If you are looking to escape the corporate nine-to-five, going solo and setting yourself up as a consultant could seem an appealing alternative. After all, everyone seems in on it, from social media to café and pet consultants. Last year, the number of management consultants in the UK jumped by 12 per cent to about 38,000. But although the job title suggests experience and gravitas, the truth is anyone can call themselves a consultant.
如果你想摆脱公司朝九晚五的束缚，选择单干并让自己成为一名顾问看起来是一种有吸引力的选择。毕竟，每个人似乎都在当顾问，从社交媒体顾问，到咖啡馆顾问及宠物顾问。去年，英国管理顾问的数量猛增了12%，至约3.8万名。虽然这项工作需要经验和严肃的派头，但事实是任何人都可以自称顾问。
“With the exception of certain specific, regulated disciplines, there are usually no minimum qualifications,” explains Samir Parikh, author of The Consultant’s Handbook and chief executive of SPConsulting. Because of that, you will need to prove your credentials in a way even cynical clients appreciate.
《顾问手册》(The Consultant’s Handbook)一书作者、SPConsulting首席执行官萨米尔•帕里克(Samir Parikh)解释说：“除了某些特定的监管规则，通常没有最低的资格要求。”因此，你需要以一种甚至连最挑剔的客户都能欣赏的方式证明自己。
“If you want to make a go of it, the most important thing is to figure out your proposition. Is it based on expertise, experience or both?” says Mr Parikh.
“如果你想干好顾问的工作，最重要的是要找到自己的定位。它是基于专业知识、经验还是两者兼而有之？”帕里克说。
It pays to build your experience in the right way. Mr Parikh gives the example of a senior manager at a European airline who, a few years off retirement and plotting his move into consultancy, asked for a six-month stint at the company’s headquarters to make influential contacts and demonstrate that he could work with people from different departments.
以正确的方式积累自己的经验会让你受益。帕里克列举了一家欧洲航空公司的一名高级经理的例子：此人在还差几年要退休的时候计划进入咨询行业，就要求到公司总部工作6个月，以便与有影响力的人物进行接触，并证明他可以与来自不同部门的人合作。
Or you could join a large consultancy firm as an associate consultant, which can be a good way to find potential future clients for when you eventually strike out on your own, says Mr Parikh. Another approach is to mine your existing professional network.
或者，你可以加入一家大型咨询公司，担任助理顾问，这是为你最终自己做顾问时找到潜在未来客户的好办法，帕里克说。另一种方法是挖掘你现有的职业社交网络。
There are two pitfalls novice consultants repeatedly fall into.
新入行的顾问会不断地掉入两个陷阱。
“The first is that some people are better at selling themselves than delivering the work,” says Mr Parikh. “They go into selling mode and you’ll see clients roll their eyes.” The second pitfall is that they do not listen to clients. “Consultancy isn’t done in a vacuum,” he says.
“第一，比起完成工作，有些人更擅长推销自己，”帕里克说，“当他们进入推销模式时，你会看到客户报以白眼。”第二个陷阱是他们不去倾听客户。“咨询不是在真空中完成的，”他说。
Although anyone can think they could be a consultant, the truth is not everyone can do it. Personality counts for a lot.
虽然任何人都可以自认为能成为一名顾问，但事实上，并非每个人都能做到。性格具有很大的影响。
“One of the skills is to be able to get on with a whole range of different people and personalities from top managers to people on the factory floor. You need to be able to adapt your approach.”
“其中一项技能是，能够与各种不同身份、不同性格的人——从高层管理者到车间工人——友好相处。你需要能够调整自己的方式。”
Mr Parikh says that it is inevitable that you will meet resistance, and knowing how to handle it could make the difference between success and failure.
帕里克说，遇到阻力是不可避免的，而知道如何应对是成败的关键。
He recalls a consultancy project he worked on in Frankfurt, implementing a workflow system in a large company. His meeting with the head of HR was initially disastrous.
他回忆起自己在法兰克福负责过的一个咨询项目：为一家大型公司实施一套工作流程系统。他与人力资源部负责人最初的会面是灾难性的。
Mr Parikh says: “‘Oh yes, you must be the consultant,’ she said to me, brusquely. ‘We don’t need your workflow system.’ The woman was ready for a fight.”
帕里克说：“‘噢，是的，你一定是那个顾问，’她直率地对我说。‘我们不需要你的工作流程系统。’这个女人已经准备好干一仗了。”
He turned it around by putting himself in her shoes. “I’ve been here for two days, you have been here for eight years. Clearly you are the better judge,” he told her, before asking her what her most pressing issues were. He listened, and thanked her. “She became one of the [scheme’s] greatest supporters.”
他通过换位思考扭转了局面。“我只在这里待了两天，而你已经在这里八年了。显然，你能做更好的判断，”他对她说，然后问她，自己感到最紧迫的问题是什么。他倾听着，并感谢她。“她成了（该计划的）最大支持者之一。”