What it means to be an IT Contract Consultant - Part I

Thinking about venturing into contract consulting in IT? Well first, you are at the right place for getting current tips and secrets of the IT Contract Consulting world. Secondly and most importantly, if you have solid IT skills, if you are customer focused, if you like change, if you have an entrepreneurial spirit and if you have the tolerance for a bit of risk, then you have a recipe for being a great consultant. Here is what to focus on in each:

IT Skills Being a consultant first and foremost embodies using your skills to meet the needs of your customer. If you are a developer and a customer is looking for a project manager, clearly you need to look somewhere else. Finding a position that meets your skill set is not always easy but if you carefully evaluate job descriptions, it will immediately pop out at you that a position is a right fit. Be patient, be dilligent and maintain your skills along a career path. If you are a developer but a customer is seeking a Sr. Developer or an Architect, then yes you still need to look somewhere else, but this shows you an opportunity for a direction to grow your skills. Always be on the look out where you can grow your skill sets. That directly translates to greater responsibility and thus a better paycheck. Being a consultant doesn't mean you will always find the same role. Try to stretch yourself, and grow as a professional just as you would being an employee for some company.

Customer Focused As a consultant, you must first embrace the fact that you are not an employee, but someone who is there to help the employees. Maintaning a service-oriented attitude will greatly impact how your work is received by your clients. Continually work on a no-ego, "I am here to do as I am asked" persona and you will find yourself getting extended, asked back or taking on greater responsibility at your clients. Too many times, consultants act like employees (as in my previous post) and end up in trouble. Understand what it means to "meet the need THEN exceed". Be sure you fully understand the scope and the schedule of your assignment and focus ong getting the job done with the highest quality. Then, and only then, can you focus on all of the extras to make the customer happy.

Change is Inevitable
Consulting is all about change. From a 2 week, 2 month or 2 year assignment, you never know how long a project will last. You must always be ready for anything to happen. Projects get cancelled for no reason, budgets get reduced or staffing gets impacted, you must be sure to continue building on your skills, keep your options open and be flexible without complaint. Enjoy your assignments when you have them, but keep your radar on for other opportunities so you can be ready just in case.

The positve about change is the fact you will never stagnate. Being a consultant is all about working from one project to the next knowing that no two projects are ever the same. This is the secret sauce that helps you grow your skills as well as grow as a professional. You must learn to embrace this change and figure out the best way to manage through it.

To Be Continued...