The lighter side of day one
By David Reinhardt. October 15th, 2010. Posted in On assignment 1 Comment »
Everyone has something they look for on the first day of an assignment. For me it’s quite process driven – I want to know if I can get an ice cold diet coke (inputs) and whether the toilets are clean (outputs).
Of course, there are the work related factors. How easy is it to get meeting rooms? Has the client setup all the things they need to in order for you to be productive quickly? We looked at this in a previous post “Hitting the ground running on day one of your assignments” where we considered intelligent and naive buyers of consulting. In this post we’ll take a consultant’s view – what do I look for when I arrive on site?
Continue reading»Making the most of an assignment
By Mike. October 8th, 2010. Posted in On assignment No Comments »
Being able to make the most of assignments can be the difference between a successful consulting career and a “didn’t quite happen” job.
During your consulting career (and especially at the start) you will inevitably end up working on at least one “dead end” assignment. This is where one or more element of the assignment (e.g. workload, management style or interest level) is not as good as it should be.
You will have four options.
Continue reading»Are you T enough to be a consultant?
By James. October 1st, 2010. Posted in Your career 2 Comments »
Working as a Management Consultant can be challenging and unpredictable.
Clients expect you to have all the answers, to all of their questions. You are the expensive consultant sent to solve their problems, and they want solutions now.
Coping with the challenges that this kind of working environment present takes a particular type of person. It doesn’t matter what your area of expertise is; IT management, Program Management, Business Transformation, etc, to successfully consult you need to be one of these types of people.
Continue reading»Hitting the ground running on day one of your assignments
By David Reinhardt. September 24th, 2010. Posted in On assignment 1 Comment »
I recently started an engagement at a new client and was amazed to arrive on the appointed first day and find a desk, a PC setup for me with a user account, email, printers, etc and an access card. By 10:00am I had been taken on a tour of the facility, done the obligatory health and safety briefing, been shown the coffee facilities and met a few of my key contacts. By 10:15am I was in front of Outlook and setting up meetings for the rest of the week.
I was reflecting on this and I decided that I shouldn’t be amazed – that story should repeat itself on every engagement. Consultants are expensive. Hourly or daily rates quickly rack up and buyers should be looking to get the most out of their investment.
Continue reading»Dealing with problems in the workplace
By Mike. September 17th, 2010. Posted in Your career 1 Comment »
There are plenty of times during your time as a consultant where you will need to speak up about something, in fact you probably won’t be able to progress in your career unless you are able to. In my experience, using constructive criticism followed by positive suggestions allow situations to be resolved with the minimum possible stress, and best possible outcome.
Continue reading»
