with analysts, consultants and managers from around the world, some of whom I keep in touch with regularly.”

Andrew’s time in Chicago was filled with creative exercises and fun activities. The team worked on a previous real-life Accenture client case, taking it all the way from initial analysis to presenting to the Managing Director. Outside of work, Andrew also had the opportunity to explore Chicago and spend time with his new-found friends.

Andrew has also attended a one-week quantitative analysis program in Kuala Lumpur and looks forward to further travel opportunities, such as overseas projects or an office secondment.

Working at the cutting edge of strategy

The strategy practice sits at the forefront of most projects, scanning markets for key customer and technology trends to drive revenue growth and set the future agenda of organisations. Andrew’s favourite project to date was a Customer Experience transformation that saw him work alongside Accenture’s human-centred design capabilities and colleagues in Accenture Digital.

“I’m surprised by the magnitude of the projects and the situations I’m handling on a daily basis. Longer projects are rewarding because we really get to know the clients and experience their workplace culture and dynamics. My first project was five months with a global insurance firm – the Strategy and client side team got along so well; they were like my family away from home!”

Making big decisions from the get-go

Starting out at Accenture, everyone is allocated a ‘buddy’ to assist with the induction and on-boarding process. Andrew also accesses a more formal career counsellor who is on hand to assist his career growth, review project feedback, and provide advice on future directions.

Analysts are also encouraged to develop relationships with informal mentors. In one of his first weeks on the job, Andrew’s mentor said to him: “Never underestimate the value of what you can contribute and add, irrespective of how junior you are.” It’s inspired Andrew to make sure his voice is heard and has quelled the jitters that creep in when presenting to a boardroom full of executives, MDs or the occasional TV personality!

Currently working on the growth team for a multi-utility company, Andrew enjoys seeing the ripple effect of incremental change in a major organisation, which has an impact on the business world and society at large.

“For me, the most rewarding part is the personal growth that comes from working with industry leaders. I’m involved in the shaping of big decisions, and the projects I’m working on challenge me to be my best. It’s exciting to be a part of Accenture Strategy!

Sophie’s no stranger to hard work and an accelerated path – she started university in New Zealand at 16 and fell in love with all things management. “Managerial Economics in Organisations” tickled her fancy the most; she didn’t even know jobs like that existed! Law school was the next step, where she studied in the UK and met people working in consulting. The seed was well and truly planted, and Accenture Consulting is where she is blossoming.

Always learning, always growing

Sophie completed a Bachelor of Business (Finance and Economics) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Art Business, combining her two greatest passions – management, and 17-19th century Art History. As if she can’t get enough of learning, she also completed a grad certificate in Law during her summer holidays before starting with Accenture. Sophie has always shot for the stars in her career, and she’s now making dreams reality, with no shortage of team members who are fully invested in helping each other achieve their goals.

“Accenture in New Zealand is smaller than Australia, which means I’ve created strong relationships with some excellent colleagues. We’re included with the Australia office in terms of promotion, so there’s plenty of opportunity to further my career in a bigger market.”

Never a dull day in the office

Sophie’s first project was working for a brand new tele health service, seeing it through from hiring staff and developing policy and technology, right to launch. The fully integrated health solution service had a huge impact and won government contracts.

“I worked onsite with the organisation 100% of the time, so it was really sad when I left. It felt amazing to know I played a part in improving people’s health and wellbeing. It’s the ultimate motivation when you know that you’re changing people’s lives.”

Looking to the future and beyond

At Accenture, Sophie’s ideas and contributions are valued and she feels empowered, with her future path clearing right before her eyes. In her current role in organisational design, she works with clients to develop a view of what their future organisation would look like and how it may operate to deliver on their business strategy. Working in smaller teams gives Sophie the opportunity to learn all the ins and outs of what goes into the lifecycle of a project.

“I never in my life thought that I would learn about half the things I am now, purely from working on such a broad range of projects with interesting organisations, and experiencing so much first-hand. In terms of future progression, I now have a bigger picture of what goes into running a project and look forward to thriving in my new role!”

A self-described “bubbly and positive” individual, Natasha knew that she wanted to work somewhere fun and flexible – somewhere she’d never get bored. She also wanted to help others and solve real-world problems. Her role as Business Analyst is a perfect fit, allowing her to bring innovative solutions to life while having plenty of fun along the way.

The flexibility to make a difference

“A Business Analyst is a ‘jack of all trades’ type of role. I work across multiple teams and departments to come up with solutions for my clients and bring them to reality. I’m there from beginning to end, acting as a go-betweenfor Accenture and the client. It’s my job to understand challenges from all angles and bring everyone together. Boredom is not something that happens in consulting, which suits me just fine!”

An avid communicator, Natasha loves working with a diverse range of people. She has to be flexible and think on her feet; no two days are the same. One day might see her visiting clients and going over key issues, another might see her back in the office and working with her team to brainstorm solutions.

Her favourite projects are those that allow her to make a real difference to people’s lives. For example, she recently worked on a project that made health records available digitally – a life-changing experience for many people, that Natasha holds close to her heart.

