Chicago - in school again

A warm greeting from St. Charles... which is a city near Chicago in the USA. I arrived after a long flight on Sunday evening and had to find out that my luggage did not. Today morning - 1,5 days later I luckely got it back ;) We were picked up from the airport by a limo services... so for the first time in my life I was driving in a stretch limo... well not as impressive as I thought... but still nice and comfy. Another two weeks of training for Accenture has starting and now I am being literally back at school again at the analyst school. about 100 people are here from Europe, Africa, the States and Latin America, a pretty diverse facilitator team (here it is called faculty) and so far the school runs well, is interactive and really interesting. We are simulating project work in the two weeks, like a two weeks simulation (just imaging having an AIESEC XP sim for two weeks :)) we are all set up in international teams do activities, listen to presentations etc. REally nice people here, interesting backgrounds and a relaxing attitude...
I am pretty impressed on how the training is set up, all the documents provided, the preparation of the facis and the focus on people development... DISC test, value cards, two sessions focusing on your personal career planning and development within the company. Everybody extremly approachable.

Today morning we had a session on change management, with good experience sharing form people doing this on project and it reminded me of the last year on the MC and the change management we did.. .actually I am reflecting more often now on the last year what I have learned and how much I really got out of it. I can relate so many experiences from the last year to what I see here within the company and know.. well I have done this once already. It also stroke me that change management really interests me and I want ot know more about it, talk to the people here who worked on it tonight (we have a networking event - drinks payed by the company ;) - and get introduced to business networking) and really want to consider if this is an area I want to try to steer my career towards.

lots of thoughts... I started an ideas / thoughts page and kind of a learning log... well just as on an AIESEC conference... for a lot of people I think this learning setting and people development approach is totally new... for me not obviously and this really confirms for me that the company fits to me...

on the weekend we are doing some sightseeing, shopping and partying in Chicago...

btw if anybody is interested in the company, looking for a job there etc. I am more than happy to talk to you.

keep you updated..hugs from the States
Gudrun

happiness

"Die beste Freude ist wohnen in sich selbst"

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Freude, mein Lieber, ist die Medizin dieses Lebens! Ich freue mich, wenn ich Gutes von anderen höre, wenn irgend jemand auf unserer traurigen Erde glücklich ist, ja selbst, wenn mein Hund mit dem Schwanz wedelt und die Katzen in irgendeiner Ecke zufrieden schnurren."

Ernest Hemingway

Two quotes on happiness. My mood today. Everyday something new coming up. More impressions. More new people. Flying to Chicago this Sunday, driving in a Limousine to St. Charles (pictures will follow). Another two weeks of training. International trainers, International delegates, simulation projekt work, networking events, sight-seeing, testing the sport facilities and the golf course.

Personal happiness. Needs to be shared :)

first impressions

so I started my job with Accenture with another about 100 people - fresh graduates and experienced hires. Thursday / Friday I was in Frankfurt at the introduction seminar. Nice colleagues, interested talks to more senior hires, free fruit and drinks including a coffee machine which can do excellent latte macciatos ;), stylish campus in kronberg held in white, dark violet and orange.

Content wise it felt a bit like an AIESEC newie conference just without dances and role calls and everybody dressed in business suits ;) still a very nice and relaxed atmosphere, presenters making jokes, stimulating us to ask. The AIESEC tag line it's up to you is also valid for Accenture. You are responsible for your career, you will set goals with your counsellor, you steer your way in the company. A lot of things also were familiar, how the brand was presented (exactly the same way as we did it in the marketing taskforce, brand promise etc.) for example.

In addition, I could feel that working in the MC and the skills I develop in this year, makes me different. Looking at the training plan for personal skills the next year(s), title wise most of the trainings I already once trained myself or took part in. I could not be impressed about the international setting the company is working in (payroll in Dublin, esupport in India, research centers around the world, etc), as this is I am already used to. And I was definitely more relaxed and self confident than the majority of the freshly graduated new hires. It all felt quite "I know what this is about" as I held seminars like this - although in a more informal way - myself.

to sum up my impressions:
- relaxed atmosphere
- good people to talk to
- required proactive attitude to personal development just like in AIESEC :)
- impressed with their corporate citizenship programme and possibilities employees have a direct influence on communities through the company
- excellent interal newsletter profiling employees who make a difference in communities
- I like that there is a strong feedback culture in place
- I feel comfortable and confident
- still curious what we will learn in the next 2,5 weeks
- started to write down my learning points for the first two days of the seminar

more impressions to come...