Graduate Blog

Why choose the Capgemini Graduate Programme?

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:32:00 +0100

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

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:27:00 +0100

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.

Eight Months in - My Experiences so Far

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:08:00 +0100

It’s now been nearly 8 months to the day that I joined Capgemini last July and over a year since I accepted the job, which seems like a long time ago. This has been my first ‘proper’ job since graduating from university and it’s been quite an experience so far. From making new friends and having the relaxed induction week, to becoming accustomed to work life to then looking ahead and thinking about what career I want to pursue – it’s been a busy 8 months. Hopefully I will be able to convey my experiences so far.

It was way back in February 2011 when I had accepted my offer to join Capgemini shortly after the assessment centre. So why did I accept Capgemini? To be truthful, they were the first company that had given me an offer and with much university work coming up, I accepted it! But there was a real reason for joining Capgemini. From the assessment centre, I was left impressed with the more personal attitude that was shown compared to other companies and what the company could offer me. To sum it up, I think what Capgemini can offer you is a career, not a job. There is a massive difference between the two which I didn’t appreciate until recently.

I’ve been on two different projects so far in Capgemini. My first one was a testing role on a data warehouse (Wikipedia link) upgrade project. There were two halves to the role – the first half was unsurprisingly testing what the development team had delivered and making sure the upgrade gave the same results as before, and the second half was making preparations for the testing!

Looking back, the role was a nice introduction to the world of work and let me find my feet in the company. There was a defined set of processes to follow which meant the role was slightly limited, but I learnt how a project operated and from the role I could see a few different areas of Capgemini and the work they did. This helped me decide what type of career I wanted to follow.

I moved off this role in November having spent 4 months on it and straight into a new role! I wasn’t told much about the role apart from I would be a Planning Analyst on a Windows 7 rollout – so I had no idea what to expect. Four months on, I hope I can give a pretty good account of what I do! The project is rolling out Windows 7 to brand new machines for everyone and a new email system to a global client with over 250 offices in 170 countries. My team is planning this and will be coordinating it when we start the main rollout.

The team isn’t that defined in the sense that we don’t have specific individual roles and responsibilities, but my involvement is helping think up processes, plan how we are actually going to do this and writing documents to explain this. This rollout (probably like most) has so many different components to it that making sure they all fit together is quite a challenge. Being at a junior level, you often get involved in other activities on the project to provide some additional help. To name a few of the other activies; I’ve helped my Project Manager with the project financials ending up in creating a spreadsheet with macros to automate and reduce the work involved, I’ve taken minutes at meetings with the CIO of the client exposing me to senior level of the project and I’ve done some data manipulation in Excel which will feed into our planning software.

This last point started out as a small ½ day piece of work, but then grew more complex and critical to the project. I’ve taken ownership of this piece of work which has ended up in talks with the client and developing a database which will be used for the rest of the project and be a critical component of the planning and coordination of the rollout.

My role so far has been really varied and quite frantic at times, but has been enjoyable and I’ve learnt an incredible amount. Comparing my current role to my previous one, they are very different and you probably think from reading this that I didn’t gain much in my first role. I’d definitely disagree with this for many reasons, the main one being that it gave me the opportunity to find out what I wanted which is pretty fundamental in deciding where you want to take your career!

Looking ahead, I’m excited for the future. I want to find myself a new role in the next few months to learn different things and gain more experience which will hopefully help me work towards the career I want to pursue.

Making work-life balance work for you

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:49:00 +0100

Imagine the following scenario: It is Friday afternoon and you’re looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend, perhaps counting down the time until you can pack up and head home. But then your manager approaches you with bad news: the project is behind schedule and there is a risk of things going horribly wrong. You are personally needed to work over the weekend to try and help bring the project back on track, and you won’t be able to take a day off next week in lieu. What would your immediate reaction to this news be? Disappointment perhaps, or a sense of unfairness that your weekend is being taken away from you?

Before I continue with this anecdote I should point out that this is by no means a common occurrence here at Capgemini. Nonetheless, this is the scenario I found myself in last week on my current project. My initial reaction, inwardly, was of course disappointment that I wouldn’t get to go back home that weekend, or even a day off to relax. It was even tempting to make an excuse as to why I wouldn’t be able to come in, particularly since I did genuinely have plans. But a sense of pride can be a powerful motivator. It was clear that the team were relying on my knowledge and skills to drive the project forward over Saturday and Sunday. It also demonstrated the confidence and trust my project manager has in my ability to work without supervision.

