Your Ultimate Guide to Triumph at the Accenture Assessment Centre
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This Accenture assessment centre guide includes practice tests, coaching videos and insider tips for success. Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
1 Useful Starting-Point Resources
Before We Begin, Here Are Some Points to Remember:
Accenture have a multi-stage recruitment process with an initial application form, online tests and preliminary video interview before the Accenture assessment centre itself.
In a moment we’ll dive into the specifics of the Accenture assessment centre, but firstly let’s take a moment to consider who Accenture are and what type of people they employ.
About Accenture
Accenture is a highly successful and respected global company that offers its clients a wide range of services in consulting, digital, strategy, technology and operations.
Their headquarters is in Dublin but you will find them in cities throughout the UK and elsewhere around the world.
What Type of Person Are Accenture Hoping to the Find at Their Assessment Centre?
The Accenture assessment centre is designed to sift through applicants for their popular graduate schemes in a fast and efficient way. Make no mistake, candidates face a tough test and the competition is fierce.
As with most modern corporate assessment centres, it’s a pretty brutal process and each candidate’s mettle will be thoroughly tested on the big day.
There are several graduate schemes available and your Accenture assessment centre itinerary will differ depending on the scheme you have applied for.
What’s the Aim of the Accenture Assessment Centre?
The Accenture assessment centre is a process with one simple aim: To identify elite candidates to join their company.
They will use several types of assessment to identify which candidates have the required knowledge, skills, capabilities and understanding of their core values. (This last point is crucial.)
Accenture Assessment Centre – Core Values and Why This Matters
If you take only point from this guide it should be this:
- Demonstrating these values at your Accenture assessment centre is the most efficient way to elevate yourself above the other candidates.
Your behaviour in the group exercise, your presentation content and interview answers should all reflect these values.
Be specific! Don’t be bashful about pointing this out and drawing a clear line between yourself and these values. Connect everything you do with this list.
(It’s incredible how many candidates overlook this; Accenture have a published ‘checklist’ of what they’re looking for, but most people don’t USE this framework during their assessment event.)
- Lets reflect on that for a second… Accenture PUBLISH a list of what they want to see from applicants and most people don’t use that list as a framework for either their preparation or performance?
Be smart. Align yourself as closely as possible with the values they want to see from their employees.
Useful Resource
Accenture Core Values
The company is built on the following core values:
Stewardship
Accenture aspires to continually build a better company for the future. They believe in taking responsibility, developing their people, and aiding local communities to make improvements to the area.
- Action point: Prepare 2 examples of how you have demonstrated this value in your past behaviour/career. (Trust us, these examples will be gold-dust at your Accenture assessment centre.)
Client Value Creation
Accenture emphasises its commitment to offering their clients great value, at the same time as meeting their needs and requirements. Building long term relationships is their goal.
- Action point: Prepare 2 examples of how you have demonstrated this value in your past behaviour/career. How can you tie an example of what you’ve done to this? Be creative!
Integrity
Accenture believes in high ethical standards and has a strong ethical policy. You can read it here. They are looking for honesty and trustworthiness in their employees.
- Action point: Prepare 2 examples of how you have demonstrated this value in your past behaviour/career. Try and have a work-related and non-work example.
Best People
Accenture is always looking to find the best people and talent. They strive to further and develop all Employees and look for positivity and eagerness in potential candidates.
- Action point: Prepare an interview question around this. Something you will ask them. For example: “One of the things that attracted me to Accenture is the company’s ‘Best People’ core value. I believe I’m a high-potential individual, can you give me an overview of the opportunities that will be available to me after 12/18/24 months?”
You may feel a bit pushy asking this. Don’t. A question like this marks you out from other candidates.
(Phrase it in your own language if needs be, but place some expectation on them that they would be fortunate to get you and make it clear that it’s important to you that your employer invests in your development. This is an elite trait, so don’t be shy about demonstrating this.)
One Global Network
Accenture believes in giving the same great service worldwide, built upon good relationships and collaborations.
- Action point: Prepare 2 examples of how you’ve collaborated and built relationships to create successful outcomes.
Respect For The Individual
Accenture believes in diversity. They look to offer an inclusive workplace, where all contributions are valued in their uniqueness.
- Action point: Acknowledge this at your Accenture assessment centre. Don’t force the issue in a contrived way, but acknowledge it clearly and in a positive way. (Your presentation or interview are both good moments to allude to this.)
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Pro Tip
These core values are important. This is how you can make yourself look like an Accenture employee before you actually are.
Remember, much of the Accenture assessment centre will revolve around these values. Make sure that you have them memorised and more importantly, that you understand them and have at least 1 example of each one. (You will be asked for this during your interview.)
