My considerations focus on learning
One of my biggest motivations for making the move to consulting was a desire to challenge myself in new ways that would be more difficult to pursue in a corporate environment. Joining a consultancy offers unique opportunities to approach and learn from new challenges and new people.
New challenges
In a corporate environment, the underlying problem is often known. An existing familiarity with the business and an understanding of the available data make it easier to identify new problems.
But as a consultant, every customer brings unique challenges. The first time I meet with a client, I need to quickly understand their business, the issues they need me to solve, and what kind of data is available to me. Since I work with different customers, each with a different business, I have the opportunity to understand more diverse businesses and respond to their needs. This variety in my learning was a key driver in my decision to switch from corporate to consultancy.
Interpersonal and presentation skills
As a consultant I often find myself with little or no existing relationship to the customers who have asked for our assistance. As well as improving my interpersonal skills, I am developing my presentation skills. Since I often do not know my audience and want to be perceived in a positive light, having strong presentation skills is essential for my success as a consultant. I was looking to improve my interpersonal and presentation skills, and the opportunity to work on them continuously with clients is one of the factors that encouraged me to consider consulting.
Uncertainty brings variety
A move from corporate to consultancy is also a move from a safer harbour to more uncertain grounds. I not only had no previous direct consulting experience, but the consulting world is also by definition more uncertain. In corporate positions my tasks were well-defined compared to consulting, where they change regularly as clients and client needs change. As a consultant there are sometimes urgent deadlines, while at other times I have slower periods where I focus on internal work. Although there is a risk in having less certainty, it also keeps my work interesting.
A different culture
Apart from the differences in my job role, I also pursued another organisational culture in my career move. At Nordam Business Partners, I have colleagues and teammates with a more differentiated background than the close colleagues I have previously worked with in my corporate background. The possibility to work on projects with these diverse colleagues, who bring different skills and expertise than I do, was also one of the reasons that I wanted to change from corporate to consultancy.
It was worth it
So far, I am enjoying my time as a consultant and appreciative of my new career path. I moved from corporate to consultancy to challenge myself and learn new skills. The opportunity to take on new problems, improve my interpersonal skills, experience a new workflow, and learn from people with different backgrounds than me were all factors in my career change. I hope that my motivations provide some insight into consulting and help others who are considering a similar change.
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