Accenture Screening Resumes In IndiaAccenture Screening Resumes In India

Some of the IT specialists and consultants who apply for a job at Accenture may have their resumés screened by workers in India, an Accenture official says.

Glenn Davidson, a corporate development executive in Accenture's HR Services division, told information on Thursday that the IT services and consulting firm has launched a pilot project under which some of the unit's recruiting services are being handled by employees at Accenture's Bangalore, India, facility. The program was launched earlier this year and should conclude by year's end, Davidson said.

Under the program, resumés received by various Accenture operating units are being digitized and transmitted to the Bangalore facility, where they are vetted by full-time Accenture employees based in India. The Indian workers check to make sure applicants meet minimum standards for a given position--for example, a four-year college degree--before sending them back to the client organization. Davidson declined to elaborate further, but if successful, the project presumably would be extended to cover the resumés of workers who submit applications to Accenture's business customers.

While some applicants may be uncomfortable with having their resumés beamed halfway around the world, attorneys familiar with outsourcing regulations say Accenture is in the clear from a legal standpoint. Says Paul Roy, a partner at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw in Chicago, "As long as a service provider is adhering to confidentiality guidelines and there is no discrimination, it doesn't matter where the resumé is screened."