Fast-paced fun (fuelled by free barista coffee)

With so much going on every day, it’s a good thing Accenture Sydney has an onsite barista. Staff can enjoy as many perfectly-made coffees as they like – and that’s just one of many perks. Another perk is the travel. Six months into the role, Natasha spent two weeks at Accenture in Chicago, training alongside colleagues from around the world.

“Accenture is not your typical corporate workplace. Our office is open-plan with hot desking and views over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In Chicago, I made friends from Dubai, Paris – it was truly global networking. I mean, what other company does that? It was almost like a paid holiday!”

Building confidence alongside amazing people

Natasha’s first year at Accenture Digital has been one of immense personal and professional growth. Her confidence is stronger, and she feels assured in her ability to provide value and contribute to projects.

One thing Natasha has learned is that Accenture is always there to help her grow. From career counselling to a mentoring buddy system, as well as a generous training budget, Accenture is with her every step of the way.

“I’m surrounded by people with amazing minds – intelligent, driven individuals – and it pushes me forward. I’m never content with where I am, because I see people doing amazing work and I want to be like them – it makes me want to be better!”

After graduating with an MBA and a Masters in Engineering Management, Rima was looking for a role that combined business management and technical expertise. Accenture offered the best of both worlds – the chance to work with people and with cutting-edge technology, as well as many more exciting opportunities she couldn’t have predicted at the time.

New job, new country

Rima’s role with Accenture started off with a bang. She was sent to Kuala Lumpur for two weeks of training alongside Accenture employees from around the world. The travel suited Rima, who enjoys moving around so she never gets bored. Rima appreciates the flexibility of being able to work on short- or long-term projects, and is always looking to sink her teeth into a new challenge.

“It was like a paid vacation! We stayed at a fancy hotel, got free food five times a day and had so much fun. The training was amazing. We met colleagues from Singapore and Japan and saw how multicultural this company is.”

Early opportunities to grow

Rima’s most rewarding job to date was also her most challenging. She was trusted with a project management position despite having no formal project management experience – an early opportunity to show her value. As a graduate, she found it slightly daunting to work with senior management so early in her career (who wouldn’t?!) but ended up thriving in the role.

“I learned first-hand how stakeholders get things done, as well as problem-solving skills and dealing with different people. It was a massive learning curve and a huge responsibility, but I was so grateful for the opportunity.”

A refreshingly different corporate culture

With a vibrant company culture and a diverse, friendly team, Accenture isn’t your traditional corporation. Within a few months of working there, Rima got married and asked for a transfer to Melbourne so she could be with her husband. She acknowledges that not many companies would be so flexible as Accenture, and was nervous at the response. Rima was granted full support from her senior manager and the process was quick and painless.

Rima knows of several people who benefit from Accenture’s flexible approach, especially working mothers. Women’s rights are very important to Rima – and she can’t fault Accenture’s approach. She feels fortunate to work for a company that values diversity and equal opportunity for all.

“There’s incredible diversity and the male to female ratio is outstanding. We celebrate all the different cultures, too. It’s good to be in a company that celebrates diversity – everyone has a new, refreshing perspective because of their unique background.”

Teena Sharma studied a B.E. Engineering and worked in electronics engineering before traveling the world with her husband and settling in Australia. After giving birth to her little boy, Teena studied a Masters in Telecommunications through the University of Sydney and has now spent almost a year working for Accenture Security – a role that’s incredibly important given the growing technological world we live in.

Real-world solutions for real-world problems

“You can see the real-life impact of solving problems for end users, especially when it comes to something as crucial as security. It’s not easy, but it’s exciting and motivating to be given endless opportunity to solve fresh issues and learn something new.”

Teena is currently working for the government on the My Health Record project, where every day is a new day: new problems to solve, things to analyse, databases to check. People will be able to access their entire health history online; Teena is using data extraction and problem-solving tech to solve the nitty gritty of accessibility, usability and security issues.

Changing lives through a ripple effect

If My Health Record experiences technical failures, Teena’s team is the first port of call. They do constant health checks of the system, the MyGov portal, and admin and provider portals on the client and customer sides – maximum functionality is the name of the game.

“My Health Record is a rewarding project because even though I’m in back-end processes, I can see the effect it’s having on real people’s lives. It connects rural and regional Australians with access to their health records and people who use the system are enabling better health outcomes because they have more freedom to move to different doctors and hospitals.”

A supportive environment for everyone

Teena says that the flexible, diverse working environment makes work feel less like “work”. With a five-year-old son, Teena’s daily schedule can be hectic as she juggles full-time work with motherhood, but Accenture provides a flexible environment for work-life balance. Teena starts her work day earlier so that she can leave to pick her son up from school.

At the end of the day, output and performance are the most important expectations from each employee. Teena knows that as long as she gets the job done, it doesn’t matter what time she’s in the office and what time she’s chasing a five-year-old around the house!

One of Teena’s favourite parts of her day is when she’s sitting with her colleagues at lunch, chatting to people from the Philippines, Myanmar, Africa, America, China, Korea and India, learning stories of different cultures and innovative ideas from far corners of the globe.

“Accenture offers training opportunities, skills development and overseas programs, so I have no doubt that my future is bright with the company. I’m so excited to see where this role takes me.”