Here's the one question that Accenture's CEO asks potential staff to see if they make the cut
Halil Sagirkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images
- Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said she looks for candidates who love to learn new things.
- Sweet said in a podcast interview that she would ask people what they have learned recently.
- The former lawyer said it didn't matter even if people just said they learned how to bake a cake.
Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said there's one key question she poses to people who want to work for her.
"There's one question that we ask everyone, regardless of you're a consultant or you're working in technology or whatever you do," Sweet said in an interview with Norges Bank Investment Management CEO Nicolai Tangen on his "In Good Company" podcast, which aired Wednesday.
"We say, 'What have you learned in the last six months?'" she added.
Asking this question, Sweet told Tangen, is a practical way for her to determine if candidates are interested in learning new things.
"If someone can't answer that question, and by the way, we don't care if it's 'I learned to bake a cake,' if they can't answer that question, then we know that they're not a learner," Sweet said.
This wouldn't be the first time Sweet has talked about her expectations for new hires at Accenture. The consulting firm said on its website that it employs around 799,000 employees and operates in more than 200 cities.
The former lawyer said in a 2019 interview with The New York Times that she looks for candidates who demonstrate two main traits.
"The first is curiosity. The new normal is continuous learning, and we look for people who demonstrate lots of different interests and really demonstrate curiosity," Sweet told The Times.
"The second piece is leadership. I don't care what level you are, there is the need to offer straight talk when you're working with clients. You have to have the courage to deliver tough messages," she added.
Representatives for Sweet at Accenture did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Sweet isn't the only C-suite executive who places a premium on learning.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that students should devote their time to learning and reading, and less time on social-media platforms like TikTok and Facebook.
Dimon was speaking at the Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy's annual Financial Markets Quality Conference in September when he was asked if he had any advice for the students in attendance.
"My advice to students: Learn, learn, learn, learn, learn, learn, learn. If you're Democrat, read the Republican opinion, the good ones. If you're Republican, read the Democrat ones," Dimon said.
"Read history books. You can't make it up. Nelson Mandela, Abe Lincoln, Sam Walton. You only learn by reading and talking to other people. There's no other way," he continued.