In my previous blog post, I mentioned the importance of versatility and adapting yourself when the situation requires it. This versatility does not pertain exclusively to expanding your skill-set and knowledge, but also to when you work and, on occasion, your work-life balance. Capgemini strongly encourages a healthy balance, and will always address imbalances when they occur. Maintaining a healthy balance is essential to your happiness and performance, and a burned-out employee is not something anyone wants to see.
Despite this, on high-profile projects you will sometimes find yourself in the situation where more is asked of you.

Rather than grin and bear it, it pays handsomely instead to see it as an opportunity to really show what you can do. Work in the evenings and weekends can be much more close-knit and quiet, compared to the hustle and bustle of regular working hours, and individual effort is considerably easier to recognise. It will also help to raise your profile, and possibly lead to a greater variety of work that will stretch you a little more – though it’s definitely worth remembering to keep things in moderation. You still need your down-time!

The kind of career you may choose to pursue at Capgemini can be a demanding one, with more than its fair share of travel and occasionally long hours. However it is also a meritocracy where those who are willing to stick their neck out and get their hands dirty will find their endeavours rewarded, and their achievements acknowledged in full. Should you be considering a career at Capgemini, or consulting in general, you will almost certainly find yourself in my situation on many occasions during the (hopefully) long course of your career. Just remember that what can seem like a burden can always be turned into an opportunity for those who can afford to be flexible enough to seize it. The lucky few who always seem to get the best opportunities probably earned them during one long weekend, in what they thought was a thankless task. Not always the case!

CDC Chapters

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:35:00 +0100

This blog entry was written by Simon Hodge. Simon is a current member of the CDC graduate scheme.

One of the ways that Capgemini Consulting supports its new graduate trainees is through a pastoral network called a chapter. Everybody is allocated to a chapter when they join the company, and stay in it throughout their time in the CDC.

Each chapter is a small network of about a dozen people. The chapters have a manager, who is a mid level consultant in the company, and a leader who is more senior member of the CDC. The chapter manager and leaders provide an informal source of guidance and advice for any member who wants it. It’s a great setup which helps to give the CDCers the support they need without having to resort to more formal channels. Early in my own career at Capgemini, for example, I was put onto a role that my family leader had occupied a few months previously. This not only meant that I already knew somebody who could help to get me up to speed on the role, but also that if any issues occurred, I had somebody I could go to for advice before talking to, say, my project manager.

The chapters host regular socials. This can be anything from drinks on a Friday evening, through to slightly more unusual stuff like an evening at a dog track or a trip on a power boat on the Thames. The socials are great, and are a lot of fun, but, again, they serve a useful purpose, really helping to embed new joiners in the scheme and make sure they settle into the company quickly.

The chapters also run our quarterly meetings. The CDC gets together every three months to review business over the quarter, hear from senior people within the company about a given client, capability or sector, and celebrate the successes of individual CDCers . The chapters take it in turns to run these events – doing the organisation, finding senior speakers and, of course, planning the party afterwards. It adds a little more formal purpose to the chapters, and helps to ensure that all of us get the opportunity to have input into the CDC meetings, which are the CDC’s biggest, most high profile showcases.

Chapters are a fun, entertaining, and incredibly useful part of life in the CDC. They help to get you involved and comfortable, so that you feel at home in the CDC from as early as possible.

The joys of networking

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:39:00 +0100

When I was carrying out the extensive graduate job search during my final year of university at the beginning of 2011, I was looking for three things: the opportunity for change, the chance to be creative, and most importantly, a challenge...

After just five months into the Capgemini Business Technology Consulting graduate programme, I am certain that I have made the right choice in choosing Capgemini. There is the aspect of change with regards to the number of roles and projects available, there is the chance to be creative by exploring ways to improve business processes and you are constantly able to challenge yourself to reach your best potential by gaining valuable experience expanding your skill set. These, combined with the presence of a large graduate community, mean that there is never a dull day!

Although I have not been at the company for long, I’ve been able to take part in a number of events in addition to my current role. Importantly learning and development not only occurs on your current project at Capgemini but I have also found that volunteering for extra events as part of the graduate scheme is where you learn more, expand your network and are able to tell others what you’ve learnt elsewhere. It really is up to you how often you grab opportunities to gain knowledge, make contacts, give back to others and drive your career.

