Differentiate yourself to be a more attractive candidate.
Although Watson Wyatt reports that 23 percent of all U.S. firms plan layoffs this year, some companies realize that there's more talent available right now than there has been in years. Many smart and successful executives are recognizing that gravitating to the consulting and other service firms is the place to be during this structural shift within the global economy.
Firms are hiring executives and engaging consultants---it's just that now they want a different type of person---one who has a combination of strategy consulting and operations work experience. That person is a trusted adviser with real content knowledge who can serve in a very specific role.
Companies are interested in laser-specific candidates who have hybrid experience. Consulting firms would typically like to go into a company where someone maybe started in a strategy role, then moved over to an operating role and has been in that kind of situation for a number of years, and they would go after that person to come back into consulting.
What can you do now to position yourself for a better position down the road?
"The best thing to do is work your business school alumni network from years past, the second is to quietly build a relationship with a half dozen or so executive recruiting firms that are known to have a large practice in professional services," says Bob Damon, president, North America, of executive recruitment firm Korn/Ferry International. "Generally what happens with service firms is in a downturn, they don't rightsize themselves quickly enough. And so in a downturn, they're trailing indicators."
Damon says taking on the right projects is essential. "I think that having experience helping develop a strategy that required a turnaround would be helpful experience for consultants to have given what's going to take place over the next couple of years."
Jonathan Phillips, founder of Magellan International, a professional services search firm says, "Who you want to hire is the trusted adviser who really owns relationships in either the industry or competency where you want to generate revenue over time. Trust is earned over time; you can't buy it and sell it, and it's not as portable as people think. It takes time to develop it."
Source: Consulting, January 2009