6 Handy Tips for Dealing with Consultants in your Life for Several Personal and Professional Occasions

6 Common mistakes to avoid while hiring any type of Consultant in your Personal or professional life

A Practical guide for anyone who needs some basic tips before taking consultation services 

 

Everybody requires a set of consultants in life- Especially in a diversified country like India, when you travel from your own city to a strange city, you confront inversion of habitation. You need to bring changes in Modus Vivendi for endurance. In the unusual territory, you must follow the local Rule of Land. e.g. If you search Amritsari Kulche in Agra Hotels you will find them in the menu but when served taste will surely disappoint you.

 

In saving your hard earned penny, only a genuine consultant can stand by you, to support you in fulfillment of your dreams. Hence, choice of consultant is very imperative. Be it consultant for job, accommodation on rent, tax saving, insurance planning, car purchase, consumer disputes …etc.

 

Hence, survey reports suggest that market is deficient of consultants 10 times of its existing figures in India. Hon. Late Dr. Kalam, The Peoples President of India, said once 

“Learn from mistakes committed by unsuccessful people then learning from success stories “ .

 

Here is the practical guide of common mistakes committed by the mass in choosing the right consultant. If you learn from them it will definitely save you from a catastrophe:-

[Read the previous blog post at @Adsnity.work career blog:  10 Tips to overcome career and success phobias in your life]

 

1.  How Can One Born with a Silver Spoon Be your Lord or Savior?

 

It’s directed to us culturally that the best consultant is one who inherits consultancy business. Carrying out trust factor and authenticity of the subject. I suggest to prefer one who has entrenched himself into the profession. Know his work profile, specializations and character before entering his office. Consultant repeatedly updates profile on social media. Also, you can make dummy calls to check hidden charges and procedure before fixing the meeting time. 

 

e.g. If you want an accommodation on rental, you have to search property consultant. In case, you choose the consultant with the state of the art office in the prime location and established business you are knocking at the wrong doors.

 

He will advise you to save the penny by purchase brand new apartment of 4 million. He will guide you to easy loan EMIs. Say pay 20k p. . EMI instead of rentals.

 

His focus is on earning brokerage of 0.5 % of your apartment cost and not on 1-month rental brokerage. If you get influenced by the dream of buying an apartment instead of rentals, you may enter into deadlock situation for your career! As in private employer can sack you anytime yet bank EMIs can’t excuse you! 

 

 2. Don’t Scam your Decision by Referrals from the Close Ones  

 

Internet Surveys predict, nobody refer for free unless exceptions, without any motives. The free referral is expensive than the one which came from a source who was demanding the money. Hence, look out for services from the person who meets only outstanding expectations.

 

e.g. Friends referred  you an insurance agent. He may be an MDRT Club Member or designated club member of the town.  But try to find from his decade old clientele about his services by asking some valid questions.

 

Did he stand by them in their hard times? Claimed money on their behalf during an unpredictable event, like accidental Death, Emergencies or Casualties etc?

 

It is observed that under service tag many of insurance agents just collect money and lend it to private vendors for short term gains. They will pay your installment before the deadline but have drawn benefit of cash flow! Never fall to their cash collection service instead pay yourself with extra effort.

 

3. Hire Integrity Not Intelligent!

 

It is wisely said that ” Hire the Character and Train them” instead of Hiring Intelligent who could divert you to their selfish motives. If you want to hire a legal consultant to sue your previous employer or a consumer giant MNC, you will find all ambitious claims from Legally qualified camp.

 

Everybody will convince you that, “yes”, Hon. Judiciary is in your favor howsoever wealthy your enemy is. When you move a Step Ahead they will Step Back Foot to compromise with MNC or your previous employer and earn huge money.

 

Can you afford to be back stabbed by your hired person by his act of handshaking with your enemies?

Certainly not!

You need Loyal Lawyer!!

 

4. If You Don’t Know your Consultant So Is Vice Versa

 

Once in a life space, every employee has to hunt for the right HR consultant. As you gather professional experience, your expectations keep rising. This motivates you take the quantum leap and move on to the next level. Where you look for the growth with a position.

