Branimir Valentic
December 20, 2016
Being a consultant sounds quite fancy, doesn’t it? I have to admit, it does, but on the other side – I have to tell you that real life looks much different. ITIL covers a wide area in the life of an IT service, and so do the consultant’s activities.
A career change is mostly positive (although people tend to reject changes), but becoming an ITIL consultant puts many challenges in front of you. Let’s see what they are.
It’s hard to be precise – every customer is different, and every implementation has its own issues and needs. But, think about it – if someone needs a consultant, it’s because they are stuck somewhere in their implementation and someone more experienced is needed. So, basically, as a consultant you should be a “safe harbor” for your customer, which they will turn to once they need knowledge and experience.
Besides your customer needing your expertise, they need you to do the job they can’t do, because they don’t have enough resources or because of some other reason.
Usually, during breaks at the trainings I do, attendees have many questions regarding careers in ITSM (IT Service Management). I have to admit, quite often wishes are greater than possibilities. We argue about prerequisites, customers (their needs, motivations, and specifics), market, competition, prices, prosperity in an ITSM career… Basically, these are all questions an ITIL consultant copes with. So will you, if you are considering this career step.
Many ITIL consultants I’ve met have the following characteristics:
Being an expert in ITIL and having vast experience is an excellent starting point for a consultancy business. But, here is the bad news – it’s not enough. There are many other characteristics an ITIL consultant (but that could be applied to consultancy in general) needs to possess. Here are the most important ones:
This list could go on, but what’s important is that you optimize your activities and don’t recreate from scratch documents and information that can be reused for other clients. Of course, any documentation you use will need to be adapted to the client’s organization.
As with everything in life, consultancy gives you great opportunities (and happy moments, I would say), but it puts a lot of responsibility and risks on your shoulders. Sometimes it’s not easy to live with that, but that depends a lot on your personality and (“soft”) skills. What I have experienced is that many people try consultancy and quit after a few months. But, I also have my own experience, which says that consultancy gives you the opportunity to live from your knowledge and experience, as well as to increase your expertise, due to the fact that you work with many different customers and you are facing many new challenges.
Based on that, you have a great chance to extend your knowledge, apply it where it’s appreciated (i.e., at your clients), and enjoy looking at a satisfied client’s face once you help them resolve their problems and achieve their results. The reward? A paid bill (not a small one, usually) and your own satisfaction. What more could you wish for?
Use this free List of questions to ask an ITIL consultant to see how your customers will assess you as a consultant.