Consultant life can sometimes seem almost too good to be true. There are many stories of consultants living luxurious lifestyles and doing minimal work. In the movies and tv shows, consultants frequently visit the world and make the job look very easy. These stereotypes are not often true. Let’s debunk some common consulting myths as featured in an article on The Muse.
Firstly, the relationship between CEOs and consultants is not always “buddy-buddy.” It is a common misconception that consultants exclusively work with the executive team and are very close to the CEO. This can be true for specific projects, but most consultants’ reality is that they work closely with the VP or other manager-level clients each day. It’s important to note that C-suite executives are not the only valuable assets to want in your network.
Next, it is easy to assume that consultants live like rock-stars, but this is not often the case. People tend to imagine consultants taking first-class flights, eating at 5-star restaurants, and generally living pretty glamorously. More often than not, a consultant’s day-to-day life consists of hours of working on excel spreadsheets and early morning trips to small towns. Hand-in-hand with this, it is often presumed that consultants work crazy hours throughout the night. Although some projects require extra hours, it is normal for consultants to be home before midnight, even if a project is exceptionally intense.
Another common consulting myth is that it is a shark eat shark world that stresses competitiveness and a cutthroat environment. Part of this belief is due to the “up or out” policy that firms adopt, where you either get promoted or leave the company. This policy is designed to find the people who produce the highest quality of work, not to push out good people. If you are dedicated to your work, and it shows in your presentation, you should have nothing to worry about succeeding in the consulting world.
Lastly, many people are sometimes under the impression that consultants tell clients things they already know or can figure out for themselves. This stereotype is untrue for many reasons. Consultants spend hours researching and analyzing data to help solve problems that their clients wouldn’t be able to solve on their own. Consultants are used globally in firms of all sizes and help to achieve incredible results.