Learning from The Apprentice
By Mike. December 20th, 2010. Posted in Your career 1 Comment »
‘You’re fired’ – not words that anyone wants to hear, and especially not on BBC1’s ‘The Apprentice’ where it signals your exit from the competition to win a job in one of Lord Alan Sugar’s companies. Each week the contestants demonstrate working with each other can be trying at the best of times, let alone when tight deadlines loom and the pressure is on.
For the last few weeks, the candidates on Wednesday night’s show ‘The Apprentice’ have demonstrated many of the behaviours which come out under pressure, as well as what reaction those undertakings get from other team members. Although ‘The Apprentice’ may not exactly mirror your day to day office life, there are still many lessons to be learnt from the behaviour and thought processes of the candidates.
Continue reading»The run up to Christmas
By Mike. December 16th, 2010. Posted in Consultive news No Comments »
With only a couple of weeks of Christmas shopping to go, we thought a little insight into our schedule over the holiday period might help you plan ahead.
We have a splendid article on teamwork that is being finished off as you read this and will be available on Monday.
We then have our final article of the year planned for Christmas eve followed by a yearly round up for Consultive Magazine due at year end the following week.
We do hope you stay with us over the Christmas period as there’s still some great stuff to come.
Until Monday then…
Continue reading»How to network like a pro
By James. December 10th, 2010. Posted in Your career 3 Comments »
Consulting, like any other service sector business, is powered by relationships. The more relationships people in your organisation have with contacts outside of your company, the more business your firm will win. This, in most consulting firms and in business in general is referred to as “Networking”. Never has the adage “it’s all about who you know” been so true.
So how does this insightful information help you as a new consultant? Read on to find out.
Continue reading»What is your interviewer really thinking about?
By Snehil Priya. December 6th, 2010. Posted in Your career 1 Comment »
Like all of the recruitment websites and interview handbooks will tell you, adequate preparation for an interview is essential. The more you prepare, the better your chances are for success. During a consulting interview, your interviewer will be looking to see if you have a sound understanding of the role, company, industry and competitors. They will also be expecting you to demonstrate key competencies which make you suitable for the job – all of which should be detailed on their website or job description.
However, even if you tick all of the checkboxes in terms of understanding and competencies, this does not necessarily “guarantee†you a golden ticket to next step of the recruitment process or getting a job offer.
Continue reading»Why upward management is a skill you should learn now
By James. November 26th, 2010. Posted in Your career 1 Comment »
In the world of Management Consulting, and almost every other industry for that matter, there is a lot of time and energy put into training people in the art of project and people management. New line managers are sent on line management training courses that can last days. Project managers are taught numerous project management techniques from simple time planning right through to accredited methodologies like Prince 2. Even as an IT undergraduate I, like many others, had to take a module entitled Software Project Management to learn how to deliver software projects on time and budget, that’s how important project management is deemed.
What none of these courses and very few firms teach their employees is the art of Upward Management, or in other words; the art of “Managing your manager”.
Continue reading»
