How this SUSS graduate fought her insecurities and made it to Accenture

Check out episode 13 of 1 Foot In now where we learnt how Wilnel overcame her insecurities as someone who was not from the top 3 local universities in detail or read our summary below to find out more!

There's the perception that graduates not from the top universities in Singapore may face more difficulties when searching for internships/jobs.

This was what Wilnel felt during her application process for either internships or jobs. She confessed that the difficulties stemmed from her personal insecurities as she felt inferior against other candidates who were from the top universities Yet, she overcame them with the change in her mindset and attitude.

Today, she will share how she defeated her insecurities, built her confidence, and eventually found her footing in Accenture as a Business & Integration Arch Analyst. 

Have a positive outlook towards life.

One of Wilnel’s insecurity was the institute she was from. Coming from a university that is not regarded as the top 3, she was afraid that her chances were reduced when put against other candidates from top-tier universities.

However, instead of worrying about that, Wilnel changed her thinking to an optimistic one. She told herself that she has an equal chance at the position like the rest and that she should tap on her strengths. She identified that one of her strengths was people skills which she could use to position herself well during interviews. Being an outgoing person who enjoys conversing with others, conversation starters were easy for Wilnel. With an optimistic outlook towards life, she soon overcame her insecurities and evolved to become a more confident person.

What are some insecurities that you have, let us know and we'll try to reframe it for you!

Be confident in yourself. 

Apart from just adopting a positive outlook in life, Wilnel also built her confidence in her abilities and self.

Wilnel shared with us one of her internships’ processes where she had to undergo a 3-day assessment. Despite the preparations, she was still worried about making a mistake during the process. However, her nerves and worries soon faded as she hyped herself up.

“The 3 days are not for me to make a mistake, but for me to rectify my mistakes, redeem myself and try again.”

With this thought, she calmed herself down and trusted her skills and herself to make an impression. With the change in mindset and morale boost, Wilnel became confident in her skills and eventually made it through the rounds of the assessment.

If you are currently in the process of applying for an internship, but doubting your abilities/skills, trust in yourself and push forward like Wilnel! You can also check out one of our partners, InternSG, for more internship opportunities!

Get to know the employees and not just the company.

Using Google and Glassdoor to learn more about the company’s culture or the job position is the usual go-to for most of us, but for Wilnel, her best friend is LinkedIn.

While Wilnel agreed that learning about the company’s culture and the job is important, she also highlighted that learning about the employees is just as essential. You will be surprised to learn how she used LinkedIn the way we used Instagram during her preparation for interviews, and it is something she still does now.

Wilnel utilised LinkedIn to the fullest advantage to learn about the staff in a company such as their interests that could be viewed from their profiles. From here, she will identify if there are any similar interests between them. Why? For her, such topics work as a conversation starter and also allow her to build a genuine connection between the staff and her during networking sessions.

Now about that tip...you can try with Wilnel's profile over here

Be flexible and quick on your feet.

This tip is especially for those who are seeking a career with Accenture. As a current employee of Accenture, one trait Wilnel feels you should have is adaptability.

Wilnel shared that Accenture focuses a lot on diversity which is applicable to work. With the opportunity to be rotated across the various departments and work on different projects, employees have to switch between industries based on the projects. As such, Wilnel emphasised strongly the need to be flexible and quick to adapt to the changing environment to understand and cater to the clients’ needs. She talked about her first project at Accenture where she was placed in the healthcare industry, where she lacked the relevant knowledge. However, she was able to adapt to the new environment fast and execute her duties well. 

Contextualize your answers to the company.

Instead of giving usual responses to questions such as “What are your strengths?” or “Tell me about yourself.”, try tailoring your replies to the company’s culture or theme. 

When Wilnel was preparing for interviews, she used Glassdoor to read about users’ posts, and also the company’s website to understand the company’s culture and working environment. With the knowledge, she then crafted her responses and customised them according to the organization. For example, Wilnel shared that Accenture valued diversity and inclusivity a lot. Hence, she thought of possible interview questions and how she should answer them while linking to the theme and culture of the company.

Will you try this out for your next interview? Let us know in the comments below!

This was shared by Wilnel at the end:

 “It’s okay to not know what you want to do but what you are good at now.”

 As an undergraduate, it is perfectly fine to be unsure of what you want to do in the future. Instead, enjoy doing what you are doing now and pursue it. As you continue down this path of seeking what you enjoy, you will eventually find your footing.

Do you agree with this advice, or would you rather be this graduate who found it on the train at 5am in the morning.

If you find this article useful, do help us out and share it with your peers so everyone can benefit from it just like you! ??

Tune into this week’s episode of 1 Foot In to hear more about how Wilnel secured her various internships, what she would do differently if she was back in university, the culture and her position at Accenture. 

Otherwise feel free to follow us on Spotify, where we’ll have 16 episodes coming your way in Season 1 ranging from Technology (Amazon, etc.) to FMCG (Unilever, etc). Alternatively, you can check us out on Instagram for updates!