Let me tell you about two events with students: an open day at City University, and an evening with members of the British Computer Society (BCS) at our Holborn office. At City University, a colleague and I spoke to students who were looking to start courses, whereas with the BCS I was talking to small groups of students who were in their final year and looking for companies to apply to. I hope that by being able to give them an insight into my own positive university experience, application process and enjoyable working life so far with Capgemini, they can make informed decisions and realise the benefits of working in the fast-paced world of IT.

Perhaps the most rewarding event to date was a Raleigh International charity weekend in Milton Keynes which we were given the option to volunteer for. For more than six years, the Capgemini Business Technology Consulting graduate programme has partnered with Raleigh International to rejuvenate numerous community spaces around the UK. Not only was it a fantastic networking opportunity for graduates and a chance to improve leadership skills, but we were also able to give back to the community and make a real difference. The project work included painting and decorating an office, the makeover of an art room and even the construction of an outside pizza oven.

This is just a brief overview of some of the events which I have been fortunate enough to take part in during my time so far with Capgemini. You are in control of your career and it’s up to you to identify the training, events, roles and people that will help you to achieve what you want. This year I look forward to further pushing my capabilities and developing skills to apply to the future.

Happy New Year, wishing you all a great 2012!

Raleigh International weekend in Milton Keynes

The Consulting Lifestyle

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:55:00 +0100

This blog was written by Mike Troeller. Mike is a current member of the CDC graduate scheme.

One of the reasons why I initially applied to Capgemini was the varied nature of project work and notably, the opportunity to experience this in a range of different locations. The consulting lifestyle can involve being resourced onto a project at the other end of the country or even abroad for months at a time. I’m currently based up in Edinburgh and have quickly mastered the art of living out of a suitcase. Here are my top tips:

1. Invest in a durable, lightweight small suitcase – Not only will your back thank you for not lugging a holdall around but most projects require you to stay in a hotel for 3 nights each week (Mon-Thurs), meaning that a small suitcase is sufficient if you pack wisely. To save time and not have to check your case in ensure that it corresponds to airline size restrictions. This is generally 56x45x25 (cm) but research the airline beforehand as some allow you to take a laptop bag too.

2. Have a ‘miniatures’ toiletries kit – Keep a designated bag aside from your home supplies with a toothbrush, toothpaste etc. Try to make sure that everything is ‘mini’, so under 100ml so it complies with hand luggage requirements. This will prevent having to rethink and repack every week.

3. Don’t pack, just relax (on a Sunday) – Weekends should be time for you so pack on a Thursday night when you return home. This way you avoid any late night Sunday panic. I’ve always found it useful to have a ‘packing checklist’ so that I don’t forget anything. This will become second nature after a few weeks but it is a good way to start.

4. Map out your journey – It is obviously important to focus on packing, luggage and flights but making plans for after arrival requires equal consideration and planning. Research reputable taxi firms and book in advance to prevent long delays or hefty fares.

5. Take a good book / Ipod – Waiting in hotel lounges or being on long train journeys can feel arduous but time passes much quicker with some cheesy music or an edition of Harry Potter. Take whatever interests you with you when you travel.

6. Don’t ruin your feet – Clients don’t see you on your 0700 flight so sacrifice fashion in the name of comfort. You’ll have plenty of time to change and smarten up before arriving on site.

7. Make your loyalty count – Staying in the same hotel for weeks at a time or flying withthe same airline regularly means that you should research into their loyalty scheme. Chain hotels and airlines generally have loyalty cards that reward clients with points accumulated over time. I’ve known colleagues to have weekends away in Paris (flights/accommodation) entirely funded by their hard earned points!

8. Indulge in hotel facilities – Research what the hotel has to offer in advance of your stay. Some have high tech gyms and spas to take your mind off a day’s hard work.

9. Eat well! – Another perk of not being at home is not having to worry about cooking! Enjoy the hotel cuisine or local delicacies.

10. Manage your time – Working away is a great opportunity to experience another location, language or culture as well as getting to know your colleagues. However, having time to reflect and relax is equally important and highly valued to balance socialising with down time.

The tips above will hopefully help you to really appreciate the many perks of working away and prepare you for life as a Consultant!

