The Resume of a Consultant

by mgill 19. February 2010 04:45
Sorry for the repetitive nature of using the WSJ but I thought this was a great article on being a successful consultant: 
 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704825504574581900293220092.html?mod=rss_careers 

After reading it, I was reminded of a number of conversations I've had with consultants who want to transition back to  "employee" status.  Here are the top two questions I have had: 
How do I represent my time as a consultant on my resume?   
If you are a one-person consultant, don't try to paint a different picture—just be straightforward about your situation.  I've been surprised more than once when the resume reads ACME & CO. LLC. This leads me to believe you are an employee of a company when really you're an independent consultant.  The problem with this is that it starts the conversation off on the wrong foot.  My preference on the resume is to be clear about your experience and use short case studies for your resume content and whenever possible list the name of your client.  If you can't list the name of your client, at least list the industry or business type. I am going to be honest and say that if your current role is "consultant" and there is no substance in the resume, my bet is you are using it as a place holder and it's code for "fulltime job seeker". There's nothing wrong with being a fulltime job seeker, so don’t try to hide it; and if you don’t have any real consulting experience to talk about, you're setting yourself up in the interview to fail right out of the gate. 
What title should I use? 
President, CEO, Consultant, Chief Cook and Bottle Washer? My advice, if you are a one-person consultant, is to choose a general title that reflects your situation and fill in a specific "title" when you list case studies in the content area of your resume. You will have some flexibility here, but when in doubt go for a lesser rank and use the term "equivalent" before each title, as it's likely you weren't formally given one when hired. Here is a short example of what I think is a great bullet on a resume:
  •   Equivalent - VP of Media Consolidation -  Hired as a consultant for a fulltime, six month project for a national cable provider to oversee the strategy and execution of the consolidation from a decentralized to a centralized structure for their $100 million media budget.

Overall my advice on this resume topic shares the same philosophy as all my resume advice: make it easy for your audience to figure out what you have done and be clear and accurate about your responsibilities.  The biggest red flag in an interview is the impression that what's on paper is not who the real person is. 

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