Staying Connected

I have been on a long term project (started Feb 2008) and am going to be here for another 6-8 months.  When you are on a local project, you are usually at the client 5 days a week. Being there 5 days a week for a long period of time, initially made me feel very lost and out of touch with others within my Capgemini network. You will go months on end without visiting your office or seeing those outside your project.

Ode to the Consulting Skills Workshop (CSW)

With all of the stores, shops, radio stations, and city streets transitioning to Christmas-mode with ornamented trees, twinkle lights, candy canes, and old fashioned Christmas songs, you can’t help but get wrapped up in all the excitement of the upcoming holidays. So after spending Thanksgiving being thankful for many things, and in the spirit of (a quickly approaching) Christmas, I give you my own version of a classic Christmas carol to salute the wealth of knowledge and skills I’ve acquired from my experiences at Capgemini.

Career Fair Tips

Career fairs.  The job search equivalent to speed dating, sometimes career fairs can be overwhelming (or underwhelming, depending on who’s there), frustrating (because you only spoke with a recruiter for a minute before someone else cut you off!), and confusing (Which company raises pigs and which one sells real estate?).  However, don’t fret – there are several tactics you can use to get the most out of your career fair experience (and maybe even walk away with a potential “match”).  These tips will turn your career fair experience from a horrific speed dating nightmare (Why’d you let your friend talk you into this, again?) into an enjoyable, exciting learning experience that you can really use to help you decide what’s right for your own future.

In-Office Interviews

Here are some pictures from a Capgemini in-office interview day (which is approaching for many schools). Here in the Herndon, VA office we give out a tour of the ASE (a bastion for executive out-of-the-box thinking), break the ice with some games, take you out for a great lunch, and finally provide you with a sweet office for your interviews. Then we'll bring people to meet you and you can do your interviews. Sound better than the usual interview process. I think so! Hopefully this will give you a bit more insight into what its like, and show you the fun-loving culture of Capgemini.

Calling the shots

The term "boss" scares me. It has all the connotations of an axe wielding stubborn and powerful individual  out to get me! The words,"I am your boss" or "My boss is here" is simply right up there in my nightmares scenarios. Thankfully, at Capgemini (and by and large in consulting), your "boss" or more affectionately called your Manager is a far more pleasing personality to work with. They champion your cause, help you in your work, give you all the tools you need to succeed and probably are the most invested individuals in your success.

Business + Technology = The Consulting Total Package

With all of my traveling, I am constantly meeting new people in hotel lobbies, restaurants, airplanes, client offices, etc. It’s surprising how friendly total strangers can be, and I always come home with multiple ‘people-watching’ and people-talking’ stories. Yesterday in fact, I sat in between two chatters on my plane. Just like always, the conversation begins with “What do you do?” I answer with “I am a consultant” and grin because I know, like clockwork, that the next question will be about the type of consulting I do. Unfortunately, this answer cannot be summed up so easily.

Our Capgemini Consulting Intern Program

Last week, we officially wrapped up our CS (Consulting Services) summer intern program.  We had interns from top business schools and from a variety of industry backgrounds.  I was fortunate enough to be one intern’s “peer buddy.”

Life on the Beach - Being a Judge

During most campus infosession and recruitment events, life of a consultant on the project is often highlighted and glorified.  However, life on the beach may also play an important part in a consultant's work and career development.  In fact, being on the beach presents an array of opportunities that are very different from client side engagements.  In this entry, I'll highlight what I did last week while on the beach--playing judge.

Of course I'm a team player

I recently attended CSW (a week long consulting skills workshop) in our Capgemini office in Atlanta, in Buckhead (in case you don’t know much about Atlanta, Buckhead essentially refers to up-town Atlanta).  I got a chance to explore the city, network with new colleagues, and learn practical on the job skills.  Initially I was skeptical at some of the concepts but quickly realized how applicable they were to not only working at Capgemini but elsewhere as well.  Let me share one teamwork concept that we went over.

Closing Time! So many feelings…

Today I finished my project (if you’ve been following the blog – it’s the same project as with the squashed cherry tomatoes and yogurt parfaits – if you haven’t been following the blog, get with it!).  There are a number of feelings experienced at the end of a project.  Some are nostalgic (walking down the halls and saying goodbye to people on the floor, cleaning up the office, having final client meetings).  Some are exhilarating (checking off the list of final deliverables is a GREAT feeling – this list basically encompasses all of your accomplishments and the value delivered to the client).  I’ll be honest, there are some feelings of relief (tomorrow I can sleep in an hour later).  But mostly, the feeling I have is more about satisfaction: from a job well-done, personal development and growth achieved, new friends and business contacts made, and from knowing that my project helped to plant the seeds for new opportunities with this client.  That might be the best value we, as consultants, deliver to clients: showing them what excellence looks like and letting them know that achieving it is within their reach.