Consultant (Consultant)
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A consultant is an advisor who shares his or her knowledge with the organization for which he or she works. As a consultant you can work at different levels in all conceivable industries. What exactly a consultant performs in terms of work can differ per assignment and consultancy firm. In general, a consultant will be called in to solve certain problems within an organization. An important condition for being considered a consultant is that the consultant is an expert in his or her field and gives advice to organizations in a professional manner to be able to solve difficult issues. A consultant can therefore be expected to have expertise that is lacking within the organization in question. If a consultant works at management level, one also speaks of a management consultant. A consultant works for a consultancy firm and is seconded to an external company on behalf of the consultancy firm for which he works. The difference between a consultant and a freelancer or self-employed person is that the consultant is employed. In short, consultancy comes down to giving expert advice within a certain area. It is therefore not easy to indicate what a consultant does exactly, because this can differ per industry and specialization. For example, there are consultants in the field of tax advice, insurance advice, legal advice and, for example, in the field of organizational advice. The profession of consultant literally means advisor, which can relate to anything. In general, a consultant has a higher education, such as a college education or a university education. The demands and expectations regarding a consultant's services by the business community are usually high.
As a consultant, you are therefore an important advisor for the business community and other organizations. As a consultant, you don't need to know everything, but you do need to be able to think in terms of solutions. Possible problems are neatly mapped out by the consultant by means of an analysis, after which you arrive with improvements that can help the organization further. This generally relates to operational and strategic processes. In general, consultants should only be regarded as advisers. This means that consultants do not automatically bear responsibility for the work. If a consultant works at management level and is therefore responsible for certain projects, the designation interim manager may apply. As an interim manager or as a management consultant, the substantive work goes beyond just giving advice. In some cases, a management consultant can also be regarded as a change manager. It is fairly common for consultants to be offered a traineeship. For this you will usually first have to go through an extensive selection procedure.
WORKING AS A CONSULTANT
As described earlier, the profession of consultant should be seen as fairly general, because consultants can work in different fields. Some professions that fit perfectly as a consultant are the professions of tax advisor, engineer, accountant, company lawyer, policy advisor, educationalist, software architect and business consultant. These are all examples of fields in which consultants can work. Organizations can therefore use different consultants, all of whom must be regarded as experts in their field. This means that a consultant only performs consultancy work that fits in with the relevant field. A consultant must therefore be able to be regarded as a specialist and not as a generalist. In other words, a consultant will not perform consulting work outside of his or her field of expertise. In most cases, a consultant can also be regarded as an experience expert.
WHY HIRE A CONSULTANT
Organizations generally use consultants because certain knowledge is not or not sufficiently present within their own organization. In that respect, a consultant can also be regarded as a knowledge manager. A knowledge manager is responsible for knowledge transfer within the organization. It is the knowledge manager who will make all available knowledge centrally, so that the organization can make optimal use of their knowledge. This generally concerns large organizations, which can be classified as knowledge-intensive organizations. Knowledge management is the process of creating, sharing, using and managing all available knowledge and information within the organization.
WHAT DOES A CONSULTANT DO:
TRAINING TO BECOME A CONSULTANT
There are no training courses for the profession of consultant. A consultant can have completed various types of training, because a consultant can work in various industries. A consultant will generally have at least a bachelor's degree or higher. External further education is also conceivable as a consultant. Furthermore, it is not possible to name a specific training, because the profession of consultant is too general. For more information, see also the website consultancy.nl. In addition, there are also plenty of external training institutes where you can follow a course. Accounting is also important as an entrepreneur.
COMPANIES WHERE A CONSULTANT CAN WORK
Consultants generally work through so-called consultancies or consultancies, which employ several consultants. It is consultancies or the consultancies that rent out the consultants to usually large employers. A consultant can spend a longer period of time at a particular organization, but can also perform short assignments, depending on the type of assignment. It is conceivable that a consultant can be regarded as an entrepreneur. Originally, it is true that most consultants are employed.
COMPETENCES CONSULTANT
The competencies of a consultant can differ per specialization, because consultants can work in different fields. In general, we can say that a consultant must have good analytical skills, be well-versed in communication and that he or she works in a result-oriented manner. In addition, innovation can be regarded as an important competence. Generally important words are learning ability, motivation, adaptability, management skills and stress resistance. Finally, it is also important to name the networking.
LABOUR MARKET PERSPECTIVE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS A CONSULTANT
The labour market perspective of a consultant is generally good, provided that you have the right training and / or studies. In addition, a consultant must have experience and knowledge. There are many organizations that use consultants, so getting work as a consultant is not a problem in most cases. The career opportunities of a consultant can be seen in obtaining a full-time management position within the organization. It is not uncommon for a consultant to end up permanently employed by a particular organization, if he or she has proven himself or herself. Consider, for example, the positions of operational manager, department manager or unit manager. If you have a university degree, obtaining a PhD can also be regarded as growing within your career.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY CONSULTANT
The employment conditions of a consultant cannot simply be indicated, because they can vary considerably per organization. Usually various extras are offered such as a company car, thirteenth month or the consultant can buy company shares. What exactly a consultant will earn is difficult to indicate, because there is a big difference between a junior consultant and a senior consultant. The salary as a consultant will be somewhere between 4000 and 8000 gross per month depending on age, education and specific responsibilities. A higher salary is certainly conceivable within this profession, when it comes to a consultant with a lot of experience and knowledge.
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