A consultant trainee develops a client portfolio while building a knowledge base and expertise in the underlying industry. The primary goals of a typical consultant trainee program are to prepare the trainee for the work and to teach him how to cultivate new clients. Working with a mentor or under the supervision of a senior employee to develop an appropriate skill set usually entails doing the basic tasks of the job under supervision. Training in the firm’s business philosophy, methodology, and cultivation practices is usually required to develop the necessary acumen in client cultivation.
Consulting firms can be found in almost every industry. Industry practices tend to influence how new consultants are trained. Financial consulting firms, for example, frequently hire college graduates for training programs. These students focus on obtaining the necessary licenses to work in the investment industry, as well as the skills required to build a professional network and cultivate clients.
Business management consulting firms, on the other hand, are more likely to hire trainees with advanced degrees in business or specialized experience in a target industry, such as telecommunications. Rather than working with individual clients, these firms frequently work with major corporations. This type of consulting firm’s consultant trainee program will focus on how to do the job and how to manage clients properly. In this scenario, trainees would not be expected to cultivate new clients, so the program’s focus would be on learning client communication protocol.
In either case, a consultant trainee would devote a substantial amount of time to learning the ropes. Outside consultants are brought in to provide a level of expertise that the client lacks. Each employee of the consulting firm must be a specialist in the field, with the knowledge, skills, licensing, and acclaim that comes with it. A consultant trainee learns the firm’s unique way of doing business working closely with more experienced consultants. He usually performs lower-level tasks while watching more complicated transactions.
Meanwhile, the consultant trainee will work on obtaining any necessary certifications or licenses for the job. The trainee may have to study for professional exams on his own time, but the time spent working in the program usually fulfills on-the-job experience requirements for certifications and licenses. A consultant trainee will often be expected to begin positioning himself as an industry expert in addition to developing hard skills and meeting exam requirements. He can usually do this becoming a member of important trade associations, writing relevant articles for print or online publications, or teaching or speaking at workshops or conferences.