I began my career as a personnel management trainee in the private sector. After a couple of years in the private sector, I moved across to the public sector where I had an eclectic mix of roles for the next 7 years. I also took a year out to complete an MSc in Organisation Psychology to build on my practical experience. I then worked as a freelance consultant before deciding that working in an established consultancy would provide me with the opportunities to continue to develop my skills in this area – so I joined Accenture. Upon joining Accenture I was given a ‘buddy’ and a career counsellor for on the ground support, training and mentoring. They also helped with the main challenges of a career change and introduced me to colleagues and clients. For me, consulting presented development opportunities, a challenge and variety of work and Accenture has provided all of these in abundance. The people I work with at all levels in Accenture are fantastic – from Analyst to Senior Executive. At project peaks the hours can be long so working with colleagues that you genuinely respect and trust and that are also great to be around really helps. My advice to anyone thinking of working in a consultancy is to find out about the work, the lifestyle, the clients and how different consultancies operate. Be open-minded and don’t assume you don’t have the right skills or experience. In terms of the skills required to be successful in Accenture – you will need a willingness to learn, loads of enthusiasm, an ability to work in a team and the desire to make a tangible difference to our clients. In the future I hope to be part of driving forward the organisation change, talent & organisation performance and change enablement opportunities within the UK public sector. Meet other Accenture people