Are you new in the business of consultants - don't be scared! Even if you do not have a wide network, thousands of contacts on LinkedIn or years of experience being employed, there are various shortcuts to a successful life as a consultant. Here is why!
Do you find it hard to network? Is it hard to get the hang of handing out business cards, or do you feel uncomfortable promoting yourself in new situations? Many think that you have to have an enormous network of contacts and know as many people as possible to have any chance of winning assignments. However, you are not dependent on your own network to find customers/clients or interesting assignments and projects. You depend on you - and what goals you have and how to reach them. One of your goals should be to create strong relations with people who are valuable rather than expanding your network with people who are not.
Strong relations are gold
In order to grow in the role of a consultant, it is important to get assignments that includes something you are really passionate about. The assignment should always develop your skills and help you gain experience which will make you competitive on the market. The more contacts you have, the more opportunities you could get to develop your knowledge within many different areas and sectors.
However! Make sure you don't mistake the volume of your contacts for the value of your relations! A valuable contact is someone you can personally ask for something and feel confident about offering your own knowledge when consulted. These genuine relations will have the biggest influence on your career - not the profiles you find via network threads on LinkedIn.
So, how do you create these valuable relations?
Here are three tips:
- Analyze the people around you and note which of them you actually know (even if it feels as if your whole telephone book is suddenly empty!)
- Stock your contacts - which relations are worth building on?
- Focus on the people who listen and are willing to share things with you - they will probably give you the best hand for a career development!
Take a shortcut to your next assignment by using a consultant supplier
By signing up with a consultant supplier you get all the advantages of a big contact network - a network you can interact with personally to develop a good relation! A consultant supplier acts as a link between consultants and clients, and makes both parties more accessible to each other. Start by creating a consultant profile with an up-to-date CV, and make sure you get in touch with the supplier (such as Ework) to book your first meeting. In parallel, you can start to investigate the assignments already published on the suppliers website or in social media - you will soon get an idea of what is in demand. Thereafter you will be able to select suitable Projects for you.
View the consultant supplier as a valuable contact and as an independent client. View Ework as a rock and you will end up with lots of opportunities in return!