The Power of Reinvention

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:27:00 +0100

Capgemini is a company which can present practically unlimited opportunities for self-motivated individuals, even those with little to no idea as to where it is they want to go. There are a lot of good articles on this blog from my predecessors that offer advice on how to exploit this by and large bottomless well of opportunity. As such, I was initially stumped on what insight I could provide for prospective Capgemini graduates. On reflection I think the one, single most important quality that I've gleaned from my short career so far with Capgemini: the power to reinvent yourself.

By reinvention I mean the ability to continually redefine your skill-set and expertise during the course of your career. Despite being a technology-orientated company, Capgemini takes on graduates from a wide range of educational and professional backgrounds, and my particular intake year had technology, business, law, economics and language graduates. It's worth mentioning this, because it's clear that Capgemini is not looking for pre-existing knowledge and skills, but malleable and inquisitive minds.

Take myself as an example: I graduated in 2008 with a degree in French and Latin, and between then and my first day at Capgemini I had a fairly eclectic work experience spanning legal admin, running a small independent high-street store, recruitment consultancy and headhunting, and a stint in the Royal Marines Commandos as a soldier. Each experience, particularly the Royal Marines, required a very different approach and way of thinking, and I was required to develop new skills, both soft and hard, in order to adapt. I consider this to be a deciding factor in my successfully passing through the Capgemini graduate assessment centre. As previous blogs have pointed out, you need to be intelligent and capable of articulating and formulating arguments in a group and solo setting. But more than that, Capgemini is looking for people that can transform themselves; drawing attention to your ability to adapt and take on new ideas during the interview and assessment stage certainly wouldn't hurt your chances.

So having set out my stall, I shall proceed to delve in a little deeper. For example, how does one go about effectively demonstrating their flexibility during the interview and assessment centre? A good starting point would be to consider past situations where you have had to develop new skills of your own volition, perhaps through voluntary work. Part of my work running a high-street store involved developing the online part of the business, which I had volunteered to do rather than pay for someone else to do it. Despite not having written a line of HTML since I was 13, I built up my knowledge almost from scratch and before long I had a working website. I continued to embellish and expand the site over the course of a few months, widening my repertoire of technical skills in the process. I had not just demonstrated an interest in technology (always a good idea when applying to Capgemini), but I had gone from salesman to web developer in the course of a few weeks. Have a think about similar situations where you have had to plunge into the unknown and learn something totally new, and if you can't think of anything then now would be a good time to get started!

Reinventing yourself isn't just a question of intelligence and motivation however; it is also about being fearless of plunging into the unknown and being open-minded. Plenty of highly intelligent and motivated people find a niche that they are comfortable with, and they become extremely good at what they do. Certainly, there is strong demand for skilled Java programmers, test automation experts and the like. But fast-tracking into one particular career path isn't what the Capgemini graduate scheme is about. This is really your chance to experiment and explore options that perhaps you hadn't even considered. You will not always be handed the most glamorous-sounding roles, or even ones that are in your area of interest, but it pays to embrace them and, wherever possible, find opportunities to develop new skills.

My first project was entirely non-technical and I was admittedly sceptical at first as to how this would help me develop in the direction I wanted to, but I took on some extra duties and began some new initiatives of my own and now I have a good grasp of Visual Basic (VB) and my Excel skills have dramatically improved. I then took these skills into my current testing role and used my newfound knowledge of VB to set up some test automation scripts, greatly enhancing my productivity. None of this was in my job description, but it nonetheless proved extremely useful. Never be afraid to take on additional duties beyond the scope of your role: it is the best way to maximise your learning and development.

My advice for all prospective Capgemini grads - whether you're currently writing your application, preparing for an assessment centre next week, or set to start your first day next month - is to just keep two things in mind: flexibility and open-mindedness. You have huge amounts of potential, and half the excitement is in not knowing where you will end up or how you will get there. Perhaps you could become a leading enterprise architect, helping steer a high-profile client through a complex technology transformation, or perhaps you could be in e-commerce, developing the back-end portion of a website that will be used by millions of customers a week. Ultimately, your path is bound to take a few unexpected turns. Whether these turns prove to be beneficial or a hindrance depends on what you make of them.

My experience of applications

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:41:00 +0100

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.

