Consultant facts for kids

A consultant is a professional who gives expert advice in a specific area. Think of them as a super-smart helper for businesses or people who need special knowledge. They can give advice on many topics, like how to manage a company, how to use computers, or even how to improve a school.

Consultants are usually very experienced in their field. They help clients solve problems or reach goals. There are two main types of consultants:

• Internal consultants: These people work inside a company. Other departments or teams within the same company ask them for advice on their special area.
• External consultants: These people work for a different company (a "consulting firm") or on their own. They are hired by clients for a short time to share their expertise. These firms can be small, with just one person, or very large, working all over the world.

Companies hire consultants because they can get deep knowledge that they might not have inside their own team all the time. It's also a way for companies to control how much they spend, by only paying for the advice they need, when they need it.

Consultants share their advice in different ways. They often write reports or give presentations. Sometimes, they even create special software or products for their clients. The advice can be shared publicly or kept private, depending on what the client wants.

How Consultants Work

Consultants help find solutions to specific problems. The main difference between a consultant and a "temp" (a temporary worker) is how they are directed. A consultant usually decides how to do the work to solve a problem. A temp, on the other hand, usually fills a temporary job and is told what to do by the company's managers.

Consultants are usually hired for their special skills and knowledge. They are not regular employees of the company they are helping. They work based on a contract. Some companies have their own employees who act as "internal consultants" to help different teams. But most consultants work for clients outside their own company.

Many consultants work for consulting firms. However, more and more people are becoming independent consultants. This means they work for themselves and find their own clients. They might also join networks to find others to work with and get new clients.

Common Types of Consultants

Consultants work in many different areas. Here are some common types you might hear about:

• 3D Consultants are experts in things like 3D scanning, printing, modeling, and designing.
• Business transformation consultants help businesses change and improve how they operate to meet new goals.
• Engineering consultants provide services related to engineering, like designing buildings, supervising construction, or giving advice on technology.
• Educational consultants help students and parents make decisions about school, like choosing a college or understanding tuition fees.
• Human Resources (HR) consultants give advice on managing employees and workplace practices.
• Immigration consultants help people with the legal steps needed to move from one country to another.
• Internet consultants are experts in how businesses can best use the internet. They know about new web tools and how to use them for things like planning and training.
• Information Technology (IT) consultants specialize in computer hardware, software, or computer networks.
• Interim managers are independent consultants who temporarily take on senior management roles in a company.
• Marketing consultants advise on how to develop products and how to promote them to customers.
• Process consultants are experts in making business operations more efficient and better designed.
• Public Relations (PR) consultants help companies manage their public image and how they communicate with the public.
• Performance consultants focus on helping clients improve how they perform overall or on specific projects.
• Sales consultants help companies improve their sales strategies and increase their sales.
• Strategy consultants (also called management consultants) work with top leaders to develop and improve a company's overall plans and goals.

Where Consultants Work

Consultants often spend time at their client's office, even though they might do a lot of their research at their own office or home. By being at the client's location, they can see how things work, talk to employees, managers, and leaders, and truly understand the organization.

The amount of time a consultant spends at a client's site depends on how much they need to interact with the client's team. For example, a consultant helping a company with employee happiness might spend a lot of time at the client's office, talking to many people. But a legal consultant giving advice on a specific law might only have a few meetings at the client's office and do most of their work elsewhere.

With the rise of online platforms, many consultants now work more flexibly from different locations, often from their own homes.

What It Takes to Be a Consultant

There isn't one single qualification to become a consultant, except for certain fields like medicine or engineering, where specific degrees or licenses are required. Consultants often have university degrees, advanced degrees, or special professional certifications related to their area of expertise. For example, a civil engineer consulting on a bridge project would need to be a licensed professional engineer. A legal consultant would need a law degree or be a member of the bar.

However, some people become consultants after having a long and successful career as a leader in business or government. In these cases, their experience is their main qualification, rather than a specific degree.

A well-known consultant named Peter Block describes a consultant as "someone who can influence an individual, group, or organization, but doesn't have direct power to make changes happen." This means a consultant gives advice, but they don't make the final decisions for the client.

Many professional organizations oversee consultants and their qualifications.

• The International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI) is a global group that awards the Certified Management Consultant (CMC) status. This is a recognized accreditation for management consultants worldwide.
• The Chartered Institute of Management Consultants (CIMC) also awards the Chartered Management Consultant Ch.MC designation.
• The International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) is a group for national associations of consulting engineers.

More Types of Consultants

Images for kids

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  A consultant delivering a presentation

See also

In Spanish: Consultor para niños