Consultant Exchange - A HotGigs blog

Axium / Chimes Files Bankruptcy

Axium / Ensemble / Chimes (The largest VMS player) files bankruptcy.

This week, Axium International, Inc. who is the parent company of Chimes Ensemble Group filed chapter 7 bankruptcy which has shaken the contract & contingent staffing industry.

Chimes clients included major players such as UnitedHealth Group, GM, Toyota Motor Company, Ford, Perot Systems, Morgan Stanley, Kaiser Permanente, AT&T, Bell South and many more who are now scrambling to either find a replacement MSP/VMS or to bring their contract workforce management back inside the company – which is a daunting task.

Many of the staffing vendors have been told that they won’t get paid for most of November and December 2007’s billable time – which leaves firms (and their consultants) in a really bad situation, not to mention the companies who have outsourced their entire contingent workforce management to Chimes.

This was a huge surprise to us in the staffing industry – and even to many of the Chimes employees who we work with everyday at major client accounts. Axium purchased Chimes from Computer Horizons in February of 2007 – so it hasn’t even been a year since the acquisition, which adds to the confusion, especially the inflated price of $80 million which had most of us in the industry scratching our heads.

There is some speculation that the writers strike has a role to play in the downfall since Axium was a major player in payrolling the TV/movie industry which has all but been shut down since the beginning of the strike, however, the majority of people close to the business said it was mainly because of poor management and a complete failure of the integration of the Chimes business into the acquiring company, and a very paranoid set of lenders who jumped to swipe the bank accounts shutting the company down.

Most importantly, these companies will have to figure out how they’ll regain the confidence of their staffing suppliers, who are most likely not going to be happy losing 1-2 months of billable revenues (especially after they’ve been margin squeezed already), which could result in a large volume of contractors leaving their accounts with the pending loss of pay and future instability.

Some companies have reportedly converted the Chimes on-site program teams to their own full time employees – and are re-establishing direct vendor relationships with their vendors to return to their pre-outsourced state of internal and manual management.

Some staffing firms are excited about the collapse, with the prospect of working directly with their client managers again – and not having to deal with what they called bottleneck of the MSP/VMS program to fill contract positions, however, their excitement is tempered with trying to isolate the damage they may have suffered with any consultants currently engaged in the accounts.

For consultants in affected accounts - they should surely be in touch with their firm to find out if they'll get paid for the Nov/Dec time frame, and if future hours are in jeopardy of not being paid.

CONVERSATION:

• Are you working as a consultant in any Chimes managed accounts?
• Have you been communicated with regarding your billable time (getting paid)?
• How has this effected you if so?
• What are consultants attitudes towards working in MSP/VMS managed accounts?

Do's and don'ts of business blogging

Business blogging can be a useful marketing medium for consultants to promote their knowledge and expertise. But this story about a Nintendo worker who was fired because of the job-related content posted on her personal blog,has me thinking about consultants out there who may have business blogs with questionable content.  It can sometimes be hard to judge what material is 'blog-approved' and what posts might have your future clients furiously clicking the 'back' button on your site.  So I've put together my own "dos and don'ts" list. Feel free to add to it.

Dos:

• Try to balance facts and opinions within each post
• Link to reliable sources in your field
• Include an 'About Me' link on your blog's main page with all relevant contact info
• Maintain professionalism when responding to comments/e-mails
• Have guest authors, if appropriate for your blog topics
• Use your blog service's 'Stats' page to see where your site visitors are coming from, or check out StatCounter or Site Meter for free visitor and site referrer information

Don'ts:

• Don't use your blog to vent frustrations concerning clients/co-workers/bosses
• Don't dig deep into your personal life, try to keep the blog's focus business related
• Don't over-promote yourself - there are times for self-promotion, but not in every post
• Don't post anything you don't want Google to pick up
• Don't use client names in posts without express permission or consent

Like the former Nintendo employee, it might be too late to salvage your contract or client relationship once you start seeing comics created about your blog's inappropriate content. If you're new to the blogging arena, it might be helpful to check out this post on How to Start a Blog.

