First I want to say thank you all for all of your wonderful comments. Keep them coming and Shawn and I will try to address them ask quickly and honestly as we can.

I want to address a comment received which asked about your ability to guide your career at Accenture and also about the feedback process. As a new-hire, your first project is usually not something you have much leeway in deciding. Usually you meet with your HR Rep and you discuss your interests and key skills you would like to develop, but then…. There is the whole issue of what’s available. Usually what’s available at the time is what you will get.

Every year, Accenture’s Reston office has a fall touch-football game that pits “The Staff” against “The Executives” called The Craver Bowl. The Staff team consists of all of us below the Manager level. In the Services workforce, this includes level C-F, in the Consulting workforce this includes Analysts and Consultants. Last year, I participated on the Staff team and we were able to blow the execs out with a two-touchdown lead. (Not that my participation had anything to do with it). I actually brought a close friend of mine who played for the University of Maryland at the time as wide-receiver. He may have been able to give the Staff a slight advantage.

Due to last year’s unexpected win by the Staff team, this year the rivalry is stronger than ever. This year the staff has to win without any help from college players, but I think we can do it, if we get the right people to show up. So here’s the recruiting call: Any analysts or consultants that have a competitive spirit and are staffed in Reston, please attend the Craver Bowl on November 11 starting at 9:00 am at Alabama Drive Park in Herndon. Its fun and there’s a Cook-Out afterward. I hope to see you there!

For those of you who are interested in the financials involved with this blog. The time Shawn and I spend writing for this forum is currently being volunteered free of charge, simply because we want to participate in this project. However, that may change in the future.

I attended UC Davis, which is fortunate to have an excellent internship and career center. Their website has so many resources it’s hard to keep track. There are resources you’d expect, like the “Aggie Job Link” to connect students with employers, or resume and interview advice for landing the perfect job. What might surprise some readers is that I was less attracted to those resources and more intrigued by links to the Peace Corp, Forest Service, and international resources.

Other readers will find this familiar. That’s because more and more college students are trying to avoid the “real world” of a career, and instead seek other opportunities: getting part-time jobs and internships, pursuing rockstar fame, traveling to far-off destinations, or seeking out programs like AmeriCorps. I thought I’d be one of them.

I think Shawn responded really well to the comment about the honesty of our blogs. My truth is similar, but not exactly the same. The truth is that on a bad day, I am much less likely to post something on this blog I just don’t feel like it. So that’s my response, my feelings change regularly and the days on which you hear from me are the days I have the energy to write something.

Energy or lack of energy is something I have struggled with since I joined Accenture. Sometimes the hours and the traveling do wear on you. It is important to set boundaries and priorities for yourself early on or else you will quickly get lost in work, work, work. My approach to this has been to go with the flow most of the time, but to be firm about the external activities I feel most strongly about. I have a scheduled yoga class once a week that I absolutely must attend. That’s it, no excuses, no possible reason why I would ever miss it. Other days I still go to yoga, if I have time, but my Wednesday 7:00 pm class I will never miss, no matter what. My team has been extremely supportive of it and respects the fact that I have to leave.