20 Habits of a successful IT consultant that clients respect and value

20 Habits of a successful IT consultant that clients respect and value

Today the world has become small. Largest companies around the world are hiring consultants onsite and offshore to complete their projects. Also IT start ups make pitches to investors for investment. Consultant save time of company employees, bring versatility from multiple project specialization and save long term cost of hiring for companies. But have you observed that not all consultants get paid equally or get treated equally. However gone are the days when only big 5 consulting companies enjoyed monopoly and respect in consulting world. Employees of some huge software product companies or even start ups with unique and advanced abilities get paid well and are highly valued. Even Freelance workers are getting hired by many companies.

The question is how do you feel being a consultant? While consulting offer lot of job opportunity, it requires lot of constant learning, versatility, flexibility, travelling. Projects could be long term or short term so there is less job security and more stress. Consultant don't have promise of long term future in the same company due to legal binding contracts between clients and vendors. Not only that, sometimes people feel undervalued and unappreciated or less appreciated for the efforts they make as a consultant and thus they loose enthusiasm at work. Some also get out of market if they don't continue learning new skills as per market demands.

So how to feel and be valued, appreciated and upbeat at work as a consultant? Having worked as an IT consultant for more than 14 years, I discovered some traits that helps one with a promising career as an IT consultant.

1. Wake up early: Whether you are a CEO or a fresher, if you wake up early you are already ahead in race. You have more positive energy in the morning hours. so you can accomplish more. also you can remain stress free when you are ready early for the important things during the day.

2. Take exercise: Sitting in front of computers take a toll on our health. Ensure that you do enough physical activity and exercise to remain healthy. because a healthy mind lives in a healthy body. If you fall sick often, you can not focus on work well. Being fit also gives you good personality and in long run you will last longer to accomplish your dreams.

3. Demeanor : Whether you are attending an interview or working on a project, daily you have to attend meetings and interact with people verbally, non verbally, or through written communication. Your demeanor speaks a volume about who you are. Always dress professionally, be presentable with your dressing, hair, smell, make up, everything communicates nonverbally that how professional you are. Even if you are working from home and attending meetings online, please ensure to dress up and be presentable on call. It impacts how you speak when you are ready in your professional outfit. Smell good, it makes your own day pleasant. It's not important to always wear branded cloths etc but ensure clean, ironed cloths with professional colors that suites you and make you feel good about yourself.

4. Punctuality: Always be on time. People who respect everyone's time and are present on time consistently are respected for that. If you are late for a genuine reason, it is important to send a note in advance. I remember that one of my client manager some times required to travel by train in London at the time of our regular meeting. He was so courteous that even if he suspected to be late for 2 minutes, he would send an advance note with apology. We respected his courtesy and professionalism and it motivated everyone to be on time. In my early days at in Silicon Valley I got a project with Symantec, Mountain View. I did not have a car at that time so I used to take a bus. I was mostly the first person to reach office daily. this gave me plenty of time to go through trainings and documents and I could also come home on time. I got a performance award in our team as the PM and other leaders saw my dedication to work. In online meetings also always join on time and for important client meetings or interviews join 5 min early. This gives you little time for informal chat with colleagues and helps you know them better. Sometimes it gives you a chance to talk to very important people who join early.

5. Value your time: Be punctual but don't let people to take it for granted. don't lengthen informal talks in professional meetings. If the discussion is not going anywhere, it's ok to leave politely saying "I have another appointment." If you value your time, people value your presence.

6. Team work: When you represent your organization as a team, be supportive to your colleagues. Help them update. Prepare jointly in advance so there are no disagreements in front of client and if such situation occur, handle it tactfully to maintain grace of the team. Remember your internal conflicts can be viewed negatively against not only you and your team but also your organization. And remember, a football team can not win, if strikers don't pass the ball to one another. So however competitive people are, you try to maintain your decency and team spirit to set an example.

