Knowing if the life of a consultant is right for you is the culmination of multiple factors, which we’ll look at below. Before you take that next big step, though, you need to arm yourself for the ride ahead and, lucky for you, your current workplace is the perfect learning ground.
Taking the plunge
Some employees get giant, waving, red-flags that they need to jump ship from permanent full-time work, while other cues are far more subtle. We’ve gathered some clues that suggest you’re ready to take the plunge as well as some tips on how your current workplace can aid and abet your success.
- Clue: You have a healthy backlog of experience in your field and believe the learnings from your current workplace are the cherry on the cake. If this is you in bold, neon letters, that’s a pretty good clue
Tip: Before you bid adieu to your permanent gig, have a look through the intranet and see if there are any courses you can take up that will help your new career path. Think along the lines of time management and communication skills. If fortune is smiling upon you, there could be gold nuggets like conflict resolution, project management and client relationship management courses. Also, put your hand up for any opportunities to get more specialised training, if possible. While undergoing your recon, always remember to be respectful of your company’s intellectual property guidelines.
- Clue: Your clients like you – as a human and as a colleague. This is a big boon in the world of consulting. One that can result in repeat work and referrals. Now, it doesn’t mean being obsequious and exposing your soft middle section to a client. Instead, it’s striking that balance between being approachable and professional.
Tip: The bad news? You can’t take your current, trusting clients with you. It’s not just unethical, it most likely breaches your employee agreement. What could happen is an abundance of referrals open through current clients, but always, always use your best judgement when starting up that dialogue.
- Clue: You play well with humans, including the non-client variety.
Tip: This is where you need to get that dreaded inward glance focused. Put a microscope to your interactions with your colleagues. Take stock of the qualities that rub you the wrong way and see if you can find strategies to help you manage your reactions. Sure, as a consultant you can pick and choose who you work with, but the nature of consulting requires professionalism and responsibility.
- Clue: You can name your skills. Being a consultant means knowing what you can do and how well you can do it. Aside from that, itemising your skills can also help you define your service and product offerings.
Tip: List down all the skills and competencies required for projects you’ve completed in-house. Now look through this list and consider the bits that you needed to outsource. This could be winning the project, budgeting, document formatting, following up on payments. You get the idea. As a consultant, you can also outsource these tasks, but that will cost you. Right now, you have the chance to walk to a colleague’s desk and see how they do things. Another reason why point number 3 is so pertinent. If you get along with your colleagues, you have a resource to tap into, even when you’re starting on your own.
- Clue: You know your worth. And your corporate charge-out fee.
Tip: It takes some research and some guts to set your charge-out fee. On the research side, you need to consider and continue to watch variables like the market rate, overheads, fixed fees, cost of sales (for products) and so and so forth. We’ll get into the nitty-gritty of these in a later post. For now, know that you will most likely never have overheads as big as your current employer – that’s a big, fat pay rise right there.
If all the above resonates with you, consulting work could be just around the corner. Our goal at WhoDoes is to make your career as a consultant as smooth and successful as possible. We aim to connect you with clients who need your specific services, in your specific area. WhoDoes also helps you expand your network: thanks to your membership, you’re privy to a database of professionals who complement your existing skills and who work in your area. This isn’t just great for referrals and advice; it means you can create a team of professionals and tackle those larger jobs. It’s a brave new world out there.