Do I Really Need Style Consultants?

We all need to take care of our image these days! Indeed, more than ever first impressions are very important wherever we go. That’s why men and women alike are seeking the help of style consultants to revamp their wardrobe and look.

Taking care of your clothes and look speaks a lot about your personality. Going for a job interview dressing professionally will increase your likelihood to get the job. However, if you go to an interview without thinking through of what you are going to wear and just grab the first garments that you see, you will most likely make a bad impression especially if the garment you chose is inappropriate.

Who Needs a Style Consultant?

Everybody needs a style consultant. Fortunately, each and every one of us can afford one as it is just a matter of having the right budget plan. You will find later on that hiring these professionals will cost you less money. Just imagine how many times you bought clothes and accessories that you didn’t use later on because you realized they do not look good on you! How many times you have wasted your money on such bad shopping purchases. However, if you hire professional consultants, you can rest assured that every single item you will buy will be worn because it will look good on you.

How do I Choose the Right Consultant?

You should not go ahead and hire the first company that you see on the sidewalk or on the internet. Hiring a consultant means that you should be able to connect with that person on a personal level. Building style does not happen overnight. You should be comfortable enough with the person you hired so you can talk to her/him about what you really want and not just follow what is suggested. There should always be a personal touch to that; your personality should, at least, surface so you will not feel totally alien in your own skin. Make sure to interview a minimum of 3 image consultants and see who has great style suggestions and who you can connect with. Try to find out if they are willing to meet and talk with you first before you sign the contract.

After all, you should be comfortable and at ease with the the style consultant you hire and the whole experience should be both fun, worthy and fruitful.

How To Become Wardrobe Consultants

Having a career where you have the power to tell people what clothes to wear and how to wear them right is indeed a great way to make a living! If this is a profession that you love to do, then you might very well become one of the best wardrobe consultants that the fashion industry can have. Wardrobe consultants are also known by other names such as fashion consultants, image consultants, personal image consultants or corporate image consultants. On the other hand, this profession is becoming more and more popular not only in the fashion industry but also in the business world.

How to become a wardrobe consultant?

To become a wardrobe consultant you need to get some education first in the field of fashion design, then have some working experience in the clothing or the fashion industry. Your learning and experience needs to include a complete and comprehensive understanding of the female body proportions and how to choose adequate style and cuts for different types of body shapes. Moreover, you should know also how to mix-and-match colored outfits and how to use the right shoes and accessories. Lastly, as you’ll become an expert in providing sound advices regarding colors, designs, and clothing style that will make any person appears in his or her most flattering image, you need to keep an eye on the latest trend and fashion.

What will the job of a wardrobe consultant really involves?

As a fashion expert, you will help your clients build an essential wardrobe collection that will be convenient for different occasions. Furthermore, the wardrobe needs to be coordinated and interchangeable which will help your clients find instantly what to wear for any formal or informal occasion. You need to be a keen observer and understand that since every person has different personality and style, especially when it comes to fashion, you need to first identify the type of character of your clients then create a style that suits their personality, lifestyle and budget.

On the other hand, make sure to always take care of your look and image. Your potential clients will undoubtedly assess your skills from the way you look. Besides, like any other job, you need to communicate smoothly and effectively with your clients and be a good listener too to understand their needs and requirements to meet their expectations and make them look in their best image.

Consulting Annual Review Process 101 (Part 2): How to Get Promoted

Consultants that get great ratings and fast promotions didn’t get there by accident. There are a handful of strategic activities they invest in to make sure the odds of success are stacked firmly in their favor. While you can’t control the environment in which the decisions are made, you can control the foundation for the conversation-and that happens well in advance. Here are six habits of competitive consultants that guarantee great ratings year after year.

