Here me out on this… it’s NOT about negotiation as some have guessed when I told them what I was planning on writing about.
So let’s get into it… [Read more…]
3 Reasons Your Management Consulting Resume Didn’t Get a Call Back For An Interview
You ever apply for a management consulting position you KNOW is perfect for you but never got a call back?
You send a follow-up email to the recruiter or hiring manager only to be met with silence?
You made sure your resume was FILLED with accomplishments since you entered the working world. In fact, you have so many wonderful things you’ve done, you can’t even fit them on one page. How could nobody call you back for this position?
Without even seeing what you submitted, I can give you a some direction on where you may need to change your approach to improve your odds on the next application.
Why Consultants Hate Their Clients But Keep Coming Back For More
The truth is people in client service hate their clients. This is especially true for us management consultants.
So why do we keep coming back?
Consultants feel bad for their clients.
We know good people can sometimes make bad decisions in difficult circumstances. After seeing it so many times, we go into a client situation fully expecting the client to be too in the weeds of their corporate crisis to think about the big picture. It’s almost like when you have a child panic because they think a monster is in the room. You coming in and saying it’s just a shadow before turning the lights on isn’t going to be so persuasive. That’s assuming they even hear you over the shrieks of horror… Same thing with clients.
Consultants like to play the super hero.
We come back because of the gratification of helping rescue someone from such a disaster. While not quite as risky physically, I imagine firefighters feel the same about running into burning buildings.
The truth is the outcome of a high-visibility consulting project can make or break a career, so some hesitation by the client is understandable. A client thinking they can achieve different business results without a change in behavior? Not so much. That’s where the consultant adds the most value, by guiding the client on the change journey and highlighting what might not be obvious to the client because they’re so close to the problem. Being the bearer of bad news is never fun but somebody has to lay down the reality check.
You ever have a client/customer that made you wonder why they hired you in the first place? Share your story in the comments!
If the cartoon caught your eye, let +Michael Voogd know his work is appreciated!
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3 Words That Will Kill Your Career
In today’s working world, people are asked to do a lot, to fulfill roles which may not come naturally to them. Part of this stems from companies becoming “leaner” with their staff. Everyone has their primary role but then everyone also has to pitch in a little in other areas to make sure businesses continue to run smoothly. I remember in business school studying Southwest Airlines and how they have such high on-time rates. It came down to two things.First, they stayed away from the worst airports, so no O’hare and no JFK, to name a couple.
How The First Rule of Fight Club Helped Me Cope With So Much Business Travel
People who travel for business have it made…at least that’s what my wife would have you believe, and I have a sneaking suspicion she’s not alone in thinking that. What I didn’t realize until recently is just how far from the truth people’s perceptions are. Not long before we made the move to California we went as a family to the gym and decided we would put the kids in the babysitting room for a little so we could go and sit in the hot tub. It was great. My wife loved it, going on about how long it had been since she’d been in a hot tub but what followed made me do a double take. She said, “you must do this all the time.”
Uh…what?
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| What my wife thinks I’m doing when I travel for work |
Not exactly….Now I’m not going to lie. I’ve had some quality meals while on the road but most of the time those meals celebrated working some absurd amount of hours over multiple months of a project and always involved spending more hours after work with people I already spent too much time with already.
Flaunting the good times makes things even worse for you if you’re implementing tighter budgets at home. Somehow “I didn’t pay for it” doesn’t work as well as you might think to reduce the dirty looks you get when your significant other who doesn’t travel for work thinks you live the high life 4 days/week.
It took a few times trying to share a couple of bright spots on a couple of lengthy projects before I realized what I had to do…I had to start applying the first rule of fight club to my work trips.
If your spouse stays home with raise the children full-time, this rule applies double for you.
You do NOT talk about fun on work trips.
If either of those children happen to be in the “terrible two” phase, the only things you should be saying are “thank you” and “how can I help?”
As funny as it sounds, everyone’s happier when everyone’s equally miserable. Go figure.
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