Au Revoir, Accenture
Saying a final good bye-be it to a person or a place evokes a lot of mixed emotions and generates a feeling of nostalgia. The entire journey you had with that person or entity flashes before your eyes. You want to treasure every moment you spent, even though it might have appeared insignificant at that time. You want to hold on, not let go, even though you know you must. And letting go is all the more difficult if the entity in question is a significant part of your life- like the first organisation you worked in.
The image of Tiger Woods playing professional golf with panache in the face of obstacles was my first encounter with Accenture. I was really apprehensive about entering the corporate world and trying to match up to every one's expectations. There were various stereotypes stuck in my head like a nasty, demanding boss who would spend every waking minute trying to make your life a living hell and colleagues who would forever be scheming against you, looking out for the smallest mistakes you make and attempting to take credit for your work. I never knew how I would fit in, or even whether I would fir in or not. All these stereotypes were thankfully shattered in a short span of time.
When I first entered Accenture, I was in awe of everything-the huge building, the reception, the people walking around with a sense of urgency, the people working in their respective bays. It made me feel as if I was in some other world. With time, I got used to it. The best part I liked about the whole thing was that each individual was treated with a lot of respect and we had to address everyone by their first names irrespective of their seniority. Initially it was a little difficult as we were fresh out of college and were used to saying "Sir" and "Madam".But we got a hang of it later on.
The first few months were spent on training. The schedule was rigorous and we had tests at regular intervals-tests we had to clear or else face termination of employment. I studied harder in these tests than I had studied for any of my engineering exams. During this time I got a chance to interact with people from various parts of India. My batch had an interesting mix of people. Each of them was unique in their own way, highly talented and most importantly very good human beings. I realised that I could never consider them as colleagues, because they were my friends- people whom I trusted and enjoyed being with and not people whom I was forced to work with.
After the training we were all benched. That was my golden period in Accenture. We considered it as a reward for all the hard work we put into the training. Some were eager to get on to a project while others just wanted to go with the flow. There was also a fear that we would be laid off as were not assigned any tasks. But we were regularly assured by the senior management that the company was not planning to lay off people. Amidst these fears, we enjoyed every moment of our time. We used to sneak out at times to go for a short shopping trip, for a recently released movie or even just to go home early at times.
Then as projects started coming in, the number of people started dwindling and the remaining people were sent to different locations. Divide and rule. I guess. That's when the frustration started setting in. But we kept ourselves busy with trainings, online courses, certifications, asset works and job jars.And we always kept in touch via AIM and silly forwards.
In the midst of all this, I got an admit to a B-school and I decided to take it up. So that was when I put in my papers. Wherever life takes me now, Accenture will always remain in my mind, after all it was my first brush with the corporate life. It has taught me a lot. I have significantly grown as a person since I joined Accenture.
My last working day finally arrived. I checked my mails for the last time, sent a couple of forwards and chatted with my friends. I called all my friends telling them that it was my last day and personally bid everyone good bye. By evening, my mail account, windows log in was all disabled. Before my access card could be disabled, I swiped it for one last time. After completing all the formalities, my friends escorted me out of the building. I left with a heavy heart knowing that I was no more a part of Accenture.
The image of Tiger Woods playing professional golf with panache in the face of obstacles was my first encounter with Accenture. I was really apprehensive about entering the corporate world and trying to match up to every one's expectations. There were various stereotypes stuck in my head like a nasty, demanding boss who would spend every waking minute trying to make your life a living hell and colleagues who would forever be scheming against you, looking out for the smallest mistakes you make and attempting to take credit for your work. I never knew how I would fit in, or even whether I would fir in or not. All these stereotypes were thankfully shattered in a short span of time.
When I first entered Accenture, I was in awe of everything-the huge building, the reception, the people walking around with a sense of urgency, the people working in their respective bays. It made me feel as if I was in some other world. With time, I got used to it. The best part I liked about the whole thing was that each individual was treated with a lot of respect and we had to address everyone by their first names irrespective of their seniority. Initially it was a little difficult as we were fresh out of college and were used to saying "Sir" and "Madam".But we got a hang of it later on.
The first few months were spent on training. The schedule was rigorous and we had tests at regular intervals-tests we had to clear or else face termination of employment. I studied harder in these tests than I had studied for any of my engineering exams. During this time I got a chance to interact with people from various parts of India. My batch had an interesting mix of people. Each of them was unique in their own way, highly talented and most importantly very good human beings. I realised that I could never consider them as colleagues, because they were my friends- people whom I trusted and enjoyed being with and not people whom I was forced to work with.
After the training we were all benched. That was my golden period in Accenture. We considered it as a reward for all the hard work we put into the training. Some were eager to get on to a project while others just wanted to go with the flow. There was also a fear that we would be laid off as were not assigned any tasks. But we were regularly assured by the senior management that the company was not planning to lay off people. Amidst these fears, we enjoyed every moment of our time. We used to sneak out at times to go for a short shopping trip, for a recently released movie or even just to go home early at times.
Then as projects started coming in, the number of people started dwindling and the remaining people were sent to different locations. Divide and rule. I guess. That's when the frustration started setting in. But we kept ourselves busy with trainings, online courses, certifications, asset works and job jars.And we always kept in touch via AIM and silly forwards.
In the midst of all this, I got an admit to a B-school and I decided to take it up. So that was when I put in my papers. Wherever life takes me now, Accenture will always remain in my mind, after all it was my first brush with the corporate life. It has taught me a lot. I have significantly grown as a person since I joined Accenture.
My last working day finally arrived. I checked my mails for the last time, sent a couple of forwards and chatted with my friends. I called all my friends telling them that it was my last day and personally bid everyone good bye. By evening, my mail account, windows log in was all disabled. Before my access card could be disabled, I swiped it for one last time. After completing all the formalities, my friends escorted me out of the building. I left with a heavy heart knowing that I was no more a part of Accenture.
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