Keep tabs on what really matters. Competitive consultants work smarter, not harder, by making sure they understand what’s most highly valued by their firm, practice leaders, client leaders, and immediate manager. And these aren’t always exactly the stated criteria for success. These consultants get that there are nuances. Certain things carry more weight while others, though important, are more “check the box” criteria. If they want the big promotion or a great rating, they make it their business to know what’s going to matter to the people that get a vote.
Set a few important goals that match firm expectations and personal priorities. Each year when it’s time to set annual goals, these individuals don’t get bogged down in lots of lofty goals. They set a max of three to give goals closely tied to the things that carry the greatest weight and the things they need to be totally satisfied on a personal level. They use these goals to guide their decision-making for things like the roles they seek out and the extra-curriculars they sign up for.
Meet with their team of advocates regularly. The more people vying for you, the greater your chances of success, but savvy consultants will have a core group of advocates firmly in their camp. These are individuals they strategically target and proactively manage their relationship with on an ongoing basis. They keep them informed of their goals, accomplishments and areas they need their help.
Keep track of their own accomplishments. Your days and weeks are incredibly busy. It’s easy enough to forget all the things you did last week never mind six months ago. High performers recognize this and have a system in place for tracking their accomplishments, regularly, because they know no one else is going to do it for them.
Can tell their “story” (and make it easy for influential people to tell it too). If you want to ensure you are fully recognized for your accomplishments, it’s always a good idea to help write your performance review. Equally, if not more important than the written review, however, is your “story” or an executive summary of your most important, quantifiable accomplishments that demonstrate your strong career trajectory. In essence, this is the “Reader’s Digest” version of your review for the purposes of the rating discussions. For star performers, this is something they can articulate clearly and succinctly and they make it easy for others to do the same.
Act the part. Finally, there’s a saying in this business that you should dress for the role you want. We’ve all seen that guy that all of sudden starts showing up to the office in the partner jacket! The same principle applies for the way you act and present yourself. Those that want to lead a team find ways to step up and do it, whether they have direct reports or not. If they want to be the go to guy or girl for a particular subject, they seek out opportunities to share their knowledge with others and build a reputation. They know that when they step into being the role or level they want to reach, others start to see them there as well.
If you’re starting to think this all sounds like a second full-time job, don’t panic. You can actually do all of this in about one hour per week. Once you orient your mindset around these strategies, you’ll start to see that they require minimal time, if any, and usually can be combined with other things you’re already doing. Out of your entire week, isn’t one hour of time a worthwhile investment to get you where you want to be?

Some Environmental Consultant Career Facts

Environmental consultants are types of compliance consultants. An environmental consultant ensures that his or her client adequately complies with the apropos environmental regulations.

There are a lot of different kinds of environmental consultants, but the two primary groups are those who get into the field from the environmentalist side of the spectrum and those who become consultants from the industry side of the spectrum.

No matter which side of the equation they represent, they have been achieving rather remarkable market penetration in all government programs as well as major industries. And many assume multiple roles. The often act as analysts as well as problem solvers vis-à-vis environmental management.

On a commercial basis, an environmental consultant is employed as an expert adviser who must deal with such extremely challenging issues as:

• Chemical cleanups

• Water contamination

• Emissions issues

• Industrial site rehabilitation

• Recycling

• Landfills

• Waste management

• Storm water runoff

• Mining projects

• Endangered species

• Wildlife habitats

• Development issues

Most of the public’s conception of what environmental consultancies do is based on situations such as undoing the damage from the past and remediation. However, being in compliance has become a fundamental consideration of virtually every proposed land related project.

In most cases related studies will be mandated by law. However, even if they are not required it’s now recognized that conducting them is a wise practice within the construction industry. That’s because such analysis can identify a lot of issues that could become rather large problems for the residents, the developers, and the local wildlife – before they happen.

So, if a major residential development is being planned, the developers will need to adopt some sort of management plan that puts environmental safeguards in place prior to the beginning of construction.

Environmental consultants generally work during regular business hours. However, a lot of analysis and site work is often required in order for them to adequately perform their jobs. Such research and analysis could make it necessary for them to work a considerable amount of extra hours.

In addition, they will have to work within the confines of the various contract schedules that are part and parcel of the project.

Their salaries will vary. It will depend on a number of factors including their specialty, the nature of their contract or their employment, as well as the nature of their work and the responsibilities that are entailed.

Their specialties could include areas such as geology, hydrology, zoology, and other advanced areas of natural science. Their career tracks can be rather complex. However, in this area, environmental consultants are often highly motivated senior scientists.

How Recruitment Consultants Can Benefit the Business World

Recruitment consultants are an important asset to any business no matter how big they are or how established they are. Recruitment consultants can help a business to find an ideal candidate for long term or short term employment. So, how can a business benefit from using a recruitment agency? Read on to find out more.

