Why choose the Capgemini Graduate Programme?

Why did you apply to Capgemini?

I joined Capgemini because I liked the company's focus on the personal and professional development of its graduates. At Capgemini I feel pushed to succeed and encouraged to go that extra mile. I have the backing of my manager and the people around me. I feel I have the resources I need to learn and develop, and that it is now up to me to use them to get the best out of the programme.

What is your favourite aspect about Capgemini graduate scheme?

Capgemini invests heavily in graduates so not only are there plenty of opportunities in the company, when you join you feel part of a graduate community. Getting involved in this community is just as valuable an experience as your day-to-day job. You will be able to bond as a group through training sessions and other interventions. This provides you with plenty of opportunity to learn from each other and use other people's strengths to improve on your weaknesses.

I am currently lead of an Events and Activities graduate group which aims to create social, charitable and networking events run by graduates. This forms an interesting and worthwhile part of my work outside of my day job but inside the business environment. As part of this, in just 6 months the graduates have raised over £1500 for charity from the events we have run. The group gives me much needed practice in skills I might not normally be involved in such as managing a project and organising a team. This has helped me grow in confidence and I can bring these new-learned skills into my day job.

As we are all part of one graduate scheme that encompasses the whole of Capgemini UK, I am working with people from many different business areas. This means I can informally learn about other people's roles around the business, learn how the business works and expand my network.

The graduate community also brings a fantastic social element to your life.

What's in it for me?

There are plenty of training and development opportunities which are all about you reaching your potential. The interventions you will take part in touch upon all areas of your development so you are able to increase your skills and knowledge in a number of different areas. Amongst others, I have attended courses on improving my communication skills, a 3-day consulting skills course and a time-management session. As an example, I feel much happier and better prepared to present in front of a large group and have learnt tips and techniques to get my point across.

I have quarterly meetings to discuss my progress and where I can improve. This helps me identify the areas I need to work on. As a developer, I have also been given the opportunity to build upon my technical skills including an Oracle SQL and Unix system course.

What do I want to achieve in the next six months?

Over the next 6 months I will be looking to demonstrate the skills I have learnt from training sessions in my day-to-day role. By showing my improvement I hope to push for a promotion and increase the responsibility I have in the team. I will be using the continual feedback from my peers to identify areas where I can improve and pick out the training which is right for me. As part of my role in the graduate events group I will also be involved in organising social and charitable events for graduates.

A Placement Student's Perspective

Like many other university degrees, my course involves an industry placement between my second and final year at university. When applying for placement jobs, I was looking for a role that would provide me with a variety of experiences and one that would allow me to develop my business knowledge and skills.

After I secured my placement with Capgemini having successfully passed the assessment centre, I spent my first week at Capgemini’s Head Office in Woking where nine other placement students and I were involved in various team building activities, given informative talks from different business units and we had the opportunity to gain an insight into consultancy (not to mention discovering the meaning different acronyms – whether it be TIM or TOM, BIM or BOM, consultants always manage to abbreviate everything!). Moreover, one of the most important things that came out of the first week was the opportunity to start my very own network within the organisation.

My first project was a steep learning curve in regard to the consulting lifestyle as it involved working for a client in Scotland - flying to work IS as exciting as it sounds, although waking up at 4am on a Monday morning to catch the flight is somewhat less exciting but it’s something that you soon get used to! I joined the Change Team on the project and was soon given a high level of responsibility that was unexpected and was also able to engage with different business stakeholders to manage all training associated with a global SAP rollout.

On reflection, my first client role in Capgemini taught me a fantastic amount in the four months that I was there and will shape the way that I will develop my future career. Some of the key skills that I developed during my first project role include both the ability to engage with key stakeholders and the importance of collaboration in producing project deliverables. Two of the best aspects about being on different projects as a placement student is that you are treated the same as a graduate and you meet a lot of different people. I have already met some great consultants from whom I have learnt a lot and I look forward to working with more approachable and experienced consultants from different backgrounds for the rest of my placement.

Furthermore, another aspect of my placement that I was keen to explore was the opportunity to gain industry recognised qualifications. Capgemini give placement students the opportunity to complete two Chartered Institute of IT certified courses, one in Systems Development and the second in Business Analysis. These courses were really enjoyable and I gained a broad knowledge of both of these areas which I will continue to apply throughout my future career.

Lastly, everyone at Capgemini so far has been tremendously approachable, friendly and encouraging in providing guidance to areas of work that I am interested in exploring as a career with Capgemini. I am already looking forward to experiencing a ‘Raleigh’ Leadership Weekend where several Capgemini graduates and I have volunteered to help a local community through some hard physical graft, and I have high hopes for what the rest of my placement will entail.
 

My experience of applications

 A bit about me, I joined Capgemini this July after graduating the month before. I studied Maths at Warwick University - but like Gurpreet, I’m definitely not technical! I recently attended a careers fair for Capgemini which gave me the idea of writing a blog entry about the application process and application forms. I hope you find it useful.

When consultants don’t do consultancy

This Blog was written by Simon Hodge. Simon Hodge is a consultant on the CDC graduate scheme.

When you start a new job, obviously your first thoughts are going to be of...well...the job. The work is why we joined and why we were hired. What many people don’t realise before they join is the huge number of opportunities that come our way in the CDC that have absolutely nothing to do with the work we do.

Before you join, you won’t notice the optional extras very much – some reference on our CSR web page to Capgemini’s charity work, perhaps, or the odd question at a careers fair. Essentially, it’s not a priority. And then it’s your first day, and at induction you suddenly get told of about a million things (well, perhaps an exaggeration, but not far off) that CDCers have got up to because they joined Capgemini, but which have nothing to do with consultancy.

Over the Spring Bank Holiday, for example, I took part in the BUPA 10k run in London, along with 5 other current or former CDCers. I had never done a race like this before, and loved it so much I’m already looking for my next one to do. We ran in support of one of the charities Capgemini supports, Alzheimer’s Research UK. A team of 6 consultants, and yet not a process map in sight - just weeks of training, fitness tips and (obviously) immensely high quality banter.

Or there was the Myotubular Trust Walk, a 17 mile wander along the Thames that is always a hit with new joiners. It’s a great way of supporting a really important charity and getting to see some fantastic bits of London all at once. Or perhaps the Five Peaks Challenge, climbing the five largest mountains in the British Isles, that some other grads are due to undertake this summer; or dinner in the historic Banqueting House in London, where Charles I was executed at the end of the Civil War.

None of these things have much to do with consultancy, but they have all happened because we are consultants. The CDC provides a great career opportunity, and that is of course the main reason we are here, but it also opens doors to a wealth of other challenges and experiences that help make our time in the CDC about far more than just consultancy.