Once you’ve carried back multiple bags filled with freebies from your careers fair that you don’t really need, you may now actually want to apply to some of these companies! The application process for many companies is a long, drawn out affair that requires you to jump through many hoops along the way. They’re pretty much all the same consisting of an application form, 1st round interview (normally over the phone) and assessment centre and ours is much the same.

So let’s start at the beginning: The application form I think this is the hardest, and probably most important, part of the whole application process. Hardest, because a recruiter is judging you only on what you’ve written, so you’re application has to be excellent. Most important because this is where the majority of people fail; once you get past this stage, you will have more of an opportunity to show what you can offer.

The best way to complete an application is to try and put yourself in the recruiter’s position and imagine what they want to see. Recruiters can trawl through hundreds of applications in a day so you have to make sure your one stands out. There will be some key questions that will make or break your application – these might be: Why consulting? Why Capgemini? Tell us a time where you showed leadership etc. It’s in response to these questions that you have to advertise yourself, show that you know about the company and why you want to work there. Advertising yourself pretty much means showing you have the competencies that the company wants. FYI some of the competencies that Capgemini looks for include: communication, innovation and collaboration.

Showing that you know the company and why you want to work there is your opportunity to show that you have done your research, and by research, I don’t just mean looking on the grad website and regurgitating what’s already there! Why you want to work there should be honest reasons - don’t write some cliché reason that could apply to anyone. Remember you want to stand out!

When I was filling out application forms, I know I found it challenging and incredibly time consuming when I had university work to do and lectures to attend. Having said that, I would definitely give as much time as possible to make sure they are as good as they can be and also to make sure you are applying for the right reasons.

So good luck guys with your applications. I’m sure if you invest the time you will get rewarded!

Leaving our mark on the CDC

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:27:00 +0100

This blog was written by Chris Southgate. Chris is a current member of the CDC graduate scheme.

The CDC is a first class learning environment for a number of reasons, not only because of the formal training curriculum, including the fantastic consulting skills workshop in Les Fontaines, but also because of the opportunities provided to develop as a consultant by participating and managing internal streams of work.

The CDC maintains a variety of work streams to support and compliment the CDC itself in Recruitment, Events, Learning & Development and others such as External events (charity fundraising and support), and through these, CDCers themselves have the opportunity to develop core consulting skills in safe environments supported by senior colleagues. While only a commitment of 4 hours per week, these workstreams can become a source of great satisfaction, achievement and often fun.

Admittedly, delivering large events or projects for the CDC (or the business or wider community) can be frustrating in their development, but the exposure to senior management and the sense of pride and achievement at delivering the elements that make the CDC such an engaging place to work make them really worthwhile activities. The opportunities to lead these streams teach you a huge amount on project/programme delivery, stakeholder management, effective communications as well as time management as you deliver in line with your client projects, and the internal networking opportunities become hugely important further down the line too.

The ability to really stamp our own mark on the CDC stepped up a gear recently with a review of the internal work streams; coordinated by CDC management and driven by ourselves, we have crafted the recommendations for change, and currently lead the change process. Such is the respect for and trust in the incumbent stream lead positions that a small group of CDCers in particular are playing lead roles in what the CDC looks like going forwards. For example, a small group of CDCers are guiding the change process to embed the new activities/processes, some are deeply involved in shaping our recruitment activities on and off campus to increase our brand awareness, and I am involved with shaping large parts of the training curriculum and calendar to update the material and make further self directed learning more accessible – all with a sizable impact on the programme!

Immediately after joining, the CDC had shown me how strong the community is but 12 months in, it is clear that the strong community feel is really driven by our roles in owning, shaping and maintaining it. I’m pretty happy with the changes I’ve been involved in, but I know over time they’ll be iterated for the better, allowing us all to leave our mark on the CDC.

Making the right choice

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:20:00 +0100

It’s that time of year again. The days get shorter, the wind blows colder and IT and consulting companies, armed with freebies and enthusiastic young employees, embark on their tour of university fairs. Capgemini is ready, are you?

As a student, visiting your graduate fair is the first positive step you can take to securing the job you know you’ve wanted. Or like me, it’s the chance to discover a potential career in technology consulting, which you might not have thought was possible. I find myself now, writing this, three months into the Business Technology Consulting graduate programme (BTC) at Capgemini. I am confident I made the right choice.