There are many ways that a business can benefit from using a recruitment agency. If you’re business needs to hire temporary staff then an agency can be on hand to find the perfect candidate. A consultant will be on hand to help a business find a suitable employee from hundreds of potential candidates.
They will be able to help you with the following;

An employer can sign up with a recruitment agency so that they can access a large database of potential employees. A recruitment consultant can then filter through them to find the most likely candidates.
Advertising is also a crucial factor when it comes to finding the right employee and this area is thoroughly covered by an expert consultant.
Naturally, recruitment is a delicate area as above all else they have a reputation to uphold. This is why it is important for a recruitment agency to find the best candidate for their client. Businesses can expect the following high level of service;

So that a large range of potential employees are targeted a comprehensive advertising campaign is put into effect. A skilled recruitment consultant will be assigned to help a business achieve this.
Time and effort can be saved when it comes to interviewing a potential candidate as a recruitment agency will conduct the first interview. This is a great way to find out if a candidate is right for the job.
An employer might only want to hire an employee on a short term basis however it is still important to find someone who is ideal for the job. This is where a recruitment agency can be of great benefit. With a highly skilled consultant on board a business can select temp employee from a database of hundreds, sometimes thousands of potential candidates. This vast pool of candidates can be tapped into at any time. An employment agency will carry out all important administrative duties and will continue to offer full support to their client.

A business that is looking to hire staff will find that a recruitment agency is the most logical and efficient route to go down. In only a few days, a recruitment consultant can find the employee to suit the needs of your business.

The Management Consulting Presentation Framework

This article discusses the Consulting Presentation Framework. All business strategy and management consulting firms, such as McKinsey, Bain, BCG, and Booz Allen, use presentation frameworks. By and large, they are all variations of the same concepts and design. Since consulting firms are notorious for developing structured and pretty slides, the Consulting Presentation Framework represents the optimal way to structure and present your information in the form of a PowerPoint presentation.

It involves very specific rules for font faces, font sizes, type of grammar rules to follow, and so forth. If nothing else, adopting and religiously sticking to the framework will vastly improve the look and professionalism of your slides.

Over the years, I have come across a number of different of these presentation frameworks from the various firms I worked for. Borrowing from all of them, the framework presented in this article is an amalgamation of the components I felt worked best.

Now, let’s dig in.

On a typical content slide, there are 3 core components: the Headline, the Body, and the Bumper.

The Headline

The Headline sits on top of the slide. It is a sentence that introduces the slide. Many people use this space for the ‘title’ of the slide. In this framework, the ‘title’ will go into the Body (described in the next section).

The Headline should be Arial Narrow, font size 24, and boldfaced. Do not use any ending punctuation (e.g. no period).

As mentioned, it is a sentence and 1 sentence max. It is also not to exceed 2 lines. If you find it to be longer, then reword and shorten your Headline. If the Headline is any longer than 2 lines, your audience will get lost and/or bored. As you go from slide to slide, the sentences in the Headlines should connect to tell a cohesive story for your audience to follow.

The Body

The Body is the bulk of the slide. It contains all the colorful content (e.g. textboxes, diagrams, etc.). Everything you put in the Body should build upon what has been introduced in the Headline. All text within the Body should be Arial font. The minimum font size to use is size 10, because any size smaller (using Arial) is too difficult to read for most people. This is especially true if you are projecting your presentation.

On the top left of your Body, you should have the Title of your slide. The Title is what people traditionally put in the Headline area. It’s a short phrase that categorizes what the Body is illustrating. Examples include ’6-Phase Approach,’ ‘Objectives of the E-Book,’ ‘Strategic Hierarchies and Related Challenges.’ As you noticed, the capitalization follows that of a book title (per the MLA). The Title should be Arial, font size 16, boldfaced, and italicized.

If you have any numbers or any information on your slide that needs to be sourced, be sure to do it. The source should appear in a text box on the lower left of the Body. It should be Arial, font size 10, and begin with the text “Source:”. Consultants use number of different methodologies and frameworks to structure and design content for the Body. We will not discuss these other teachings within this article.

