Tag: working with clients

is it a good idea to be a consultant?

consulting presentation

 

consulting presentation

I don’t think anyone can prove this, but there’s probably a rising prejudice against the job description “consultant”. The reason is that as long-term unemployment becomes more and more common amongst professionals, many of them have started calling themselves consultants during their unemployed tenure. They don’t actually consult - they have no clients, they have no portfolio and what they really want is simply to be able to call themselves anything but unemployed. Is it fair for Human Resources departments to almost automatically flag people with the “consultant” title as “probably just an unemployed person who didn’t wish to label themselves as unemployed?”

It’s easy to take up both sides of this argument. One, anyone can call themselves a consultant. In a society in which you need permission to label yourself a person who administers health care to birds, it’s amazing that anyone can present themselves as an expert in a field in which they may have no expertise at all. I could advertise myself as an “expert Excel consultant” tomorrow and there’s no chance my state or country would blink an eye. If I proclaimed myself an expert accountant (CPA) or expert tooth extractor (DDS) I’d have state agencies knocking at my door tomorrow. It’s not fair that anyone be able to label themselves as a consultant - that word should imply some recognized expertise.

On the other hand, why not? I’m expert at many things, in my own opinion: I’m a decent writer, I’m quite good implementing, training and using several internal audit software packages, I’m a good trainer (in multiple languages) and I am better than many in the use of Excel and Access. Shouldn’t that give me the right to call myself an expert? A consultant? A coach? Whatever the term, why can’t I offer myself up and let my skills speak for themselves?

I think it’s a disservice to the title “consultant” that so many people these days grab on to that moniker the second they are unemployed. HR departments are justified in assuming that many consultants are simply unemployed people who hang that title around their necks once they lose a job. I sympathize - simply labeling yourself as “unemployed for 6 months” is much worse, of course, than labeling yourself as an “up-and-coming consultant” over that time period. But I would recommend that anyone who calls themselves a consultant be ready with a few things when coming to an HR department:

 

  1. A portfolio. Anyone can prepare a portfolio, of course. But the simple fact that you prepared it means you’ve put at least that much effort into it. If you don’t have a portfolio - be it online, hard copy or even just a well-constructed LinkedIn profile - you’re not a serious consultant, and nobody will take you seriously.
  2. References. If you don’t have at least 2 or 3 former supervisors or past consulting clients who can enthusiastically vouch for your work, I wouldn’t hire you as a consultant. A consultant lives and dies off the quality of their past work. I’ve hired consultants solely off of recommendations from colleagues and acquaintances I’ve trusted, and I’ve rejected consultants who couldn’t provide those references. It’s quite simple: consultants with references thrive; consultants without references die.
  3. Proof. If you don’t have a portfolio and your don’t have references, what do you do? Have proof. Be able to back up your skills. If you claim to be an expert in Access, ask for permission to demonstrate it. If you know SAP backwards and forwards, show it. Don’t claim to have expertise in an area you don’t know. But be ready to show total command of any area an employer/client is looking for: have an idea how to amaze them ready to go. Certification is a great help here, too. If you can show certification in an area, you’re well along to convincing an HR department that you’re qualified to provide services.

It’s not an easy thing to tell people you’re good enough to fix things. I’ve been doing it since 2005, full-time. I’ve sold to Wall Street and the Fortune 500. It’s hard to convince smart people you’re going to bring something to the table they don’t have. They don’t like to hear that. But the simple fact is that if you’re going to present yourself as the mystical “consultant” you have to bring that little bit extra. You have to sell, you have to convince, and most of all … you have to DO. Consultants have a narrow margin for error. Employees can blame politics and teams and all kinds of things, but a consultant - especially a standalone consultant - has to show results, and soon. Don’t worry about the unemployed who call themselves consultants - distinguish yourself through your portfolio, references and proof and you’ll be on your way to a six-figure career in no time.