Before you consider what is right for you, take a moment to think about any preconceptions you have. Now forget them. You may think "…but I need a technical degree" – no, is the simple answer. I come from a non-technical background, which equips you with an invaluable set of soft skills, something a consultant requires on a daily basis. If you like to have the latest smart phone, buy your clothes online and then tweet, or update your status about it, ask yourself "…do I have a passion for technology?" If you answered yes, approach the Capgemini stand at the Fair.

First impressions count. Showing a genuine interest in what a company does means you’re prepared. Capgemini recognises this and a graduate’s hard work and commitment from the outset. In return they make sure you gain as much as possible from your time on the BTC programme.

So you’ve got the passion, the degree and the company’s latest deals scribbled on your fair brochure but Capgemini is there to tell you what they can do for you. Capgemini offers you a career working in one of the most thriving and ever changing industries in the world. In a time where technology is rapidly evolving most notably through cloud computing, you can be working with businesses through their technological transformation. Capgemini prides itself on being unique from other companies, and it’s true. From day one, I am in control of my own career, from pursuing one of the numerous roles available or deciding on a business unit I want to move into; you, with the guidance and help of the programme, decide what fits best. There is no formal six month rotation policy; from the beginning you are different from every other graduate, and that is definitely a good thing. Time spent on a project will never be the same as the next. Along the way you’ll find a wealth of training at your fingertips (literally, through the e-learning portal online!).

As the graduate fair draws to a close, ask yourself whether Capgemini is where you see your fledgling career in business technology consulting beginning. If it is, I assure you you won’t regret it. In a difficult job market, the best thing one can do is be positive – about the choice you’ve made and the company you’ve chosen.

Life at Capgemini - Chapter III

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:28:00 +0100

Good morning, good afternoon or good evening! I can’t honestly say I know what time of the day I am posting this and you are reading it. At the moment, I am stuck in a time frame of adding on two hours from the UK, deducting one hour from Denmark to landing in Lithuania which is again another one hour ahead!

The last time I blogged I had then moved to a new project based in Slough working with a client to implement and integrate a SAP based system across two different sites, one in Austria and one in Lithuania. Six months on and I am still here! J I say that with a smile on my face as I have thoroughly enjoyed the last six months of travelling abroad to different countries, meeting new people, absorbing different cultures, seeing some remarkable sights in Lithuania and most importantly, conquering the challenge of completing a very important piece of work.

Six months in and we are now coming to the testing and analysis stage of our project. The system we have designed has gone into pre-production testing as we are only eight weeks away from our launch date. On this day the system will be available to all. The project has been very challenging: I have travelled frequently to Lithuania, working closely with various clients. It is a crucial stage of the project as it will now spread from testing to migration to final evaluation before go-live in production at which point we will begin the re-evaluation and feedback phase of the project. The final stages of a project are the most rewarding yet nerve-wracking too as months of preparation and work come to a head!

But work hasn’t totally taken over my life! I have also been made lead for the BTC for our Learning & Development Affinity Group. The affinity groups at Capgemini deal with different areas of life at work which affect the BTC,eg marketing, events and activities, recruitment and selection – there is a group for each run by a graduate. The aim is to deal with any issues and find ways of helping the BTC to perform better and enjoy their time at Capgemini.

So, as part of the Learning & Development Affinity Group we shall be looking at ways to assist fellow graduates on how we can improve their learning experience at Capgemini. This involves improving the training classes available, the types of training classes available, and organising solution centre road shows to help graduates find future opportunities.

Okay - so you could argue that is still work! But it is a very different aspect of work as you are helping friends and colleagues. I’ve added a few pictures I've taken recently whilst enjoying the lovely summer at Palanga Beach, just to make you jealous ;) I think it’s safe to say life at Capgemini is… good. Very good right now J

Picture 1: Lovely sunny beach, Palanga.

Picture 2: A stunning picture of the glistening sun shining off a patch of water on Palanga Beach.

Picture 3: An Absolutely magnificent picture taken using the aid of the HDR on the iPhone4 - Stunning picture of Sunset at Palanga Beach. My favourite pic :)

Picture 4: A closing picture of a beautiful sunset fading into the night sea.

All pictures were taken by me - so i hope you're impressed!! :D

Hope to bump into you in the near future ;)

Viso Gero (Lithuanian for ‘bye-bye’!)

