Advice for students applying to the English selection process: Diversity is Our Strength

Hi, I’m Brandon of Accenture Technology (Digital consultant). My role is to help build digital solutions for clients looking to innovate their business and reach a wider customer base! I joined Accenture at an entry-level position after passing the English selection process. Today, I would like to share with you what you need to do to gain a deeper understanding of the company and how I overcame the anxiety I felt before joining Accenture.

Why I chose Accenture

There are 3 reasons why I chose Accenture.

1. To collect the information that I needed to decide that Accenture was where I wanted to be, I researched through our company’s community history. Using resources like employee career review sites and public financial whitepapers, I was able to learn of the extent to which our company has a direct influence of the developmental technology which is driving a significant number of consumer-accessible products and services. This kind of innovative image was extremely attractive to me for the main reason that I perceived our company to be one that values new and non-traditional perspectives. Furthermore, the idea of “Think Straight, Talk Straight” rang to me as a comforting sign that the daily life I could lead with Accenture wouldn’t be as stressful and suppressive as the life friends of mine lead in other, more traditional Japanese companies.
2. A variety of experience opportunities allows for constant stimulation. There is no fear of being locked permanently into one set of repetitive tasks for an indeterminate future. You always have the chance to take company-sponsored courses to expand your skills in tech, languages, communication, critical and logical thinking, business, finance, and more. For the restless soul who is hungry to learn and grow, Accenture is a veritable Library of Alexandria with the expanse of our client base and the diversity of team members.
3. The diversity of our network means that there is an opportunity to directly influence and participate in nearly any industry you find interesting. While learning about the nuances which propels the business side of that industry, you will be working with its representatives directly to create pathways and partnerships to allow for growth.

My advice to you is to watch the company’s website and YouTube videos and do your best to find even more inaccessible information. Our team members are generally kind, intelligent, and communicative people who take pride in being associated with the Accenture brand. Once you have a role you’re interested in with our team, register from Accenture entry level page and visit MyPage through to see if you can hear direct stories and thoughts about the daily life at Accenture Japan from active team members. This kind of direct communication will help you understand Accenture. The most important thing coming in is to get a realistic view of what the inside looks like from day-to-day.

What I was concerned about before joining / how it was resolved

I came from a humanities background during my experience in school. I’d only every scratched the surface of technology like programming and database management as a hobby; so never to a depth which I could confidently utilize in a tech-focused environment like Accenture. I was worried about holding my own in a large pool of skilled professionals. However, I realized quickly that each person here is given the opportunity to excel in our business by using their unique skills. Everyone is of a different background with widely varied experiences. Furthermore, the company provides countless opportunities to learn new skills and further hone the ones you brought with you. This applies to more than just learning the tech basics needed to cooperate with your teammates, but it applies to communication skills for the office and around the globe, for critical thinking skills to allow us opportunities to analyze and overcome any puzzle we face.

Another point of concern that I had from the recruitment process all the way through to the end of my training was the cross-cultural and interlingual communication environment that I would experience. I was frankly intimidated by how vast Accenture’s network of clients and talent is. Convinced that I couldn’t perform to meet the communication needs of the company, I began reaching out to other new hires in the middle of the joining process and seniors within my department to express these concerns and find a solution. What I quickly discovered was how cooperative and supportive each person I spoke to would be. Without hesitation, I was always given tips or advice on what got them through their toughest times of anxiety or self-doubt. I was told about the multitude of clubs, community support programs, and skill-up initiatives that were available for us as Accenture members without judgement. Furthermore, each senior team member or leadership figure to whom I spoke showed me kindness, empathy, and encouragement that I was not expecting to be shown as a prospective/new hire. With this, I knew that Accenture was dedicated not only to creating an environment which truly values growth on an individual level but ensures that this type of compassion, empathy, and eagerness to support one another is imparted to all of us across the length of our career.

Why I’m glad I joined

There is no end to learning and experiencing new puzzles to solve. Many of my friends in different industries complain about the monotony of their work but with Accenture, you can become a professional of a new industry and learn its intricacies while having the option to expand your knowledge base by specializing deeper into that field or testing something brand new.

The lateral flexibility of communication allows for us to be in contact with team members with far more experience and tenure than us. This branches across departments, and across international boundaries.

One of the most valuable experiences in learning how our organization values diversity was during my business trip to the Philippines to visit our international team members. I was truly surprised to have an opportunity like this be sponsored by the company at such an early stage in my career. While there, a couple of Japanese colleagues, the Philippines based team members, and I were set to the task of figuring out how to strengthen the communication bonds across our cultural boundaries. I learned the complexity of creating a bridge between language barriers and such varied perspectives.

Advice for facing the selection process / life in Accenture

Believe in your uniqueness. Accenture has a massive collection of team members across the world. Among us are people with such a variety of skill and unique strengths. It’s easy to get intimidated by the idea of being surrounded by a sea of talented and proficient individuals but it’s important to learn how to find exactly what role you can play in making your team stronger and more capable of solving nuanced issues that arise in innovation!

Learn Japanese language and culture to any extent which you are capable. While you will be experiencing the English selection process and likely English training thereafter, you should still be aware that you are in a Japanese environment where most of your colleagues and superiors will be approaching your team’s daily tasks with a Japanese perspective and Japanese expectations. This could become intimidating if not prepared for properly. Do some research into what it means to work in Japan, learn some basic business customs, and find out the dos and don’ts of Japanese client communication. These skills will save you from important miscommunications down the line.

Learn how to learn. An incredibly valuable skill that is necessary at every level of Accenture is the “Catch-Up” power. Across your career, you will be placed in various teams with various roles, responsibilities, and expectations. To accomplish these goals while avoiding unnecessary stress, we spend a lot of time learning about each project’s background and architecture. In short, we are constantly learning. Whether that be a new skill to facilitate business, or a new technological tool used to satisfy the needs of your client, the consistent exposure to new information, the ability to take away key ideas, and utilizing that knowledge to enact valuable change within a relatively small period of time is vital. The biggest hindrance to this skill is not being familiar with how you, as an individual learn new information or skills. To comfortably excel in the selection process and our team thereafter, you will need to learn the skill of learning.

I look forward to working with you!