 

Once you are accountable towards your family, the professional life also needs extra attention. Because of your higher aspirations to own an apartment, trip to a foreign land, weekend parties, fitness consciousness, all accumulates an expense sheet, that is generated at the end of every month. You start searching credit cards to meet running expenses. There you aspire for a job having ” growth with a reputation “.

 

You need off on weekends or weekdays? You need evening free time or working? Your preferences are neither understood by any strange Freelancing consultant nor by the employer. Freelancer may just want to en-cash your joining. Hence, he wants you to crack the interview & catch the job fastest possible. He plays his role till his final slab of payments transferred into his account by the employer. He is done with you thereafter.

 

Once you resume the new office with a bunch of aspiration you realize; your family responsibilities are incomplete without your physical presence. There you mess up between parents check-up and office duties. This puts you into dilemma to search another job even before completing 6 months in current office. This typical situation is a loss – the loss for everybody, The Freelancer, Yourself and the Employer. Cataclysm could have been avoided.

 

Hence, choose right HR Consultant who understands your skills-set, exposure, overall performance capability at the same time he understands your responsibility towards home. e.g. Does your family life allows you to work overtime ? or can you replace weekend holidays by working on weekdays?

 

Human Resources Department has become Cyber Resources Department. Freelancers may play online “Match the Pairs ” between employee & employers, grab the money if the deal is successful else no loss to consultants. You invest hard earned money and time in traveling to employers offices for rounds of interviews and lots of mental stress to clear them.

 

” A Consultant who does not know you well, can’t place you well  “

 

To conclude- find only those HR Consultants who are focused on their work, responsible towards their services, knows the employer’s requirement extremely well.

 

[ Related read: Which 10 Freelance websites are the best for part time works, like data entry, etc? ]

 

5. Find Track Record Before Hiring Any Consultant 

 

Once you are committed to your life partner you desire to finalize your wedding consultants asap. The most important task is to find a wedding planner or consultant who can take care of A to Z services within your budget. The wedding is the most memorable event of any couples life.  You wish to make event adorable for the entire gathering witnessing your event. You are looking for the best consultant of the town.  It’s your dignity that is being invested and not the only cost incurred. You expect no mishap on the eleventh hour.  

 

The most important occasion like marriage, are once for all, never repeated. Society forms their opinion about how successful are you though your wedding event organization. Can you afford to disappoint your guests who will ultimately carry along a wrong image of you? No. Will the consultant not miss the quality and personalized services to all your dignified guests? Did You get most competitive rates of the town?

 

The search of a wedding consultant ends with yellow pages, website feedback form, google search etc.

 

Million dollar question is how to trust a wedding planner to take care of your dignity in the event?

 

Will you pay him upfront without testing his spirit? Certainly not!

 

Smart idea is to plan your dates 6 months in advance. Take a glimpse of your wedding planner’s diary. Tell him you will be his personal guest to witness 5 events that he is going to organize for others. Make a family trip to an event and taste the food, get the vibe. Interact with his vendors.

 

Have a close look at floral arrangements. Photographer skills to be tested. DJ AV quality & live performances should be inquired. Understand his emergency plans to assure a continuum of the event. Pay upfront only if you are satisfied with his services you witnessed.

 

Once you attain 4-5 such events you will be able to conclude the best wedding consultant and negotiate with him for Value for money deal.

 

[ Useful resources: What are the best website portals for employment news if you are living in the USA? ]

 

6 . Life is a River Keep on Flowing 

 

How so many precautions may have been taken. You can’t always control adversity. Every employer, employees & consultants has to go through such phases in routine life. We come across road accidents, we feel it could have been avoided if this …..could have been done. But what happened was predestined to happen. One should not add this to his belief system and say it’s unlucky road for me or unlucky day for me.

 

So also for people we meet in daily life. Despite a lot of brainwork, we met wrong people, but we can’t claim they are wrong forever and for everybody.  It’s a learning for everybody. So if you find one CA to be greedy, don’t label every CA of the town same. Just learn your lesson of wisdom and move on.

 

Remember Carlos Santana’s divine words “ You are my river keep on flowing through “.