7. Enjoy your work: Best people choose work that they enjoy as career. But Genius people enjoy whatever they are given to do. I always enjoyed working. I have switched many careers, from teaching to sales and marketing to journalism to Social worker to IT professional and enjoyed everything that I did. Work keeps you away from three evils: boredom, wises and needs. It gives you recognition in family and society. It gives you financial freedom. In the world there is so much unemployment at such a time having a well paid white collar job is a boon. We are hired to solve problems so when you see problems at work don't get disheartened. Be in the solution space not problem space.

8. Keep Learning : Learning keeps one up-to-date. It open ups your mind. It updates your skills. There is no age that is too old to learn new skills. So when you get time and opportunity learn new skills. I have learnt more on the job than in the university. It's not necessary to learn things to get certificates. Learn what appeals to you. Steve Jobs dropped out of college but he learnt Calligraphy and that's why we have so many beautiful fonts in computers.

9. Be confident: Confidence attract people like magnet. It gives you authority. People admire when you stand your grounds. Don't be arrogant or hurt anyone but be solid on your grounds. Wear your attitude.

10. Keep good professional photos: When you are attending meetings online, and video is off, people see your photo on MS teams. A good professional photo gives good wibe and good impression. When there are occasions of team events, don't forget to take some photos and share with colleagues. We all love to cherish good memories. Whether professional meetings or offsites, one day we will remember them as good times.

11. Speak meaningful: Always study well on the topics of discussion in the meeting. Go through important documents twice and make notes. also keep your questions ready if you get a chance to ask. Improve your vocabulary to effectively articulate your sentences. Speak peacefully, don't hurry. Be accurate with the facts and figures and speak with authority on the subjects of your knowledge.

12. Speak less, Listen more: It is important to participate in meetings. But if you listen more you learn more. Good listeners end up learning what others miss. Speak only what is must. Keep your points ready. Make sure they are relevant and use your presence of mind. Sometimes you may have prepared something but if there is no time or if it is not an appropriate forum if you feel, save those topics for later.

13. Avoid Argument: Express your opinion, but if someone disagrees, don't give many counter arguments. Leave discussion on a friendly note with a smile. Relationships are more important than winning arguments. People learn with experience and so we do. Our opinions can change. Leave room for people to self introspect on topics without making them feel as a looser.

14. Agree more: Agree with people more often and mention it explicitly eg. "As your rightly mentioned", "Can't agree more on that..", "Absolutely right", It makes sense", "Thanks for your valuable inputs", " that's very thoughtful", I like your suggestion that...When you use such phrases it creates a positive bonding within the group. And if you agree more, once in a while a disagreement doesn't hurt much.

15. Smile: A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. it's a powerful nonverbal communication when there is nothing to say.

16. Take feedback at regular interval: When you take feedback on your work, client and managers can notice your sincerity to work. It also helps you learn about what's good in your performance and what needs improvement and it also reinforces to client. It gives opportunity to people to let you know your mistake or area of improvement without hurting you.

17. Maintain your Self Respect: Whether you belong to a big company or a small vendor or freelancer, if you don't respect yourself, no one else will. Without hurting anyone, ensure you maintain your boundaries. Be classy, Avoid falling for free stuff. Stand tall for your values. Don't feel shy to say no to something you are not comfortable. Don't be greedy or miser.

18. Take leaves: It is important to unwind and recharge yourself so when there is opportunity, do take leave/vacation and come back fresh. If you continuously work work work, your battery goes down :)

19. Join hobby activity outside work: Join some hobby activity outside work. It helps you unwind and feel happy. When you are happy, you have positive attitude which builds bridges with people.

20. Time to make a Move.: Know when it's a good time to exit. If you are not learning anything, if you are not valued and if you don't feel good after every effort, try talking to your manager about your concerns and if that does not resolve the situation, may be it's time to move. Don't be afraid of change.

Hope this helps everyone to develop habits that makes them feel more fulfilled as a consultant.

©Priyanka Shah

Questions?

Please post comments and I will respond. Thanks.