Consultant Role Nothing More Than Perma-Temp Position
Pros
You get to move around a lot, for better or for worse. A terrible project/client is not forever, fortunately. However, you may miss the good ones once you've seen some of the bad ones. This can potentially be used as a handy networking tool, as you'll work with a variety of people in different industries. Some may even turn into full-time jobs depending on the client's hiring practices and needs.
Cons
Let's be clear about one thing. The Salaried Professional Consultant, Full-Time Consultant, or whatever names they're calling this role these days is nothing more than a perma-temp position. They call it "consultant" so that they can recruit better, more qualified talent into their candidate database so they have something of higher quality to sell their clients. Don't fool yourself into believing, like I did, that you are an actual "consultant" working for the world's largest temp agency. When I was recruited for this role, they told me that I'd be put up for a variety of roles in accounting and finance that would help me gain meaningful experience as I transitioned into this field. They told me that if I was not assigned to a client project, that I'd still get paid a minimum of 37.5 hours a week on "the bench". They told me they could only bring me in at an entry level salary due to my lack of experience. Here are all the things they don't tell you during the interview. You don't get a choice in the projects you're assigned to. Sometimes you'll have multiple interviews with a variety of clients and projects. Some will sound better than others, and some will fit your skills and experience and goals much better than others. However, you will not be given a choice in where they assign you. Assignments are very much a first come, first serve basis. If the worst client project wants you on and they reach out first, that's where you go. Even if the location is not good for you, if that's the first client to call back on you, that's likely where you'll wind up. If it's not a good fit for your skills, experience, or goals, as long as it's the first client to call back on you, that's where you'll go. They bring you in at a low salary to pad their margins, not because you're a less valuable contributor. Out of the assignments I've had, none have been entry level even though that's what they told me I'd be limited to. All my assignments have been senior level roles. And all paid significantly more ($20k+) than what I was making based on job postings and salary data. So be prepared to be severely underpaid for the type of work you'll be doing for them. Again, they love to use the title "consultant" when explaining how valuable you will be to them and their clients. But the clients treat you like temps, not consultants. The last client I worked with rarely had any communication with us or RH, and did not care for any of our insights. We were merely a means to an ends. Don't fall for the "consultant" job title. You are a perma-temp and that's how you may be treated by both RH and their clients. Do not think for a second that you'll have down time between assignments. The RH talent managers will throw you into any project, even if it's not a good fit, to avoid having you on bench and taking time to find you a good fit. And bench time applies even if you worked 4/5 days per week. For that one day you were on bench, you'll be paid up to the point where your total hours are 37.5. So if you clocked 32 hrs with the client, RH will only pay you for 5.5 hrs on the day you were on bench. Some of the RH talent managers/recruiters are fairly good in terms of hearing your concerns about an assignment and acting as a liaison between you and the client. But those are very few and far in between based on my recent experiences. First and foremost, it's important to remember that they are sales people. While some sales people maintain a certain code of ethics, others will say just about anything to shut you up and get you off their backs. There seems to be a lot more of these working for RH's consultant team than the former. There are no career opportunities to be had here as a "consultant". As you are treated as a lowly temp, you will simply bounce around from project to project until you decide to leave on your own accord for something that offers more stable, upward growth. Be prepared for a lot he said/she said and no accountability. RH constantly blames their clients for the lack of clarity or information they provide you about roles. If something turns out not as advertised, RH blames the client for not communicating appropriate details. On my last project, we spent two weeks painstakingly trying to troubleshoot client issues and conveyed issues to RH that we were having. RH couldn't get ahold of the client and we were simply told to deal with it. After the fact, my colleagues and I were told a lot of conflicting information from RH from what they told us before about the other negative feedback they received. The RH recruiters/talent managers simply cannot be trusted.
