Accenture

The work at Accenture ideally prepares a fresh-faced graduate to get some real experience with some of the Big names in the industry, which certainly looks good on a CV. The work you do is actual contracted work that a client has paid good money for. So, unlike some in-house software projects, there is an implicit guarantee that your work will be used.

The culture to outperform your peers contributes as a key motivator to constantly evaluate oneself and be more retrospective as to how one can improve and be more valuable to the company, as this translates to the performance appraisal, promotion, and rewards scheme. So, complacency is not something that is given much encouragement, which is another good thing.

You get to work with some senior people who have to deliver and add value to the customer's requirements. So, with this kind of pressure, those whom you work with give you an insight as to how to plan, structure, and deliver value to the client without compromising on quality.

There are some renowned experts, either technical or business-minded. From a technical perspective, you get to see how some experts make technical and architectural decisions, which form a valuable learning experience.

Contrary to the published website literature, project managers always have the right to override HR policies.

Business requirements and promotion eligibility criteria fluctuate and are hard to ascertain what exactly guarantees a promotion. You can do everything that is needed and still not get it, as there was no business need to increase the level of promotees at the next level.

Long working hours is almost standard. Very few projects have a 9-5 working schedule.

Ensure that HR policies cannot be superseded.