The Bumper

All consulting firms have this last component, but may call it different names. Deloitte & Touche calls it the Take-Away, A.T. Kearny calls it the Tombstone, and Capgemini Consulting calls it the Kicker.

The purpose of the Bumper is to address the “so what?” question your audience may have. Whereas the Headline provided an introduction and context to the slide, and the Body embellished upon that message with clarifying details, numbers, diagrams, and so forth, you run the risk of your audience thinking, Okay, this information is interesting, but so what? Why do I need to know this? Why should I care?

Those are all fair questions and ones you should answer with the Bumper. If you cannot think of anything meaningful to put in the Bumper, ask yourself if you really need to have this slide in the deck. In other words, if the slide doesn’t offer any additional insight that’s important for your audience to know, why include it all? Of course, there are many valid reasons to have a slide without a Bumper. For instance, the slide just presents the agenda, is a transitional slide, or only is to provide key contact information. Sometimes, they slide is purely to present raw data.

The Bumper is in the form of a light colored box at the bottom of the slide. It should be Arial, font size 14, boldfaced, and italicized. Unlike the Headline, it should have ending punctuation. Like the Headline, it is only 1 sentence and 2 lines max.

To make things easy for you, I’ve created a PowerPoint template that conforms to this framework for you. You can download it here: http://learnppt.com/downloads/sampletemplate/.

The Value of Investing in IT Consulting Services

Among small companies, enlisting IT consulting services can be one step to enhance business competitiveness in a cost-effective way. Tapping the assistance of consultants is becoming a popular alternative to maintaining an in-house department of information technology professionals.

While the costs may initially appear as quite an investment, employing IT consultants can actually provide remarkable value for money. It allows the company to access specialized skills, but under a very flexible setup so that the terms of the agreement meet its budget and particular needs as an organization.

Companies may hire the IT experts on an as-needed basis, and the latter can act very much like regular IT staff, troubleshooting and doing system checks from time to time. They may also be tapped to handle maintenance of their client’s computer hardware and software system and networking for a more long-term partnership, or to oversee particular projects such as establishing a VMware solution, or installing a new server. Other IT consulting companies offer their knowledge to those who need expert advice in procuring equipment, or in the setup of data archiving system.

The key to achieve maximum benefits from what may be a considerable amount of investments in IT consultants would be to execute every measure as part of a strategic plan, whose main goal is to promote a company’s standing in terms of technological capability. At a time when being technologically advanced is fast becoming the name of the game, IT consulting truly is a worthwhile option to look into, especially for small businesses.

Mentor, Consultant, Or Virtual CEO?

There is a very big difference between a mentor and a consultant. And if you really don’t understand let me enlighten you on a few of the realities of both. A mentor is someone who has been the where you want to be, years the prior, and they now have the experience and wisdom to share with you to help you get through the same pitfalls along the way. If you have someone that you look up to as a mentor, but they’ve never actually done it themselves, then that person is more of a coach than a mentor.

When it comes to consulting, most consultants that have larger firms as clients are really there for the executive management team to cover their butts. That is to say, a consultant comes in and blesses their decision and they have someone to blame if things don’t work out. Interestingly enough, large corporations and executive management teams are willing to pay a lot of money to consultants that will prove them right.

When it comes to smaller businesses and closely held companies, consultants are often looked at in a different light. The entrepreneur, business owner, or small management team of a closely held company is interested in results, but their particular group perhaps does not have the experience in one or two areas that they need to, in order to move forward. They don’t wish to bring another person onto their management team for something that might be temporary, therefore they will hire a consultant.

You can see how mentors, coaches, and consultants are completely different from one another. And then there is the Virtual CEO. This is usually a retired CEO, that doesn’t want to get involved in all the shenanigans of running a company, or have all the stress, but they like being in the game so to speak. They’ve been there and done that, and they didn’t particularly like all the bureaucracy and headaches, but they do like running things, and they know exactly what to do.

Where did the title of Virtual CEO come from? Well, this is Randy Komisar’s title; he is Virtual CEO and has a business card to prove it. He is an invisible CEO who helps out the president and CEO of a large tech company. He is in the background, not in the limelight and helps make the decisions that the current CEO is either uncomfortable with making, or has never made before, and therefore needs a little assistance. Interesting concept isn’t it?

