Training For A Career In Personnel Consultancy

Some HR experts go it alone in order to fulfill a long-held goal to run their own company. Several people have been laid off or furloughed as a result of the outbreak, forcing them to start their own business.

It doesn't matter how you got here, working as an HR consultant has its advantages and disadvantages. For advice on how to plan and handle a major career shift, we consulted HR experts who had successfully made the transition.

 

Evaluate Why You Do What You Do

As Arc Human Capital's principal and a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)-certified teacher, Adam Calli recommends prospective consultants to "take a step back and ask themselves why they want to become consultants." An unceremonious termination in 2015 led him to take up work as an independent consultant. In the meantime, are you looking for a means to supplement your income while you're looking for a new job? " The reason for this is that they are two completely different entities."

Human resources consultant Mary Ellen Brennan, SHRM-SCP, advocates assessing the advantages and disadvantages of working as a consultant before making the leap. You will have to decide for yourself whether or not a feature is advantageous or disadvantageous. Individualism and teamwork are two different things for different people.

According to Brennan, who became a consultant in 2018, she enjoys the variety of working with multiple clients rather than just one. While working in an HR office of one for the previous 13 years, I didn't have the opportunity to support various missions, but now that I'm a consultant, I do."

 

Set The Stage

Brennan and Calli recommend doing a few things before quitting your job to become a consultant to guarantee that your business is up and running as soon as possible:

Form a limited liability corporation (LLC) (LLC). There are additional benefits to forming your business as a limited liability corporation (LLC). In order to safeguard your personal assets, any claims, liens, or lawsuits made against your company will be limited to the company's assets. Filing fees vary from state to state, but LLC applications normally cost between $50 and $100, according to Nolo.com, a self-help legal book and software publisher.

A professional-looking website should be created. This might help potential clients find you and learn more about the consulting services you offer. For $8 per month, you can get a custom domain, advanced design tools, Google Analytics integration, and the ability to make money from advertising on your site utilizing WordPress's premium plans.

Create a bank account for your business. A second checking account should be set up to keep personal and company money separate (and making a mess). Corporate bank accounts make everything from tracking receipts to submitting tax returns a lot easier.

Save for unforeseen circumstances by setting up an emergency savings account. The outbreak has shown that small-business owners, particularly HR consultants, need to be prepared for the unexpected, including income losses. So, before starting your business, create a rainy-day reserve if you haven't already. An emergency fund, according to many financial experts, should be set up for three to six months' worth of essential costs. Work as a consultant after working for a company like GM? "You need a cushion," says Susan Heathfield a management consultant and human resources writer in Williamston, Mich. "You're putting yourself at risk if you don't."

 

Achieve A Solid Clientele

In the beginning, you'll need to spend a lot of effort building references, marketing your services, and reaching out to new clients, says Heathfield.

This is a decent starting point? Try to turn your current employer into a customer, Brennan suggests. It was agreed upon that I would be allowed to leave the firm with consulting employment after I notified the CEO months in advance that I would be starting my own company. Aside from attending trade shows and making personal contact with everyone in her professional network, Brennan used other methods to drum up business. "I informed everyone what I was doing, and everyone in my neighborhood was supportive," she says.

To avoid tackling it alone, Calli recommends joining a consulting firm first. In particular if you have a family and can't afford to go without a wage while your business is getting off the ground, he says, "joining an existing consulting firm that can supply you with clients" is not a bad idea.

When it comes to gaining customers, "farming" comes to mind. The seeds can grow if they are planted in the right soil and cared for.

Create Your Own Specialty

In order to distinguish yourself from your competition, you need define yourself as a specialist in a certain industry or service. That's the route Brennan took. As she describes it, "I'm an expert in association management, which you can see on my LinkedIn account." On the other side, Heathfield specializes on small and mid-sized businesses as well as large corporations when it comes to industrial and technological projects.

Cutting yourself off from the rest of the pack may also help you better grasp your value proposition and what you bring to the table," writes Heathfield.

Keep your options open, but don't close the door on them. "Consider how you want to be seen in your local market," Calli advises. " There are more opportunities for generalists since they can handle a wide range of tasks, whereas specialists may be able to charge higher prices for their services, but they may also be narrowing their customer base in the process. It may also be more difficult for you to charge a higher cost."

 

Seek The Advice Of An Elder

Especially if you've never worked for yourself before, starting your own consulting business might be intimidating. This is hardly a solo endeavor, though. As Brennan puts it, "I got a coach as one of the things I did that was quite useful." They helped me acquire confidence because they work in the same sector as me.