From 6 months to 1 year at Capgemini ? Part 3: Roles

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:06:00 +0100

Ok so back to the nitty-gritty of actual work! So last time I left off at a large public sector organisation with a new role in the pipeline! This new role took a bit of time to come to light … four months to be exact …”this doesn’t sound good!” … Yes and No is the truthful answer! On the one hand the ideal amount of time for a BTC project is around the six-month mark, so being on a role for nine months doesn’t sound ideal! On the other hand, on a particularly challenging project with challenging deadlines it is difficult to simply move from one project to another, without being disruptive to the whole team.

Coming back to the point of being flexible and open minded as consultants, it’s all about taking it in your stride and making the best of a potentially unwanted situation. OK, I was still on the same project but some of the work I did, like working on integration for a very complex system, as well as having the opportunity to facilitate a User Acceptance Testing sign off session gave me exposure to clients and 3^rd parties as well as a real appreciation for project delivery. Although this isn’t exactly the field of work I want to go into, in the long term the experience I gained was invaluable, as at the end of the day the system Capgemini and the client drafted at the requirements stage needs to be reflected in the actual product delivered. On top of this I was able to pick up some additional work in assisting the development of an archiving strategy as part of the Business Information Management business unit. This has helped me immensely in terms of networking as this is a direction I am potentially looking to ‘transition’.

This additional time on the project also give me the opportunity to scout around for a new role given my new end date. After a few drinks and watching some American Football with some friends from work I managed to secure a role at a major high-end fashion label, to develop their website with a number of interactive and innovative features. I haven’t been in the role long (two weeks to be exact), but I can honestly say I love it, emphasising that ‘good things come to consultants who are flexible’! Initially I am assisting testing some great new customisable product applications and some integration between new mobile applications and social media platforms. This role has already promised to be a short one however with my host of contacts made from facilitating the induction week, and the new ones I have met on the project I already know of a number of new openings for the same client more within my interests, in the near future with my name already firmly stamped upon them!

All in all you can probably tell it’s been an exciting time, with probably a lot more opportunities available than you might think from a company like Capgemini. As I previously mentioned this style of working might not appeal to some people, but for others quite the opposite! Despite the hard times there have always been positives to take away which can be turned into a positive in the grand scale of things regarding your personal development! Not only this, it is still very much apparent the best aspect of working for Capgemini is the people. When work gets difficult or for example if like me I had to stay on a project longer than expected which was tough, there is always your support network of friends and management to help you get the most from an unwanted situation, and see the positives from what you are adding to Capgemini as a whole.

Looking forward to the next six months, number one on my radar is the upcoming promotion nomination rounds. I will be looking to settle fully into the new project I have recently started before securing myself a new role whilst looking at the software lifecycle from a new angle. From a community point of view I will be going back to my old university in Birmingham to run a number of consulting skills sessions come December and finally I will be starting to look seriously at all of the transition opportunities available to me, some of which I have already made progress with. ‘Transitioning’ in simple terms is the logical next step in your career following the BTC where you start to understand what you enjoy and start to carve out a specialism within the one of the various Capgemini business units! So lots of exciting things to look forward to, and to tell you about in the near future!

Blog by Gareth Woodward

Steaming ahead with Stream work

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:47:00 +0100

This blog was written by Felicity Bainbridge. Felicity is a current member of the CDC graduate scheme.

One of the reasons why a career with Capgemini Consulting was initially so appealing was because of the emphasis that it places on people. This is an integral part of the company and is visible in client work, throughout the larger business and to a greater extent – within the CDC.

To develop business leadership, core consulting and people skills every CDCer is a member of a particular ‘stream’. Stream ‘work’ is in addition to client work and we set aside 4 hours a week to focus on our individual deliverable (task). Each stream has a stream ‘lead’ (another CDCer) who oversees the work of the stream and reports back to the stream client - a Consultant who helps to scope deliverables and monitors the progress of the stream. We rotate every 3 months so you will have the opportunity to experience most of the streams as well as applying to lead one! So, a brief introduction to the 8 different streams:

Events: What it says on the tin – the Events stream organise and coordinate all the events in the CDC calendar. This is from our monthly FNFS (Friday night of fun socials) to the quarterly CDC Meeting where we all get together for an afternoon of trade shows and discussions.