Photo Some rights reserved by markhillary

small company roundup

I’m back into heavy-duty contract consulting again, after a few months of doing piecemeal work.  It’s tough, but as with any work it’s rewarding to know that you have a client who needs help doing X, and … hey, I can do X!  Here you go!  Plus I’m having an interesting experience working for by far the smallest client I’ve ever had.  I typically work for very large corporations – to give you an idea of scale, I spent a year working in Morgan Stanley’s corporate headquarters as a consultant.  So taking a brief turn here with a small company about .01% of Morgan Stanley’s size is quite interesting for me.  It’s early to make snap judgments but so far the comparison is positive.

Oh, and go Jets. 

Blogger’s Favorite Personal Finance Books: I recommended Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which should be no particular surprise to anyone who reads this blog. A few other decent selections here, too.

9 Ways to Prepare for Food Inflation: I’m not worried, but it will occur (and already has, if you like organic foods).

The Frugal Wedding: How to Save Money When Getting Married: The best way to save money getting married is to marry someone who understands what a wedding costs versus what it’s worth.

How HP/Palm’s webOS Can Compete with Apple iOS and Google Android: Well, OK. I still like the market leader, Blackberry.

Opening a Bank Account for a Toddler: Something we’ve considered but so far rejected - our poor kids keep all their hard-earned money (or gifts from grandparents) in piggy banks and "money envelopes." But it might be time to revisit that.

Vacation Without Kids: I have fantasies.

10 Wacky Safes – Home Security Safes for Your Money: Once, in Moscow, I had a fake Coke can - you unscrewed it while pressing a button on the bottom and it opened. I kept all my American dollars tucked in there. I had a big party one night and a bunch of people crashed there - friends, friends of friends; the next morning I woke up and saw someone had hacked, torn and pulled at the ‘fake coke’ with a knife trying to get it to open. Money was still there, but the fake Coke idea was, well, over.

7 Simple Tax Organization Tips To Use All Year Round and 2011 Tax Changes: I’m all fired up about doing taxes. Give me a hooah!

Eating Healthy is Becoming More Expensive Every Day: Been so for a long time. I feel it’s worth it with dairy, meat and some fruits and veggies. Not so worth it with things like juice, bread, etc. Just my medically uninformed idea, though.

25 Toughest Interview Questions of 2010: They are all tough, simply because the job market is so competitive.

What I Learned During the Year of Penury: Words to live by (reorganized slightly):

  • Your greatest asset is good health, should you be so lucky to have it and keep it.
  • You can live frugally and still be reasonably comfortable, most of the time. • No matter what anyone says about the alleged tax advantages of carrying a mortgage, when you’re unemployed a paid-off roof over your head is your second-greatest asset.
  • If you’re not in debt, you can live on a lot less than you think you need.
  • If you are in debt, you’d better have a good stash of emergency savings to cover payments.

The Lifestyle You Want: I am a long way from walking away from TV entirely, but I have come to recognize that advertising is a clear and present (and continuing) danger. It corrupts almost everything about your life, whether you think it does or not.

Caring for Aging Parents: Something us Gen Xers are going to be facing. Later rather that sooner, hopefully, but we will.

Betelgeuse to be second sun for Earth as supernova turns night into day: And finally, in the ‘holy crap’ category, we have the prospect of months without night. A supernova might cause endless sunlight for months! It’s a funny story, because the kicker is the tiny addendum I’ve seen at a few different sites stating that Betelgeuse might explode anywhere between this year and a million years hence… making the probability of a current-year explosion, eh, slightly remote.

working for free, and links

As usual I’m a bit behind in posting a link roundup - for some reason the roundup, which I originally meant to post on Fridays, has slowly drifted to Sundays or Mondays, or in this lamentable case, Tuesdays. At this point, it’s almost next week’s roundup with posts from the previous week. It’s ridiculous, I know. I have no writing schedule, which I’d highly recommend to anyone who doesn’t want to be a successful writer. I get on little “hot runs” from time to time, but keeping to a schedule appears to be difficult for me.

