Paradox: noun
1. A statement or proposition that
seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
2. A self-contradictory and false
proposition.
3. Any person, thing, or situation
exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature.
4. An opinion or statement contrary
to commonly accepted opinion.
I am well into a Controller search
for a global manufacturing company based here in the northern suburbs of Atlanta.
The client has identified two lead candidates and I have three back-up
candidates in the queue for insurance. One of my backup candidates is
particularly interesting as he has been doing consulting/project work for the
past eight years. He is interesting because his consulting experience has
largely been with manufacturers, making him a viable candidate.
Early in my career it was not
uncommon for the unemployed to present their time between jobs as
"Consultant" whether they had actual clients or not. At
that time "Consultant" became a euphemism for unemployment.
There was a greater stigma attached to unemployment in those days.
The realities of the past 30 years have helped people understand that competent
people can be displaced through no fault of their own. Industry
restructuring leading to mergers and acquisitions and subsequent right-sizing,
and down-sizing has affected most us, one or more times. In all of this
turmoil, the decision to terminate particular Executives is more like Survivor
Island than we would like to admit. The individual decisions are often
more politically driven than for competence and potential. Thankfully,
opinions have changed about people taking on consulting/project assignments
while unemployed. There are of course other biases against consultants,
even those from established consulting companies.
We live in a different world
today. There is still a lot of work to be done, but companies are
reluctant to add to staff. In this environment out-sourcing
is a very desirable alternative. It is easier to terminate a contract
than to fire a difficult employee. Given this reality, I have long advised
my candidates to consider free-lancing. It is a good way to maintain
one's cash flow needs and a viable job-search strategy. The activities
one must engage in to find a consulting assignment are no different than those
required to find a job. The effort is
complimentary. From the employer’s
perspective the “Temp to Perm” analogy comes to mind. In the example of the candidate, mentioned
earlier in this post, freelance work gave him the opportunity to gain new
experiences, strengthening his resume, making him a more viable candidate. There is a balancing act one must
consider. The longer one is employed as
a freelancer the more difficult it becomes to find full-time employment. It seems that the inflection point is in the
two to three year range. By this time
one must decide which path to pursue or the consultant path may be chosen for
you, like it or not.
As with any bias or prejudice, the
employer’s predisposition toward consultants is due to a lack of understanding
about the challenges faced by the freelancer.
The freelancer is a self-employed, small business owner. Fundamentally, they must be competent and
able to work with people to complete an engagement and generate referrals for
new business. More importantly, however,
the freelancer must be good at business development to land their assignments. They must be successful networkers and good sales
people, skills that are valued in any successful organization. They must be good financial managers as well. These traits may not be well understood by
most employers.
In conclusion, businesses need
freelancers to help them achieve their goals while minimizing their labor
exposure. Displaced professionals are
available to do freelance work while looking for full-time employment. The paradox is that after a certain period of
time a freelancer may become unemployable and type-cast as a consultant. Understand the trade-offs and plan
accordingly.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so please leave a comment.
Jim Weber, President
New Century Dynamics Executive Search
www.newcenturydynamics.com
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