If we were to take a guess, you’re here because you’re on the hunt for someone to help your business solve problems, reach goals, and improve business performance.
That said, we’d love to help you find the right consultant who’s skilled enough to
approach each client in a truly customized way.
Our first tip is to scrap the old-school, heavy-handed job ads, but we know that writing a fresh, concise, user-friendly consulting job description can feel stressful.
Take a breath and rest easy! We’ll cover all the essentials for crafting the perfect job description to get those consulting resumes and cover letters flooding your inbox in no time!
Why this job description works
- Since consultants often have to travel a bit to get things done, including your physical location early on in your consultant job description alongside a concise overview of the role is a big help.
- If your new consultant will be collaborating with external partners or agencies, be sure to specify their locations as well—or whether the consultant will be working with them remotely.
- Including a bit of company history provides the background behind your organization’s values, painting a nicely-detailed picture of what you’re hoping for: are you focused more on innovative products, community, or something else?
- Some candidates may include an objective statement on their consultant resumes, and offering a glimpse into your company will allow you to see how they respond.
Why this job description works
- If you’ve got key ethical or social values that are central to your company vision, share them in your opening paragraph so that readers can quickly gauge whether their passions match up with the role.
- In your management consultant job description, make sure you highlight technical requirements and objectives while showing how they apply to your mission. Then emphasize any key soft skills in your qualifications section.
- Your JD should portray the job’s balance of private strategizing vs. interpersonal presentation and collaboration—every consultant will need to bring a blend of both to the table, but give them an idea of where your job falls on that spectrum.
- Showing your perfect balance of traits will give applicants an idea of how to tailor a management consultant resume to the job, allowing you to gauge their compatibility!
Why this job description works
- Since you’re looking for a more specialized hire, your IT consultant job description should readily give applicants an idea of how big your business is. Are you a larger company or a fresh startup?
- Sharing the scale of your organization not only gives a hint at the kind of work environment and pace to expect—but also briefs your ideal IT consultant on who their target audience will be.
- No matter how gracefully you lead in with a description of your business, make sure you outline the “tech specs” in your requirements with crystal clarity! Lay out any essential programs, certifications, and hard skills.
- Will you be skimming for specific resume skills or certifications, like CompTIA Security+? Then, name them in your job ad.
Write a Consulting Job Description Worth More Than Two Cents
Imagine you’re the CEO of a company that just hired a consultant to provide insights on your new expansion strategy. When they begin with their presentation, it’s nothing but painful: they’re clearly unprepared, nervous, and unable to substantially answer any questions you might have. It’s obvious they haven’t done their homework.
In the same way you’d expect the consultant to come with their best foot forward, so should your job description for your new consultant provide the best possible first impression of your organization. And while you might think that’s a piece of cake, our research shows quite the opposite!
In fact, we’ve seen consultant job descriptions so vague you can’t tell what sector or vertical applicants would be working for, while others displayed such terrible formatting that they looked more like coding assignments than job descriptions! Don’t want to end up in our “Hall of Fame?” No worries because our guide is here to make sure your job description lands with the right audience and drives action.
Counsel yourself on who you need on your team and why
Just like all great stories have a character with a clear motivation, you need to get to the root of your problem if you want your target audience to quickly understand if they’re a good fit for the role. Is your consulting firm expanding? Are you undergoing internal restructuring and need an outside perspective? Too many clients under your belt? By providing some clarity, candidates can determine whether or not to apply.
There’s more: to make sure your consulting job description lands with the right people, it should reflect the values that you want your future hires to have, just like your organization. But how?
If you’re searching for a great consultant, chances are high that you’ll want someone who’s a creative thinker, has excellent cross-collaboration skills, and also has a strong work ethic. But what are you writing in your job description that underscores that you value these abilities?
- If you need a consultant who has a creative approach, do you mention the importance creativity plays in your job description? Is your creative approach clearly emphasized as a key differentiator for your company?
- If you’re looking for someone who’s great at cross-collaboration, have you included some of the different departments it’s expected the consultant will work with? Do you stress great interpersonal and communication skills?
- When looking for someone with a dedicated work ethic, are you transparent that there may be longer hours or a lot of travel involved? Do you provide above-adequate compensation in exchange?
By taking just a few minutes to bring across your organization’s mission, vision, and perspective, you’ll be able to bang out a consultant job description that truly connects.
Review, revise, repeat for a richly-developed job description
Before you publish that job description, it’s absolutely important to edit, edit, edit! Chances are high that your first draft is far too long, so we’d recommend keeping it to around 500-600 words max. After trimming the fat, closely check it for spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and fix any typos you might see. Beyond the nitty-gritty, make sure it flows smoothly and is a pleasant read.