- Colleen

Colleen Williams is the Consultant Community Manager for the HotGigs Staffing Exchange.

The IT gender gap persists - but will Gen Y break the mold?

Guest post by David Southgate.

A recent post from our friends at AffinityLabs at their brand new techcommunity.com forum discussed the issue of pay inequity among genders.  Women still lag their male countergeeks in earnings.  But as a counterpoint, Steven Rothberg of CollegerRecruiter.com cites a recent study that said women from Generation Y in some professions, and some areas of the United States, are now actually earning more than their male counterparts.

While the data on hour wages for IT consultants by gender is still scant (and probably more skewed towards skills, rather than gender), the techcommunity.com posts suggests that women still find the IT workplace to be male-dominated. This makes for a "psychologically defeating" environment for many women, who apparently have rightly griped about  less than interesting work assignments, low grade promotions and pay.

The stereotype of guys with greasy hair and smelly clothes sleeping under their desks after a long night of hacking out code still may keep some women from entering Computer Science programs.  But for those who are already working in the profession, this techcommunity.com article highlights some great action points for coping:

• Network. Look for ways to build your own brand outside the company. If one of your bosses hears that you received an award, or that you’re appearing on a panel or speaking at a conference, he will be impressed.
• Find every opportunity to volunteer or join a committee within the organization. Once your male counterparts or bosses feel comfortable with you, your relationship with them can shift.
• Stop and examine your own belief systems. Do you believe that you can’t get to where you want to go? Many women have been socialized to believe they can’t run a company or be successful within the technology or math fields.

We think these tips are great for anyone who wants to advance, not just women. And they’ll work equally well for consultants and full-time 9 to 5-ers.

David Southgate is HotGigs’ national PR consultant, working from sunny Puerto Rico.

More members, new opportunities

We recently welcomed our 100,000th consultant member to our Staffing Exchange -- only 9 months after soaring past the 50,000 mark. Our consultant membership is growing rapidly, and so are the number of opportunities available to consultants. You may think of the Staffing Exchange as a place you come to look for contract work, but keep in mind that it's also the place that companies and firms come to look for contract talent! Having more consultant members on our Staffing Exchange attracts more top firms and companies, which translates into more contract jobs that our Basic Consultant Members can apply to free of charge.

Here's how it works: when a Consulting or Staffing Firm joins our site at the Premium Membership Level, the jobs they post are open to any consultant member who wishes to apply, including Basic Members. We do not require that independent consultants pay to upgrade to a Premium Membership to apply to these positions, so we refer to them as "free jobs".

Another source of free jobs are hiring companies who utilize HotGigs' new Channel Vendor program to help identify consultants and firms who can work for them on contract assignments. Jobs from these Manged Client Companies are open to all consultants on the Staffing Exchange, including Basic Members (HotGigs does factor in a nominal management fee over and above your requested rate, but this does not reduce that rate). More information about how you as an independent consultant can work directly with our Managed Clients companies (including 3M and ADC) through our Channel Vendor program, can be found here.

Currently we have more Free jobs on the HotGigs Staffing Exchange than ever before and we wanted to make sure all of our consultant members understand how easy it is to apply and submit your resumes to these great opportunities.  We recently updated the site to make it easier than ever for our Basic Members to find free jobs. Here's a quick summary:

• On the Advanced Search page, select the location and skills you would like to search on, and then check the box labeled "Find free jobs". This will narrow down the search results to only free jobs.
• You will see the same "Find free jobs" checkbox at the top of every job search results page. Check the box and click the 'Go' button to filter the search results to include only free jobs.
• Free jobs are also linked on the sidebar of the job search results page. Click the links to see jobs from featured companies and firms, or you can do 1-click searches by subcategory.

