Interview with a professional consultant

IBM

The consultants at Global Business Services are highly prepared and adept at helping companies develop better strategies for utilizing new digital sources to reinvent processes and increase efficiency. In the current dynamic business environment, they also assist firms in changing and becoming more competitive. At the consultancy company's Canadian office, Franca Gismondi manages one of the recruiting programs. This section is made up of a talented group of workers that are capable of assisting other companies in expanding, gaining a competitive edge, and implementing innovative tactics for increased operational effectiveness. Franca works as a recruiting program manager for this organization and and is responsible for finding the right applicants that can help to improve the organization's reputation and performance continually. To obtain her opinion regarding various topics in the consultation industry, I engaged her in an online interview whereby I requested for her view and advice concerning the field and the skills that she looks for in applicants.

Required Competencies and Skills

According to the consultant, top competencies and skills are required in this field for employment purposes. Critical thinking is one of the primary requirements for the job mostly needs analysis of a complex issue and presentation of the same in an organized way. Problem-solving skill is also essential for a consultant is expected to provide recommendations regarding how to solve a problematic situation. Other competencies necessary for employment include interpersonal relationships, computer proficiency, stress management, communication, and collaboration skills. Moreover, she also stated that the consultancy career has its disadvantages as well advantages. Some of its pros include ease of advancement in the career field and a very fast pace and getting new opportunities to learn something new regularly. Also, one gets to form a robust network, enjoys flexibility, obtains exceptional training, exposure to a broad range of clients, and substantial compensations. On the other hand, the cons include working for long hours, exhaustion related to frequent traveling, a lot of turnover and high-stress levels.

Projects and Internships

She also mentioned that not all projects become successful for some degree of failure occur in the field. However, the most significant behavior that leads to the same is the creation of poor relationships with the client. As a result, the client ends up providing insufficient information regarding the project leading to failure. Regarding internships, she also explained the pathways that can be created for near-term careers in consultancy. Some of the opportunities she discussed include first-hand practical experience in the field, diversification of expertise, understanding of the workplace expectations and expansion of one's network of contacts, which are all useful in developing a career in consultation. Internships also open up doors for individuals for some end up working in the organizations that they are interns. It can also provide the intern with potential new collaborators as well as give the individual access to possible new funding sources in case a person is interested in starting their firm.

Domains Areas in the Market

Franca also pointed out the domain areas in the market that are responsible for the generation of high consulting services demand. Firstly, the ever-changing business environment characterized by the constant emergence of new technologies provides the needs for consultants to help a company stay competitive in the industry. The increased demand is also attributed to the need for implementation of new strategies and projects for improvement of customers' internal processes in an attempt to satisfy their needs. In the current world, the clients' needs and preferences are always changing thus bringing about the need for creation of new procedures. Increased innovation in the market environment also calls out for consultants help to bring about their skills and expertise in the creation of innovative services or products. Lastly, she also commented on the need for specialists as well as generalists in the consulting industry. She considered some factors such as market considerations whereby diversification of skill sets is key thus making generalists to be more efficient in this aspect. In the ever-changing market conditions, there is also a need for generalists due to their adaptability and transferable proficiencies which enable them to switch to new projects and roles with ease. On the contrary, when it comes to problem-solving, she believed that specialists are more useful because of their extreme depth of knowledge on one subject. Furthermore, regarding expertise, she indicated that the specialists had higher credibility compared to generalists for they possessed extensive capabilities in a given discipline. However, consultants who have specialized in one aspect of the industry as well as one who has proven results in diverse areas, are both important in the provision of consultancy services based on a company's needs.

Lessons Learned

One of the main lessons that I learned from the dialogue is that consultancy services are not as easy as people make them seem. Just like any other career, an individual has to have the vital skills for them to survive in this competitive field. Also, consultancy can equip someone with core competencies such as problem-solving, stress management and creative thinking which are not only useful across different careers but also applicable to an individual's everyday life.

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