Why to accept a consulting role when you’re looking for a job
A job as a consultant? Very strategic! I’d like to tell you about a real case where a person looking for work accepted an offer as a consultant without losing sight of her preferred goal of working for a company as an employee.
Eleonora’s case
The person in question is called Eleonora, she’s from Rome but has been working in Milan for several years. She has been working in the communication sector: she started as a journalist and PR expert, then worked in companies in marketing/communication, before moving into the non-profit sector with a couple of well-known organisations.
Eleonora is a bright, pleasant person with lots of contacts and a good reputation in her market. She also has a nice manner and gets on with people, so much so that – after leaving her last company because of strategic decisions – over the course of a few months, she met loads of people in her specific target, i.e. people in companies/organisations that could have offered her a role. That was her goal because Eleonora is single, 40, dedicated and passionate about her job.
I was her Career Coach.
At one point, after many meetings and a few “inadmissible” opportunities, we looked at the possibility of her working as a consultant. She received various offers, each of which was small but considered together would amount to a full-time job. So why not?
There are a number of reasons why someone might not accept this solution:
since the process is underway, they might want to land their “ideal” target, which in Eleonora’s case was a job with a reputable company
you might have the mindset that makes you more inclined to be an employee in a permanent job. Rome is a city where many people work in the public sector
you might have invested so much in the search, you may be willing to “wait a little longer” to reach your goal
...
Everyone has their own reasons. The reasons I mentioned above are quite similar to the ones Eleonora expressed herself.
But there are also valid reasons for just “going for it”:
In Italy (and many other countries) it’s best to look for a job when you already have one
Even psychologically, it’s best to have some professional commitments, even if these are not on a full-time basis, rather than nothing
There can be some interesting professional opportunities even if they are not full-time and don’t require you to use all your competencies
You can exploit two or three of your strongest competencies, in two or three different jobs, just as long as these companies are not competitors
You might discover a new and satisfying approach to your working life
You can still change your mind and accept an offer “that’s too good to refuse”
You’ll start earning money again!
Even from this perspective the labour market has changed, so open your heart and mind and don’t shy away from a role as a consultant.
The role of GoodGoing!
Is not always easy to go through the above process on your own. At the start, Eleonora felt she was being “pushed”, but after a while she was happy and, even though she has now found the type of role she always wanted, she does not regret this experience and is grateful to me. Sometimes you need a Career Coach to see things from a different perspective. At GoodGoing! we know this well because of our experience and the experience of our clients, so get in touch with us!