On any job search results page, the free jobs are always listed first, and the company or firm name is displayed in the listing (you have to be signed in). Find a job that interests you and click the job title to view it. At the top of the job description page, you will see the notice, "All HotGigs consultant members may apply. Premium Membership not required." Click the 'Apply' button and you're on your way! 

If you still have questions about Free jobs (or any other aspects of HotGigs) feel free to check out our new Consultant Member FAQ section located within your HotGigs account.  A link to this new FAQ section (titled Consultant Member FAQ) is located within the Getting Started box of your My HotGigs page.

-Colleen

Colleen Williams is the Consultant Community Manager for the HotGigs Staffing Exchange.

How to steer clear from bad apples

At some point along the way everyone has experienced themselves or heard a story about a 'bad apple'- a seedy salesman, a here-and-then-gone client, or a too-good-to-be-true business partner.  Pamela Slim's recent post, titled 9 ways to keep hucksters, shucksters and slimeballs at arms length when starting your own business, contains some great advice on how to avoid these rotten-to-the-core individuals.  Here's my own take on a few of her tips:

• Pay by credit card, not cash or check - For that seedy salesman, paying by credit card gives you the support of the credit card company who has the ability to refund you for the purchase, while paying by cash or check only produces feelings of hopelessness and offers no recourse.
• Do your background research - Ask for references when needed, check with the Better Business Bureau, RipOffReport.com or at the very least google the company/individual/organization to get a better sense of who you could potentially be doing business with.
• Discuss, clarify and document expectations and agreements-  Thinking about a business partnership?  Make sure you cover all areas of importance with your future partner.  Don't assume anything- put it in writing so there is no confusion on who does what, who buys what, or who works with what client(s).  This work upfront can save time, money, and headaches later on.

As an independent consultant on the HotGigs Exchange, you can rest assured knowing that we verify each and every one of our staffing firms, consulting firms, and hiring companies that register with us so we can toss out the bad ones.

-Colleen

Colleen Williams is the Consultant Community Manager for the HotGigs Staffing Exchange

Consulting vs contracting - for what it's worth

Toby Lucich at More Than a Living offers some good guidelines for pricing consulting rates, and how not to let the tactical tail wag the strategic dog:

If you begin scoping the work at too high a price point without qualifying your expertise, the client will likely begin considering alternative bids. Come in at too low a rate, and you will get bucketed with all the other tacticians being directed and herded.

I view this as the “contracting” versus “consulting” rates. Contractors have technical expertise, contribute as part of a larger endeavor, and are expected to be managed. Consultants have technical expertise AND strong management skills, define and or lead projects with a defined outcome, and are expected to be self-directed in fulfilling their obligations.

If your billing rates seem low, you may have succumbed to being positioned as a contractor instead of a consultant.

When setting rates, it all seems to be a matter of what you are consulting on, and how you manage your client’s perception of your value. If you are seen as temporary staffing, then your rate will most likely parallel the costs of finding a similarly experience resource through a staffing agency. If you are seen as a subject matter expert brought in to deliver a specific solution, your rate should likely reflect the market-defined value for similar professionals that deliver results under a defined methodology or implementation framework. Understanding how you will interact with the client organization is perhaps the most critical part of setting the rate.

Setting rates is always a delicate balancing act. Most consultants who have more than a couple of engagemements under their belt have at least some benchmark as to what their time is worth, but a great deal is dependent on local or industry supply and demand around a particular skill set. IT skills that were white hot in the '90s were in drastic oversupply in the post-Internet bubble. Consultants who were used to being in high demand had to readjust their expectations -- and their rates.

What are you worth as a consultant? It's one of those chicken-and-egg questions. If you have consulted and have a history with at least a couple of clients, you have some sense of what you can bill for your time. But how do you set rates when that history is still in the making? Thanks to sites like Salary.com and Payscale.com, candidates applying for perm positions can get a good sense for the going rate based on job titles and descriptions. Consultants can do a quick-and-dirty conversion from full-time salary figures to hourly rates by dividing by 2040 (the number of working hours in a year; some people use 2000 or 1980 hours per year to account for vacation time) and then adding in a markup factor (typically 30-50% more) to cover self-employment taxes and business overhead, plus the fact that hourly contract rates are usually higher overall.