After you’ve checked the consulting description a few times, take a break and have another pair or two of eyes critically look at it, like someone from HR or maybe another consultant. Once they’re done, make sure there are no formatting issues, and you’re ready to publish! Now all that’s left to do is wait for the consulting resumes to roll in!
Get the Writing Gears Turning by Outlining Your Consulting Job Description
Feeling a bit confused about how to structure your job description and putting it off until it’s too late? Our handy outline will make it a piece of cake!
Job details
First things first—introduce readers to your organization. Avoid writing three paragraphs about who you are; instead, give them a quick teaser in a few sentences. Let them know why you’re hiring and a little bit about the role (like who they’ll work with and where). Remember, the goal here is to draw them in and keep them reading!
About the company
Offer a sneak peek into your company. While you should provide a tiny bit of history, try to keep it short and let them know a bit about your journey to the present, your values, and maybe a little about what working at your organization is like. Remember, if they’re interested, they can always find out more on your corporate website or social media!
What you’ll be doing
This might seem like a no-brainer, but several job descriptions completely skip this section or simply provide a generic line about solving clients’ problems. While there is some overlap in most consulting roles, this section should clearly highlight what’s specific to the role, as this is what your new consultant will be doing day-to-day!
- Identify and work with process owners, internal and external stakeholders, and other decision-makers to communicate and collaborate on strategy and overall process
- Stay aware of the latest Big Data/technology industry trends
- Assess and guide organizational impact and employee satisfaction through internal communication strategies
Qualifications
Potential candidates check qualifications to see if they should apply based on their experience. That’s why it’s important to avoid being far too selective and asking for every possible hard or soft skill you can spitball. Stick to what candidates should already have from day one since there’s a lot they can pick up on the job.
- 5+ years of Media Relations/Corporate Communications/etc. experience (3+ in consulting in the financial field)
- Copywriting and copyediting experience preferred
- Solid empathy and storytelling skills a must!
Benefits
Your employees deserve to be adequately compensated for their hard work, so use this section to help draw in potential candidates (without overpromising and then not delivering!) Pro tip: don’t just say you offer a “good salary;” provide a range so that readers can determine if they should apply or not. Plus, list other non-financial benefits you offer, which can help you stand out in a tight labor market.
Functions and Responsibilities Inside the Consulting World
Consulting is a broad field of work and involves juggling different hats to succeed. After all, gaining deep insights into a company and then providing solutions to its challenges is a pretty tall order! And while it’s often a mentally challenging role, it’s also very rewarding for those who enjoy the job!
To wrap up this guide, let’s take a quick look at some potential functions you can include in your consultant job description.
Communicator
- Top-level executives and managers generally approach a consulting firm with complex problems and expect to receive clear feedback and advice to implement and solve their challenges. Coming to a solution can be time-and-labor-intensive, but it’s up to a great consultant to effectively communicate and present the findings. Whether it’s done in a virtual meeting, face-to-face, or through slide decks, one thing is sure—communication is key!
- Analyze, present, and act upon all communications decisions, presenting your findings to management for further input on executing best practices and efficiencies
- This role requires excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to clearly synthesize and distill complex/technical information to executives.
Relationship manager
- Consultants often work for and between multiple people: their own consulting agency, their clients, and various stakeholders on both sides. Conflicts may arise between parties, or a consultant may need to work tirelessly to keep everyone placated, often while dealing with external partners as well.
- Identify and work with process owners, internal and external stakeholders, and other decision-makers to communicate and collaborate on strategy and overall process
- The role requires outstanding people management skills, negotiation tactics, and strong verbal communication expertise.
Data analyst
- To determine the best solution for a client, it’s likely that consultants will need to collect and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data. From analyzing employee data to drive internal change, to making program workflow recommendations based on data management, to creating dashboards, a strong consultant will be comfortable with data-driven decision-making.
- Take ownership of analyzing and improving on program initiatives, best practices, and risks, reporting on findings and implementations to customers and executives
- The role requires critical thinking skills, familiarity with Power BI, Microsoft Excel, and Tableau, and excellent data storytelling skills.
Project manager
- Organizations hiring a consultant expect results to complex problems, which tend to require juggling multiple projects simultaneously. A great consultant might not be involved in the nitty-gritty but will need to oversee the planning, advising, and execution of projects, often across different departments.
- Develop and oversee the execution of communication and organizational change plans
- Support teams with following through on strategies and plans, for example, by developing actionable milestones, KPIs, and frameworks, while providing deadline support
- This role requires strong planning and organizational skills, the ability to work under pressure (both individually and on a team), and great communication skills.