I’ve also taken on organizing two fairly large professional events. Combining that with Bubelah joining the board of directors of a local not-for-profit and my family’s taking on a lot of (unpaid) work. It’s a mental shift for us to engage in this type of ‘work’. I’ve always thought you should expend no effort on work-related activities unless you see a clear and direct path to compensation; maybe not direct compensation, but at least some idea how it might pay off. That’s been a big part of my contract consultant mindset: make sure you give value, but also carefully guard against clients or others trying to push “non-work work” onto your plate.

But one of the things I’ve realized as I shift further and further from the traditional time-for-money work model is that you have to create and provide value sometimes without ANY clear connection to compensation. Let’s face it: the reason is mainly that if you’re doing your work well enough, that connection will force itself on you. An example I like is Adam Carolla. The former ‘Man Show’ host has built a fairly sizable entertainment network around his extremely popular (and free) podcast. He did it without a clear plan for monetization, but it’s clear now that he’s gaining traction, picking up advertisers and getting some attention from the non-techy parts of America. I imagine he’ll do quite well as podcasts become more and more the norm. I can already listen to podcasts via my Roku* and Mediafly. I’m sure the next generation of cars will have 3G connections and allow streaming audio content, too (and in the future, video, no doubt). So Carolla will make some money down the road. And that’s how I’m trying to force myself to approach it.

The links:

  • New Toyota Commercial Reinforces Materialism: I detest this commercial. It’s tone-deaf considering the economy, and just annoying style-wise.
  • What We Buy: Purposeful or Passing Time?: I realize more and more that although I’d like to think I’m shopping for a reason, it’s FAR too often just to pass time.
  • What’s in Your Wallet?: A late entry in our Money Writer’s group writing project.

And more:

* Amazon affiliate link

lying in the workplace, part 2

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Yesterday I wrote about Mary and Veronica, who had lied about their work under my supervision. I caught their “errors” and confronted both. Mary, who worked hard but often made mistakes, had lied to cover up her lack of comprehension. Veronica had lied to finish her work more quickly, but understood fully what she was doing. So what happened? Who got fired?

Mary was fired. It’s hard to fire someone whose biggest fault is honesty. She had been struggling for years before she reported to me. She simply couldn’t absorb the information. Too much time had passed, and she hadn’t improved; it was clear this wasn’t the job for her.

Veronica wasn’t fired. Yet the senior manager we both reported to made a blatant threat: one more time and you will be fired and the reason why will be known in the business community. No small threat; we worked for one of the most well-respected employers in the city and they could be influential in ruining someone’s career. I thought that part of the threat was unnecessary, but I told her that since she worked for me, her sole concern should be doing quality work - not quantity. But Veronica was smart and talented, and so she stayed.

Flash forward a few years… Mary was much happier in an accounting position. It didn’t demand much judgment. She didn’t have to travel, or work late. Nobody expected her to be creative or decisive. I met her for lunch one day and she was relaxed, happy, confident and most importantly, under no pressure to lie. Getting fired, she said, had freed her.

Veronica continued to work for me for years. If you’ve worked in project years, you have either experienced or seen the development of near-perfect co-workers. She and I worked on project after project together, and her abilities grew and grew. Her focus on details and efficiency complimented what (I hope) were my growing skills in project management and working with clients. We became good friends. Her career within the firm took off, and to this day she continues to move up the ladder in her professional life.

Lying in the workplace is a terrible thing. I only have to whisper “Enron” or “most of Wall Street” for you to understand why. But lying can have consequences far beyond what you imagined. I was glad things happened the way they did. It is odd to think that small acts of dishonesty by both women - when caught! - had such lasting positive results. Never think that honesty alone will guarantee you moving ahead in the business world, or that lying will halt your progress if discovered. Sad to say, ability will beat out honesty almost every time.

Photo by spaceodissey