But this type of calculation, while useful, is just one data point. The real question is: "What are people in my location paying on an hourly rate for my skill set?" One way to know if you are in the ballpark is to see what the other players are making.

At HotGigs, we offer rate research tools to help consultants get a sense of their market worth. For example, if you are a Project Manager, the average hourly bill rate nationally is $105 -- higher in metro markets such as Boston or the Bay Area. Billing through a firm, a PM may get between $40-$80 / hour. Enter your own confidential rate data for recent projects in a specific geography to get access to rates entered by other consultants with similar skills in that geography.

One savvy consultant I know advises those considering making the jump from full-time into contract work, "Find a consulting firm or staffing agency to work with where you have a good ongoing relationship. Naturally, they will bill you out at a higher hourly rate than they pay you, but you can get a good sense of your market worth, and many companies will only work with consultants through firms anyway."

In the final analysis, as Toby Lucich emphasizes in his post, the biggest determining factors of your rate are your credentials, performance and reputation.

Would you give yourself an 'A' grade?

If your clients asked how up-to-date your trainings and certifications are, would you be confident in answering them?  Or would you hesitate because you can't quite remember if the last seminar or training you attended was in the fall of 2002 or 2003?

Although the leaves haven't started to change to shades of red, orange and gold here in Minnesota, it's never too early to start thinking about going back to school, attending a seminar, or completing additional training to enhance your consulting business.  Your clients will recognize that you are serious about staying on the cutting edge of your industry and will appreciate the knowledge you can bring to the table. 

Here are some great resources that will help you keep that 'A' grade:

• Back2College.com is a site specficially designed for adults who are looking to go back to school.  They offer a free newsletter and discussion forums that address the issues that non-traditional students may face when going back to school.
• FindaSeminar.com - You can search for seminars by category, city, zip code, title, month, and more, making it easy to find just what you are looking for. While their main offerings are in the U.S. they also have information on seminars in Canada and Puerto Rico.
• Lynda.com is all about "Learning at Your Own Pace", and offers free sample online trainings before you decide to subscribe.  Their basic subscription seems like an easy purchase at $25/month with no long term commitment.  And they have a wide range of available trainings so no matter if you are looking to brush up on your PowerPoint skills or coding in Coldfusion, they have it all.

Do you have any other websites you use to find upcoming trainings or seminars in your field?  I'd love to know what other consultants out there are using.

---Colleen

Colleen Williams is the Consultant Community Manager for the HotGigs Staffing Exchange

Work directly with 3M and other premier companies through HotGigs' new Channel Vendor program

Have you ever wanted to land a contract with a Fortune 500 company, but weren't able to because you weren't on the list or didn't work with one of their approved vendors? If so, you will be glad to know that you can now work directly with 3M and other HotGigs clients who have added HotGigs to their preferred vendor list. It's all part of our new Channel Vendor Program, which we announced last week with an invitation for consultants to work directly with 3M.

How does this work for you as an independent consultant?  Through Channel Vendor, 3M’s IT division is now able to work directly with our Consultant community through a single vendor relationship. This is one example of how our Channel Vendor program gives you direct access to consulting gigs at major companies in your chosen markets.

NOTE: Our Channel Vendor program is open to all HotGigs members, including Basic (free) Members. You do not need to pay to upgrade to apply for consulting jobs through the Channel Vendor program.

(If you are a Premium Member, you may submit to not only Channel Vendor jobs, but any and all jobs on the HotGigs Exchange, including gigs with our network of firms.)

Fast facts for Consultants:

• Access 3M's open IT requirements on the HotGigs Staffing Exchange.
• Leverage our preferred vendor relationship to submit yourself to contract openings at 3M. Receive real-time updates on your submission status from our internal sourcing team.
• Win gigs at 3M and other major clients on HotGigs. (HotGigs adds a 10% markup to the client over your submitted pay rate; this does not reduce your rate.).
• Manage your gig through HotGigs: submit billable hours online, and receive payment directly from HotGigs for all engagements.

