I am a Functional Consultant for Workforce Management Software at Accenture. I joined Accenture in 2022 from the John Lewis Partnership where I was previously the Capacity Planning Analyst for two of the UK’s beloved brands Waitrose a premium Supermarket Chain and John Lewis a premium Department Store Chain. I also have a musculoskeletal condition called Ankylosing Spondylitus, Dyslexia and Diabetes Type 2.
It has been a year since I joined Accenture after being approached by the team on LinkedIn. I have been working in Workforce Management since 2018 after being seconded to Head Office to be an advocate for shops and UAT (User Acceptance Test) some software we were planning to use for all frontline Partners.
I was at a crossroads as my home role was redundant and I wasn’t physically able to carry it out anymore and I wanted to grow my career in this amazing new area. I started looking to external companies to help me grow my capability. It’s been almost five years years since I left frontline retail and have never looked back.
After being reached out to on LinkedIn I was curious about what my career would look like and the opportunities that a company like Accenture could offer. A year on I am looking back as it being the best decision I ever made. I’ve been able to work on a variety of projects involving pioneering technology that makes a difference to employees and businesses and makes an impact working with a variety of different clients. I have also had the opportunity to mentor and be mentored by some incredible colleagues and leaders.
This year, I also officially aligned to start working on strategy i.e. when our clients want us to forge out what steps they should make to make their vision happen which is incredible. I get to think really deeply about what senior people that work for our clients should do which I could never imagine myself doing even just a couple of years ago.
It just took a bit of bravery to see what was out there rather than relying on what I thought I knew for me to grow!
What are the key employability skills to have?
Collaboration and Teamwork: Accenture and most consultancies operate in a collaborative environment, so the ability to work effectively in teams and foster positive working relationships is crucial. You should be able to collaborate with colleagues, clients, and other stakeholders to achieve common goals.
Adaptability and Flexibility: Consulting often involves working on multiple projects simultaneously and adapting to very different clients. Being adaptable, flexible, and open to change can really help with this.
Problem-Solving Abilities: As a consultant, you often are faced with complex business challenges and client requirements. Strong problem-solving skills, including the ability to analyse data, identify patterns, and generate innovative solutions, are critical.
Communication and Presentation Skills: Effective communication and storytelling skills are vital as you’ll be interacting with people with different levels of understanding and capability. You should be able to spell out your ideas clearly, listen, and present your findings and recommendations in a concise and persuasive manner. Good storytelling makes your narrative connect with whoever you are engaging winning hearts and minds which allows people to champion your thoughts and ideas.
What unique skills and strengths has your disability given you which have been an asset in the workplace?
Resilience: With Dyslexia in particular the way it impacts me is I must find ways to persevere through the Dyslexia and as such it makes me open to change and innovate on how I approach tasks and problems. It means I can quickly see a route to a solution faster than others as I will look at many ways to solve a problem.
Empathy: I generally get feedback that this is one of my strongest skills and there is research that people with Dyslexia can be empathetic and great at building relationships. Brilliant for consulting but also great for management roles or where you work as part of a team. I try to ensure anyone I work with is not forgotten even those in senior positions as they are often firefighting all the time.
Strategic Thinking: I do quite enjoy problem solving and part of my dyslexia means I look at the whole problem and can see impacts further down the line. It does run the risk of being too high level and how I get around this is connecting directly with the client and team members to keep a view of relevant close up detail that I need to be aware off.
What advice would you give to disabled students applying for graduate positions or going through the recruitment process?
There is still work to do in terms of awareness and discrimination, but I would acknowledge that things have come a long way in the last 16 or so years. What I would remind you of when you are thinking about the roles you are applying for is focus on all the things that are unique to you and that can add value including the strengths you have from your disability. No one knows you like you and your capability.
I have multiple categories of disability but in my 20’s I would feel incredibly defensive being asked about it due to social attitudes at the time and when you apply for medical/student support it tends to focus on your inability to carry out tasks and work as would be normally expected.
As I have gotten older I am much more comfortable talking about it.
For me what I wished I would have known back then would be:
Knowing what support you can get from interview stage and throughout my career.
How to highlight my strengths rather than just my weaknesses,
Only disclosing when I felt comfortable i.e. taking control rather than hiding it like a secret I wouldn’t want someone to find out.
Connect with employers who share common values
I do acknowledge the fact that socio economic backgrounds do play a part in what you would be willing to accept both in salary and some of the points above.