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Recruitment fairs

We’re in a grand old hall, packed out with firms. I’m here, as a member of the CDC, to give a perspective on life in Capgemini’s management consulting graduate scheme. I find Capgemini’s area and being the first there try my creative hand with our stand. There’s a good atmosphere around and people seem excited about the day. Not long since I was here as a student, I think about my time in the company so far and what grand wisdom I can impart…

Since March I’ve built up a much clearer picture of our clients and the different kinds of work we do in management consulting. This has come through a variety of client and internal work, presentations and training, as well as catching up with colleagues in the office more informally – people are very approachable. I’m also with colleagues from our technology and outsourcing areas of the business who can talk about their experiences in their respective graduate schemes.

The fair opens and it gets busy really quickly.  Lots of people are venturing towards our stand, clearly drawn in by the attractive display – which I notice our recruitment manager has totally changed round.

Some people know a little, curious about what consulting is – as a profession it is often not as well understood as, say law and accountancy. I talk about how we with work with clients on a wide range of business problems from understanding their market and what products to make, to how to make them efficiently, and how sell them, along with functions that support the business like HR. 

Others know more and are interested in how Capgemini stands out, plus whether we do more than IT…  On the former I talk, for instance, about the Accelerated Solutions Environment (ASE), on the later – we’re often known as a technology consulting business though there’s a lot more to us than that (see Matthew Ford’s blog entry). Our CDC manager, Deborah Hough, is also at the fair and is able to give a perspective of someone with lots of experience in consulting.

I talk to a lot of different people over the day and it’s interesting to see the variety in backgrounds and why they’re interested in consulting.  From history and biochemical engineering students, literature and languages to economics and business, through undergraduate level, masters to PhD. There’s a surgeon interested in our health sector team, a theatre director wanting a change in direction, plus MBA students who’ve done a huge range of things.  This kind of variety is reflected within Capgemini – on my current project I’m working with some whose previous field was computer modelling of the brain!

The fair comes a close and time’s flown by. It’s been a good day, though I do note with anguish the unused tea and cake vouchers – clearly plenty still to learn – and I head to a café before jumping on the train back to London. 

Nick Seeley is an Associate Consultant who joined Capgemini in March 2009.