Recruitment: Deliverables include designing and testing the assessment centre group exercise, creating a graduate marketing questionnaire and organising buddies for the new intakes.

Internal Marketing: Write and send out the CDC Times (newsletter), manage the CDC Awards by collating and delivering a nominations pack, developing the CDCs relationship with the sectors, marketing the new CDC joiners to the rest of the business and finally, organising a rota for writing this blog!

Framework: Maintain the structure of the CDC by facilitating stream lead calls, creating milestone plans and writing the weekly CDC Bulletin. They also update the CDC calendar, manage the stream rotation process and deliver the CDC Census results – an anonymous questionnaire covering all aspects of the CDC which is presented at CDC Meetings.

Learning and Development: Monitor CDC ‘learning’ by organising ‘MySkills’ sessions (presentations delivered by CDCers on topics such as Excel and project roles to upskill others) and ensuring that the CDC follows their required training schedule by attending all mandatory courses.

External: The charity stream! This is wholly committed to running initiatives to support the Myotubular Trust and the Voluntary Police Cadets as well as raising as much money as possible for our charity of the year, Alzheimer’s Research UK. Deliverables this rotation have included coordinating and facilitating the fortnightly Charity of the Year call, running a CCUK eBay project and organising a weekend ASE (Accelerated Solutions Environment).

CCUK: Support the wider Consulting business by updating Silhouette profiles for members of the VPP (internal CVS for the Vice President and Principal Community), conduct external research on internal communication methods and analyse these results to provide recommendations.
Business: Concerned with supporting propositions and capability development across CCUK. This involves looking into the use of innovative tools to capture client assessments and researching how leaders in the digital space use them. The next phase is testing the tools and preparing them for client engagements.

It is important to remember that specific deliverables and required outputs vary for each stream from rotation to rotation. They very much depend on new ideas, different approaches and collaborative group work. Stream work is a great opportunity to cement the tools and training that we’ve been taught in a relatively ‘safe’ environment (not under the watchful eye of clients) and to enhance the community spirit that really does make the CDC a fantastic place to be and an excellent place to start your career!

From 6 months to 1 year at Capgemini ? Part 2: Community

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:30:00 +0100

In my previous blog, I mentioned that new opportunities arose in not being able to attend the Collaborating With Clientscourse in Les Fontaines and I wasn’t lying with that one.

The first opportunity was with Raleigh … Having previously been involved on a Raleigh project, this time I had the opportunity to organise the entire event with one of my peers alongside the team at Raleigh. This was yet another opportunity to test my leadership and organisation skills and let me tell you now, organising and arranging 20 graduate colleagues who are spread around the country, on various projects, and have various work commitments to be in one place at one time is no easy feat! Despite the difficulty the results we achieved at the WHA Westbury Grange care home were exceptional, and of course a chance to have a sociable drink with the group made the weekend an absolutely incredible experience once again!

A short time ‘on the bench’ opened up the opportunity for me to help organise and facilitate the new BTC intake induction week. I remembered the fun and laughs had on my own induction week so signed up straight away. Seeing the week both from an organisation and facilitation point of view wasn’t quite what I expected … Where all the activities and talks with senior personnel at Capgemini seemed like a smooth well oiled, completely pre-defined and simple process from the beginning, the amount of organisation behind the scenes to ensure the right people are in the induction room at the right time was incredible! However, as with Raleigh, the feeling of the week coming together brought about a huge amount of relief and self satisfaction not to mention giving you the opportunity to network with new peers and with some very senior staff at Capgemini! The contacts I made from that week have now started to bear fruit when it comes to ‘transitions’ (all will be revealed later!) as well as a range of potential roles coming up soon.

You may have noticed that I haven’t really focused at all at the actual roles I have undertaken during the last six months … “Hold on were getting to that bit soon!” However again I think the best approach to truly appreciate what life is like in the graduate scheme is understand that it isn’t all about the roles you do … ok it’s a very large part of what you do, it’s what you get paid to do at the end of the day! However it’s easy to forget and appreciate the range of opportunities other than your direct role as a consultant which may arise. Whether this is the training you are sent away on or whether it is the community work you do … all these experiences all add value to the company, the wider community and to yourself as an individual! That is what I have loved about job so far … ‘Variety is the spice of life’ after all, and it is these opportunities that have really sped up my development.

Blog by Gareth Woodward (Part 2)