Marguerite Caycedo
The job
I work at Accenture Digital as a consultant in the Analytics group. We support clients in Digital transformations involving Data Management and Analytics.
For the past 2 years I was involved in various projects as part of a big merger, where the two companies needed to integrate their systems and their data. As Functional Consultant I was positioned in between the IT team and the Business, making sure Business needs were translated correctly to the IT team. This means a lot of meetings between different people to make sure everyone is on the same page, but also documenting requirements and doing research myself about what needs to be done.
Another area I worked in was Data Governance – how (Master) Data is used and governed within the organization. This involves designing data and process flows for how people in the organization will interact with the core data of the organization.
Professional beliefs
What does it take to be successful?
- What is your work philosophy?
Keep learning, keep growing.
- What does it take to be successful?
I have found that maintaining good relationships with the people you work with is very important. But also, being yourself, being authentic, this is the most sustainable way for you to be!
- Does your job make you compromise with something or make sacrifices?
There are times towards the end of a project when I have to work late and miss yoga! But in general I am quite happy with the work/life balance. You shouldn’t have to compromise too much, I think.
- Relationship with colleagues.
I have amazing colleagues which is basically one of the best things about this job.
- How do you deal with mistakes in your work?
Take a deep breath and just show up the next day and do everything you can to fix it.
Education
I did my undergraduate degree at New York University, where I had a liberal arts education in Chemistry and Art History. I then did a research master’s in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Amsterdam.
This means I didn’t have a lot of Digital knowledge when I started at Accenture ☺. I went to the Accenture Core Analyst School, which is a two-week program where you learn 2everything about consulting and project management. But basically I learned on the job, just working with the systems and learning from my amazing and super smart colleagues. I just did the online SCRUM Master certification, as more and more projects are being done in the Agile way.
Skills
In my opinion soft skills such as being able to work with all sorts of people, and a good listener are key. It helps if you have some kind of technical background because it will be easier to learn new systems and organize data. But being open and inquisitive and ready to learn a lot and work hard are the most important! Hard skills you can always learn, but we are not programmers, we just need to be able to understand what they are doing and what they need from the Business to be able to do their job well.
Outside work
I live with my boyfriend and my cat, and am very close with my family and friends in Amsterdam and other places around the world. I love to travel and to be outside in nature, going on biking trips or walks. I’m also very into yoga, it’s really important for my general wellbeing. I love food and cooking, so on Saturday’s I sometimes participate in a Buurtbuik session. We pick up food that shops are going to throw out because the date is overdue, or vegetables that don’t look so nice. This food is still perfectly fine to eat! Then we make a meal out of it in the local buurtcentrum and anyone who wants can come by for a free meal.
At Accenture there are lots of opportunities to be involved with Green campaigns and Pro-Bono projects with Development Partners. Next month I will be hosting a Missing Maps session at our offices in Amsterdam. This involves creating digital maps of areas in the world that are not yet mapped, using satellite pictures with a tool called OpenStreetMap. These unmapped places are usually ones that are most vulnerable to humanitarian crises, and it is important for organizations that can provide relief on the ground to know where people are living.