š§ WITCHES struggle and Accenture freezes pay
+ campus recruiting kicks off | Chart of the Week | Use Calendly to automate scheduling
š What to expect: ~1,000 words / 5 min read
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Exec Sum
Accenture freezes pay and limits promotions, facing similar challenges to other IT services firms
Campus recruiting season is back but job offers for graduate and MBA students are scarce
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Industry News
The Headlines š
No pay rises at Accenture; WITCHES struggle
Accenture has announced that pay levels will be frozen and promotions limited this year in an internal memo sent to North American employees. The firm has also announced massive job cuts in India and Sri Lanka.
Typically conducting tech or implementation work alongside strategy firms, other IT services firms have been making similar moves of late, including even the top-tier WITCHES (or budget FAANGs), comprising Wipro, Infosys, Tata, Cognizant and HCL.
Despite year-on-year revenue increases, these firms have overhired in the face of slowing global demand for IT services and consulting and are now shoring up their balance sheets as analyst forecasts become more bearish. Read more.
Creds to ConsultingHumor for this screenshot and apologies for the poor quality.
Campus recruiting kicks off
Campus recruiting season is back again! Unfortunately graduate- and MBA-level job offers are in short supply as firms dial back on intake sizes given already dense benches. Many students are looking at Plan B in order to find a job, which entails either (1) looking at smaller companies or (2) broadening their job search. The ever-reliable āpanic Mastersā may be another favourite given the cross-sectoral wait-and-see attitude.
For US-based students from diverse backgrounds, there is an extra layer of difficulty as firms scale back diversity initiatives following the Supreme Courtās affirmative action verdict earlier this year, with companies āalready being sued over program initiativesā.
For prospective applicants, considering 2nd-tier geographies, having flexible salary expectations, leveraging alumni and personal networks, additional case practice and alternative career paths are potential means to differentiate themselves. Read more.
The News š°
PwC Sri Lanka defects to Deloitte - PwCās Sri Lanka and Maldives network firms are set to join Deloitte, according to a Deloitte memo. PwC hasnāt commented but speculation is this is fallout from the PwC Australia tax scandal. The move is scheduled for 28th Oct and involves 28 partners alongside 800 employees. Read more.
Geopolitical advisory hits the fore - the demand for geopolitical advice is surging, with experts a hot commodity and major corporates (incl. McKinsey and Lazard) entering the fray. China imposing exit bans, regulatory challenges in Europe, and companies increasingly being used as pawns in global politics are evidence that this is increasing a critical factor in business success. Read more.
Home Office spends without results - the UKās Home Office is spending 10x more on consultants than 7 years ago as it fights the small boats migrant crisis. The department spent a whopping Ā£87m on external consultants, including Ā£56m for Deloitte, with little to say for results. Without a counterfactual, the efficacy of this spend is unsure but the headline alone is receiving huge attention. Read more.
Big 4 fined by Spain for working hours - authorities are imposing a fine of >ā¬1.4m after a probe into working hours at the Big 4. The absence of an hourly register, mandated by Spanish law since 2019, alongside an intense jobs market facilitated the prevalence of what were described as āmarathonā working days. Read more.
Best of the rest: Accenture faces Justice probe, KPMG cuts jobs and freezes pay, PwC US boss quits, Atos has a new CEO, Apax to buy Kin & Carta, and FTI launches FTI Delta.
Chart of the Week š
Youāve heard of SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), but have you heard of PaaP (Plant-as-a-Product)? This approach, which involves industrialising the end-to-end process of completing big factory projects, can reduce capital expenditure by 75% over time according to McKinsey. Itās touted as a promising strategy for hydrogen tech.
This weekās edition is brought to you by:
Love movies? Curious about tech? We have just the thing for you.Ā FlashForwardĀ is a fortnightly newsletterĀ where we pick a technology featured in a classic movie and fast forward to where itās at today.Ā
Working Effectively
Tech Tools š¾
Overview: free and intuitive scheduling tool to save time on call admin
Key Features: automated booking, calendar integrations, personalised links
Benefits: time-savings, reduced back-and-forth emails
Use Cases: Expert Network interviews, team meeting scheduling, networking
Get Started: (1) sign up, (2) integrate with your calendar and (3) share your link
Tip: set buffer times between meetings
Screenshot:
Productivity Hacks āļø
Enable Dark Mode
Overview: display option that changes your background colour
Key Features: inverts colours for easier reading in low-light
Benefits: reduced eye fatigue, increased text readability, more immersive
Get Started: Settings > Personalisation > Colours
Use Cases: use it on individual programs or your whole operating system
Excel Shortcuts š»
Group/Ungroup cells:
ALT + SHIFT + Right arrow
Collapse cells:
Alt + A + H
The Coffee Break āļø
Interesting Detours š
Fortuneās 100 Most Powerful Women in Business (top 8 below)
Contribute š£ļø
A big thanks to this weekās contributors Chris, Cristian, and Evan.
Thatās all folks. Donāt forget your timesheets.
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