Accenture Systems Analyst Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details – I applied online for an entry level Management consulting position. I have an MBA and three years of finance experience. An HR rep contacted me approximately 3 weeks later asking if I would be interested in a position in Systems Integration despite the fact that I have no technology background. I responded, "Yes of course, I can learn anything I put my mind to." True statement.

1st Interview:
A week later, I was contacted by HR for a phone screening; you go over your resume, etc. They are just trying to make sure you are who you say you are.

2nd Interview:
About 5 days later I had a 30-45 min phone interview with Senior Exec. I found that this was very scripted and really easy if you prepare. RESEARCH the person that is interviewing you! Make a personal connection, build rapport, find commonalities... they will like you and remember you. From my experience, this will be your (only) time to sell yourself and brag about your accomplishments. Review the questions on Glassdoor that are already listed. Each question I was given was on this site.

3rd Interview:
Finally, 4 months after my initial HR screening, Accenture flew me to DC and put me in a hotel. The final round started at 8:30am and there were about 15 other candidates in my group. We stared with a 1 hr. presentation with consultants (very laid back), followed by two 1hr back-to-back interviews with manager/sr. exec. To be honest, the last two interviews completely caught me off-guard; these interviews are simply a conversation, I was hardly asked anything. The first guy didn’t know my background or anything about me. Compared to previous interviews, I was not impressed in the slightest. I left feeling disappointed that I wasn't "drilled" as hard as I would have liked; difficult questions give you your time to shine!
So again, do your RESEARCH. Come prepared with many (intelligent) questions to ask, know what the senior exec's do on a daily basis, even look into which specific projects they are currently working on, they will be impressed! Just simply be able to hold a meaningful conversation. LISTEN to them and be able to provide thoughtful, clever, and quick feedback. Shoot, stroke their egos… all you have to do is get them to like you! They are only testing your interpersonal and communication skills.

Review:
After the final interview I flew home the same day (Thursday), emailed my recruiter to thank her, and asked when I would hear back. I was told either Friday or Monday. So I waited, waited, sent another email on Wednesday (I had another offer pending) and then finally was contacted on Thursday with the news that Accenture would not be able to hire me due to my LACK of TECHNICAL experience. Irritating? Very much so. The fact that I took time from my current job and studies to curtail to this unorganized interview process and fly to DC for such a response, or lack there of. Thankfully I had already accepted the other position before I received Accenture’s call.

So kids, there is my story, good luck! Accenture is a very good company to work for, just not for me or for my career path. Remember: research, study, and listen. If Accenture has come to you, your career/school accomplishments have already spoken for themselves; the goal now is to get them to like you!

Interview Details – On-site career services interview at Columbia University, first round interview in NYC office, 2nd round interview in NYC Office

Negotiation Details – Didn't negotiate at all

Interview Details – First Round - Straight forward phone interview. Asked to discuss my resume.
Second Round - Behavioral interview with a manager via phone. Very long, but easy.
Third Round - Site Visit. Easy. Very informal and unorganized.

Reason for Declining – I received an offer the same day that I interviewed. Accenture very much wanted me to start less than 2 weeks from my offer date - they even offered me a substantial bonus to do so. I found this to be very unprofessional because I couldn't give my current company two weeks notice. I also felt very pressured by this. After agreeing on a later start date, I asked for some additional time to make a decision because I had another, competitive offer. The response from Accenture was no. Their lack of flexibility and understanding in how big of a decision this was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back. I felt very pressured to say yes, and I also wonder - why is Accenture ALWAYS hiring? Lots of turnover which makes me think it's not the most enjoyable job. I said no and I am very glad that I did.

Interview Details – I submitted a referral from a friend way back in October, and finally heard back in later December (right before Christmas Time). That's when it all began. There were 3 rounds.

1st Round: Phone Screening (20-30mins). Basically to see if I knew what I was applying for, what the job consist of and a little bit about my background. It helps to prep on the ACN website, and review your resume for experience that would be great for SI. Found out a week later I advanced, and scheduled the 2nd round a week after that.

