Becoming a Consultant in Your Expert Field.
Have you thought about becoming an expert in your field of expertise? Become a consultant perhaps, for your career development? We invite Ali Kazimi from Hansuke Consulting, a financial consultancy firm to talk about his career in consulting. He talks about the ups and downs of consulting and how the sector has changed over the years and what has changed it.
A consultant is anyone from any field that gives out objective expert advice in a strategic setting or sometimes very specific technical advice.
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There are two types of consulting which include:
- General consultancy- these develop strong methodology and are neutral across all industries. They look for insights into very heavy data content.
- Specialist consultancy- these come in with very much expertise in a particular field where they apply their knowledge.
Consulting has become more competitive over the years due to technological advancement like the emergence of social media.
The COVID-19 pandemic will affect the job market and hence the students that are now graduating. They have to demonstrate qualities like personal resilience, perseverance, and resourcefulness to set them apart from their peers.
Potential job candidates in the consulting field need to stay connected to the job market even during the lockdown. They need to keep up with time and be creative enough to present themselves in these three levels:
- Knowledge acquisition
- Application of knowledge
- Getting practical skills
Consulting is a broad profession that requires sharpening your mind to become an expert from the inside out. You have to understand your client, your own area of expertise, your competition, and know how to team well.
The following are the skills that you need to master in consulting:
- Hone your technical skills
- Run a team by being a good people person because communication is very important in consulting.
- Have project management tools like discipline.
- Learn client relations and generating new work.
It is important for students looking for internships to understand that you have better chances of learning in a small firm than it is in a large organization.
The best thing you can do as a professional is realizing your self-worth and self-actualization without listening to negativity.
Episode Timeline:
- [6:52] Definition and types of consulting.
- [12:41] The change in technology over the years that has changed consultancy and made it more competitive.
- [14:41] How COVID-19 will affect the job market and what to do as a graduate to find a job.
- [16:49] How to stay connected to the job market.
- [20:48] What you need to know to excel in a consulting profession.
- [23:05] The resources where you can learn to become better in consulting.
- [25:14] The skills that you need to develop as you continue to become an expert in your field of consulting.
- [27:44] The benefits of starting your career in a smaller firm as opposed to a large organization.
- [34:02] The power of respecting yourself and looking up to people who succeeded through adversities.
- [36:49] Learning to do different things and treating all people with uttermost respect.
- [38:51] The rewards and challenges of consulting over the years.
- [43:30] How to self-actualize and not be influenced by others as you do what is right.
- [53:39] The positive and negative myths of consulting demystified.
- [54:43] Learning to define your career early on with the right strategy.
Books Mentioned:
- ‘Catch-22’ by Joseph Heller
- ‘Management Consulting: A Guide to the Profession’ by Milan Kubr
- ‘The Trusted Advisor’ by David H. Maister, Robert Galford and Charles Green
- ‘The Dilbert Principle’ by Scott Adams
- ‘Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ’ by Daniel Goleman
- ‘Small Is Beautiful’ by E. F. Schumacher
- ‘The Beauty Myth’ by Naomi Wolf
‘Made in Japan’ by Akio Morita
Relevant Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/securitiestax/