Between the consultant at the end of his or her career who has mastered his or her work perfectly and the senior consultant who wants to enter the profession, expectations are different. Here you can see what senior profiles, in the sense of over 45s, are looking for in the Council. But before doing so, it is important to take stock of the context in which senior citizens are expected to evolve.
When seniors must cohabit with generations Y and Z
Today, seniors as well as young people from generation Y and now generation Z have to cohabit. In addition, seniors will have to work longer, sometimes by choice, but also because the retirement age is changing. For companies, adapting to the current context is difficult. It is therefore essential to change mentalities in order to integrate the continuation of seniors’ careers into organizations.
The seniors are important because they have the heavy task of ensuring the transmission of knowledge towards the new generation of consultants and to accompany them. Although it’s difficult for a senior executive to manage a young Millennial (the reverse is also true), efforts must be made. To do this, management teams must actively listen to the various players.
Starting out as a consultant with an experienced profile
Becoming a consultant in business strategy consulting or organizational consulting at the end of your career may be a good idea. Contrary to popular belief, it is rare for a senior to have to start at the bottom again. Two years of professional experience in a company is considered equivalent to one year of consulting. It is therefore quite possible to work as a senior consultant directly, without having had to work in a consulting firm beforehand.
Of course, you don’t have to be afraid of the unknown, because your company will support you with in-house training in the consultancy profession, but in return it will quickly demand a return on your investment. From your past experience, you have already, through the files that you have been led to manage, taken the hat of the consultant, even more so if you have held managerial positions. Project management, strategy development, implementation of an action plan, budget and retroplanning management are tasks that you will find in the consultant’s job. The adaptation period to becoming a consultant is generally one year, so that’s how long you’ll have to become fully operational.
When it is difficult to meet the expectations of senior profiles
Obviously, not all firms are willing to hire senior profiles. Indeed, some are not willing to hire people who are close to retirement or whose salary is too high compared to the junior candidate. It is therefore advisable to ask your recruitment agency about the profiles you are looking for. Of course, there are other solutions, such as freelancing as an expert.
The expert will be able to contribute to share his experience with young consultants. Working as a freelancer allows you to put an end to the notion of hierarchical management, which can sometimes pose problems of adaptation, when you yourself have been used to working independently or managing teams.
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At SQORUS, we’re always on the lookout for senior profiles, and we offer them assignments that match their skills. Find all our job offers.
