Consultive Magazine

Top 5 things you should do when you are a consultant off the clock and on the bench

By James. October 29th, 2010. Posted in Off assignment 3 Comments »

In the working life of any consultant there will be times between projects when you will be “off the clock”, “on the bench” or in plain English: when you will not be working on payed client work. Given that the number one objective of any consultant is to be fully utilised (working on payed project work) this, for some, can be a scary prospect. Especially if there’s no sign of any new project work coming your way any time soon.

In an effort to help you make the most of your bench time, we’ve pulled together our top five list of things you should do as soon as you are off the clock and staring over the cliff edge that is your declining ultilisation percentage for the year

Consultive Magazine’s Guide to Socialising

By Mike. October 22nd, 2010. Posted in Off assignment No Comments »

Moderating your alcohol intake and following the examples of others can save you a lot of problems during your early consulting career.

The average consultant is expected to drink. This is the typical outlook you will find in most consultancies today. By drink, I really mean socialise. It just so happens that these social activities usually take place in the most convenient locations outside the office, which tend to be pubs and bars.

How to approach internal projects – Part 2 (of 2): The Cons

By Mike. August 13th, 2010. Posted in Off assignment 1 Comment »

Last week, in part one (How to approach internal projects – The Pros), we focused on all the good aspects of working on internal projects. This week we will be looking at the negative aspects of working on these kinds projects and what you can do to keep your project, and your sanity, on track.

How to approach internal projects – Part 1 (of 2): The Pros

By Mike. August 1st, 2010. Posted in Off assignment 1 Comment »

At some point in your career, you will not have an assignment to work on (sometimes referred to as ‘off the clock’ or ‘on the bench’), so the powers that be will suggest (with varying levels of insistence) that you help on an ‘internal project’. These often involve developing a methodology, product or computer system to aid with the internal workings of the company.