2nd Round: Phone Behavioral Interview (~45mins). This was probably the "hardest" part of the interview process. After a brief background check and questions like why Accenture? It was your basic "tell me about a time when.." For example. Tell me a time when you worked in a group setting, when you have conflict within the group, when something unexpected happened in the midst of a project, when you had to be creative. Definitely prep yourself. Go over your resume and other past experience and just think about different situations, how you approached/solved the problem, and how it would relate back to the position. Week later, got a call for the 3rd round. Scheduled for a month later.

3rd Round: On-Site Interviews (~3hrs). Group presentation given by current analyst followed by 2 1:1 Interviews with Managers and Seniors followed by a really chill lunch with the analyst and other interviewers. This was much more laid back than I expected. They were very accommodating and nice. Advice. come prepared just like the second interview and just be yourself. The 2nd 1:1 interviewing manager was specifically looking for personality, composure, leadership, and ability to work with others. Just know and be yourself. Heard back exactly 1 week later that I got the job. That phone call, they go over a rough synopsis of your offer, so listen carefully.

Negotiation Details – There was no negotiation. The package was very competitive, and they also took into account my master degree, unlike some other companies.

Interview Details – I submitted my application on the Accenture website and also through my university career services website. I was contacted by HR for the first interview, which was held on-campus and was very short and casual (15 mins, just a meet-and-greet where you and the company get to know you a bit better). Then I was emailed for a second interview over the phone. It was a little frustrating since interviewer never called me for my interview, and I had to reschedule another (more successful) interview. This was longer, but still only 30 mins. It was just a bunch of behavioral/situational questions.

Also, I noticed that even though I was applying for what I considered to be a technical position, I was never asked any technical questions. They just want to know how you handle situations and problems, and once they can establish that you have the social/business skills, they will teach you the rest. They do seem to favor those who come in with some kind of technical background though.

Reason for Declining – This is a very well-known company, with great benefits and a very organized internship program (all rising seniors get sent to a 3-day leadership conference as well). However, I felt the need to further develop my technical expertise, and went to another company to do application development.

Interview Details – First round was with a principal and it was purely him assessing whether or not I did my homework and how interested I am in the position and the firm. They emailed me the next day informing me that I will have my second round on campus as well.

I was a lot less impressed by the second round interviewer. He seemed quite burnt out and the interview was quite awkward. No chemistry at all. The whole process is very rigid: you have your standard behavioral questions and you ask questions about the position/firm in the end. Nothing too surprising.

They still haven't gotten back to me about the third round.

Interview Details – The process consists of 1 email from the recruiter, and then you are asked to get an interview with an executive. When you receive the call, the person you talking to it’s from some part from India area, due to the strong accent in his voice. It was SUPER hard to understand his questions. Also that you go thru the hard process of trying to understand this guy questions, he told you that you will be the candidate, and the next day you get an email from the recruiter saying “we are unable to continue employment discussions with you at this time”….lol

Interview Details – Very consistent interview process. Round 1 was an HR Phone Screen - 10 minute brief on company. Round 2 was a Behaviorial Interview lasting approximately 45 minutes. Also had a separate case study interview - 1 case study (only applicants to MC/Strategy receive this segment of the interview).

Round 3 was an on-site Superday consisting of learning about the company, meeting other recruits and having 2 separate interviews with Senior Management Team Memers

Negotiation Details – I attempted to negotiate location but was refused quickly.

Interview Details – Applied for job via university job network. First Round was 1 on 1 behavioral with a manager. Second round was similar, 1 on 1 with a senior manager. Both seemed focused on their stated goal: determining whether or not Accenture was a good fit for the interviewee and and the interviewee a good fit for Accenture. 3rd round interview was a half day at the office - a presentation about the company and then 2 interviews with senior managers. Similar questions and focus, one of the managers seemed to feign ignorance in an attempt to make me uncomfortable.

Reason for Declining – I was offered a position at Amazon with similar compensation, but the Amazon position was hiring 50 people whereas the Accenture position was hiring something in the 100s. For me, the unique and entrepreneurial nature of Amazon won out.