Business and Technology Integration Associate Review

I have overall enjoyed the placement, especially thanks to the great opportunitites and benefits such as social events,gym subsidy, etc. I have gained many new skills and insights into consulting. There were certain parts of the placement which I think could have been improved - especially regarding the organisation of the induction and training, and guidance and help with finding project work while you are a placement student.

I felt very valued throughout the majority of my time in the company. Despite usually being one of the youngest team memebrs on a project, my work was always appreciated and my inputs were always considered and often used. I was never made to feel like an 'intern' and was always a full-on member of the team.

I was lucky to have great line managers on my projects who did not hesitate to offer help and guidance with my work tasks and gave great feedback on all completed work. They were also extremely helpful when discussing future career plans, both within Accenture and elsewhere. However, what i did find lacking was the support from HR / my career counsellor during the time I was unassigned and struggling to find project work.

The worfkflow fluctuated throughout my time at Accenture. It was always dependent on what stage the project I was working on was in, and I often found myself either flooded with tasks one week, or with barely anything to do the next week, therefore prioritisation skills are valuable ina role like this. However, I have never stuggled with long hours and have always managed to maintain a good work-life balance.

I was delighted to be given a great deal of responsibility on all my projects, such as being trusted to lead a majority of client communication, oversee work of other analysts, speak in client stakeholder meetings, lead workshops, etc. This was a nice surprise, as I have heard of students in other companies being given almost no repsonsibility.

The skills and trainging I have developed and received will not be extremely valuable in my degree studies, as my degree field is unrelated to my work at Accenture. however, I believe these will be invaluable in any future employment and offer me great opportunties in many different fields in the future.

The atmosphere in both the main London office, and the client offices was generally great. All offices I worked in emplyed a hot-desking policy, which especially in the main office mena that you could end up sitting to completely different people each time you visited. Main office offered free hot drinks, and often also fruit and other small refreshments, which was a nice perk. The client location offices were also nice and welcoming.

This is the aspect of the Placement that i believe could be improved, as I found the organisation of the placement to be slightly lacking. I found the 2 day induction too short, and the training for my specific career track to be disorganised and isolating as it was moslty online. In my contract I was told that I will be placed on 3 different project assignments, which has not happened and I had to find project work after my initial assignment by myself and without much guidance.

I was given some classroom trainign opportunites, but not to the same extent that a Graduate would get. The online trainging offered was extensive and included free language teaching tools, which was a nice perk. I appreciated being able to gain official certification, as well as get trained on mental health issues.

I find future employment with the company very appealing.

The social scene was extremely good - I was lucky enough to end up on an out-of-town project with a large number of other placement students and interns and therefore had the chance to spend a lot of time with them, both on work organsied events, and outside. This however depends entirely on luck and you might end up feeling quite isolated if alone on a project with no one near your age nearby.

London as a city was very expensive to live in on a Placement salary. This is however not a reflection on a company and the compensation offered for graduates is moslty sufficient to live off of. During my placement I have had to manage my money very strictly and budget, but was able to save up a certain amaount despite the high costs of living.

I have not enkoyed the nighlife too much, as this is of no particular interest to me. However London is known to have a great nightlife ( but expensive) and other placement students did enjoy this. On the occasions I did go out I had a good experience. However If sent on a client location, this could be different.

Yes, accenture offers many different social clubs, netoworking events and other activities such as volunteering. As long as you are pro-active and social you will find many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. Projects that are based outside of London are often very good at organising many social events to entertain employees staying away from home during the week.