Let’s move on to the Accenture assessment centre exercises.
Accenture Assessment Centre Overview
The Accenture assessment centre is a half day of varied assessments at their London offices.
Here is what you can expect to face at the Accenture assessment centre.
- A presentation from management.
- A Q&A Session with current employees.
- Group exercise.
- A project planning exercise
- In-tray exercise.
- One-on-one interview.
Accenture Assessment Centre: Management Presentation
This part of the assessment won’t be taxing on you but don’t let your focus or attention wane.
First impressions always count, so make sure you look the part, listen and show yourself to be curious and interested. Take notes.
You can use our social etiquette tips to help you get in to the right frame of mind. Be the best professional version of yourself.
Useful Resource
Accenture Assessment Centre: Q&A
Again, this part of the Accenture assessment centre isn’t particularly stressful. Sure, you can sit back and remain quiet; but will that make you memorable? Will it make you stand out?
It is important to ask questions. Think ahead. Have some questions ready before you arrive and for extra points, base them around one of the company’s core values.
Don’t ask too many questions, balance is the key here. Don’t deny others the chance to speak.
Remember to also give your full attention when listening to the answer. Use your body language to show you are interested.
- Keep eye contact
- Sit up straight
- Smile
These three 3 things make you look alert and engaged (and are so easy to do).
The Golden Rule here is best summarised as: ‘Don’t be passive’. Take part in this section of the assessment centre.
Accenture Assessment Centre – Group Exercise
Expect to be split into small groups to work on a proposal for a client case study. You’ll be provided with a lot of information here and nobody will be set as a co-coordinator or ‘leader’.
You will be required to discuss your ideas as a group and come to a conclusion based on all the information you have digested.
You won’t have long to do this and it will be a timed exercise. The whole point of a group exercise is to see how you cope in a group environment.
- Will you sit back and let others take charge?
- Will you be assertive? Bossy? Pushy? Positive? Collaborative?
At the end of your discussion, the assessors may ask questions about your proposal. They may also request a short presentation as a summary.
Action point: Read our Ultimate Guide to Group Exercise Success to learn how to shine in this critical exercise.
Accenture Assessment Centre: Project Planning Exercise
This part of the assessment will follow directly after your group exercise.
Hopefully you are happy with the group exercise proposal you constructed, as it is now time to create a project plan for it.
You’ll be assessed on your analytical thinking skills and decision making. This can be a panicky moment for most candidates, so remember to stay calm and focus on the task in hand.
Read our guide on how to handle interview nerves if this is something you’re worried about.
Accenture Assessment Centre: In-Tray Exercise
The in-tray exercise is an assessment activity that’s widely used by employers to measure candidates’ suitability for a job.
It’s a business simulation where you play a member of staff who has to deal with the fictional workload of a typical day.
- Action point: Not all candidates will be required to carry out this assessment so clarify it beforehand. Our Ultimate Guide For In-Tray Success will teach you a simple framework you can follow for elite performance.
Accenture Assessment Centre: One-to-One Interview
For many people this is the most daunting part of the Accenture assessment centre. The final interview will be one on one and will be split into two sections.
Accenture give their own tips in this short video:
The first section will involve you discussing your project plan and proposal from the previous two assessments with the interviewer.
You’ll be given the chance to explain your decisions and cover any issues that arose during the process.
You will also have to consider other proposals and discuss their relevance/merits, against your own.
Our interview section is a treasure trove of tips and interview secrets. Devour it!
Useful Resources
Pro Tip
If you were unhappy with any of the previous assessments, take this opportunity to identify what the problems were and explain how you would do things differently.
This can be a powerful and influential moment. If you feel things haven’t gone your way up until this point, this is a golden opportunity to turn things around.
Accenture Assessment Centre Interview – Part 2
The second part of the interview is going to focus on your knowledge of the company.
Make sure that you have a strong understanding of their core values and use examples to demonstrate them at every turn.
You may also be asked to take part in a role-play. This can worry many candidates but if you’re prepared, you will feel so much better about it.
You can read our Roleplay Success Guide here.
You can learn a lot more about how to succeed in interviews in our popular interview guide.
Useful Resource
Check out this blog written by an Accenture employee. He offers up a list of top 10 tips that may be useful to look over.
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Sarah is an accomplished educator, researcher and author in the field of testing and assessment. She has worked with various educational institutions and organisations to develop innovative evaluation methods and enhance student learning. Sarah has published numerous articles and books on assessment and learning. Her passion for promoting equity and fairness in the education system fuels her commitment to sharing insights and best practices with educators and policymakers around the world.