11 Ways a Food Safety Consultant Can Help Your Business

Businesses within the food industry have strong imperatives to become certified to a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarked standard. Under the Food Safety Modernization Act, the FDA is enforcing compliance with standards. Likewise, USDA requires meat, egg and poultry providers to comply with industry standards. Even retailers (like Wal-Mart and Costco) are now requiring their suppliers to become certified to a GFSI-approved standard. Teaming with an experienced food safety consultant is the easiest and most economical way to achieve a certification.

Here are eleven ways a food safety consultant can help businesses in the food industry:

1. Consultants provide seasoned expertise without having to increase your payroll.

2. By conducting an onsite “gap analysis,” a consultant can quickly identify what must be accomplished to achieve a GFSI -approved certification.

3. They can help you select the best GFSI-benchmarked standard for your unique situation.

4. They can help you present the benefits of GFSI certification to senior management and explain the implementation process.

5. Your food safety management team will receive onsite training from certified experts.

6. They will help you identify and establish acceptable procedures to overcome food risks.

7. Consultants will help your team prepare required documentation for a certification audit.

8. They will conduct a “pre-certification audit” to ensure your business is ready for the real thing.

9. They can be an advisor during your certification audit, assisting you in quickly dealing with any discrepancies.

10. Consultants can provide ongoing expertise to ensure your management system remains in compliance and is prepared for follow-up audits by certifying bodies.

11. If one of your products requires a recall, a knowledgeable consultant can assist in crisis management and brand protection.

Food companies that are already certified to an industry standard may wish to upgrade to a GFSI-approved standard as a means of complying with new regulations, retailer requirements or expanding their market.

Numerous deadly outbreaks over the past years, such as e. coli and salmonella, have created a groundswell of demand for enhanced food safety processes. Sound business policies now require food providers to mitigate their liability by reducing food safety risks. Investing in an outside expert to evaluate current operations, help your company decide which standard best suits its needs, then working onsite with your team to prepare for a certification audit is a prudent business strategy.

Similar to utilizing inexpensive cloud-based solutions on the Internet, “renting” food safety expertise to train in-house personnel makes more sense than adding an expert to the payroll. Knowledgeable consultants can streamline your path to GFSI-approved certification, reducing liability risk and providing a solid foundation for subsequent business growth.

What to Expect When Using KPI Consulting Services

Key performance indicators are comparable to your business partners. They can help you succeed and can aid you whenever there are business troubles that are taking place. However, the development of the KPIs is a problem themselves. This is especially true for those who are not familiar with this type of indicator. Since they are busy persons, the usual solution here is to seek the help of KPI consulting services. This is also a tricky one because you have to make sure that the company that is offering you with such service is dependable and worth your money. Therefore, before you make a deal with them, you have to make a research first about that consulting organization and consider looking at their experiences, knowledge or skill and their customer feedbacks.

KPI consulting involves giving you the proper pieces of advice that you will need when it comes to the selection, creation and implementation processes of the key performance indicators. These are all necessary when it comes to the building of the KPI. There are some companies that provide BSC consulting together with KPI consulting. This can help you save in the cost of the services since you will be able to improve your scorecard and your indicators at the same time.

When you sign up for key performance indicator consulting services, there are some things that you will be able to achieve. This is of course with the help of the professional and knowledgeable person who will give you the advice, recommendation and analysis. Most of the time, you will be asked to provide some information about your company and the consultant will make a research about which indicators matter in your business. This is an important phase since you will be using these indicators from then on. Of course, you can make adjustments and even update the sets of indicators from time to time.

Now, when you have chosen the right company that will provide you with the consulting services of the key performance indicators, you can expect that they will help you step by step. There are some organizations that provide trainings and seminars with regards to the KPIs. If you think that you need such, you can enroll in this kind of service. On the other hand, most of the companies provide recommendations about the right indicator that you should utilize.

You will be coached on how the indicators will help you and how you can improve them on your own. You can review your goals and make necessary changes or modifications so that it will not be hard for you and your employees to reach the main goal of the company. Every level of the business will be able to determine which among the indicators should be used so that they can be motivated to perform their jobs in accordance with the objectives of the enterprise.

KPI consulting is also useful for those who are in the stage of project planning as well as with those that are conducting feasibility studies, business development and technical auditing.