Here's a quick overview of the HotGigs Channel Vendor program and how it works for consultants.

Interested in contracting at 3M? Use this search to see all 3M contract opportunities through HotGigs. We are constantly adding new requirements, so check back often.

If you're interested, here's how to get started:

To get started:

1. Search 3M requirements on HotGigs now (and receive future email notifications).
2. Apply online by submitting your profile and rates through HotGigs.
   - Premium (paid) Membership is not required.
3. Get real-time updates on your submission status on the HotGigs Staffing Exchange.
4. Win gigs at 3M (and other major companies) and submit billable hours and receive payment directly from HotGigs for all gigs.

In the near future, we'll be posting several more opportunities with new clients through our Channel Vendor program. Stay tuned.

How to market yourself as a consultant - Part 3

Guest post by Ron McGowan

Now that you know exactly what you have to sell to employers or clients and where you are going to sell it, we come to the final step in the process:

How are you going to sell it?

The sales cycle consists of two parts: marketing and selling. So before we go any further, let's make sure that you understand the difference between them (most people don't.) First of all, marketing precedes selling. It refers to a wide range of activities that have as their objective getting the attention of potential buyers of a product or service. These activities can be anything from a sophisticated, expensive television commercial or infomercial to someone walking around a busy shopping area with a sandwich board strapped to them that is promoting a product or service. Selling is what happens when you get the attention of a prospective buyer and they call you, walk into your store or visit your web site.

Many contractors and consultants don't understand this and it is the main reason for their lack of success in selling themselves. No professional sales organization is going to let a sales representative get in front of a customer until they have proven that they know the product or service they're selling inside out and how it can benefit customers. Contractors and consultants tend to jump straight into selling before they're ready to sell, and when that doesn't work assume that they're not salespeople and never will be.

You need to spend the majority of your time in the marketing phase and only when you have mastered that can you begin the selling phase. To succeed in selling, you must first succeed in marketing. Parts One and Two were all about marketing and most of this section is about marketing. You're not ready to sell yourself until you've done all the work required in these sections. Your success in selling yourself will be directly related to how hard you work at the marketing phase, how creative you are, and how willing you are to move out of your comfort zone. As you go through the marketing phase, your self-confidence and eagerness to sell yourself will steadily rise. You are going to be pleasantly surprised at how successful you can be at selling yourself now that you know how the process works.

Most employment seekers today use one marketing tool: a traditional resume. It still has a place, if you’re applying for a job, but it’s the wrong tool for marketing yourself to employers or clients when you’re approaching them on speculation that they might benefit from the skills and experience you have to offer. Today’s tools can include a visume, a two-and-a-half-minute visual resume, a marketing letter, blog, web site, brochure and variations on the traditional resume, which are marketing oriented. The generic, one-size-fits-all resume, or any other such tool is a dinosaur.

You need to tweak your marketing tools to address the needs of the employer or client you're targeting. You must clearly indicate that you know something about them and imply that the experience and skills you have to offer will benefit them. You must indicate in your marketing tool that you will promptly follow up with them and make sure you do that. Some employment seekers are reluctant to follow up and that is a major mistake. According to a February 2006 survey by Robert Half International, 86 per cent of Canadian executives said that employment seekers should follow up within a week of submitting an application.

There's probably no other word that is used more frequently in relation to today's workplace and that is more abused, misunderstood and overused than "networking". That's unfortunate, because if you understand what networking is really all about and you’re prepared to invest the time it takes to put an effective networking strategy together, it is probably the most powerful tool you can use to market yourself and find hidden work opportunities.

You first need to be clear about your motives for networking. Successful networkers are givers, not takers. If you only contact people when you need help, you're not a networker, you’re a sponge. Successful networkers give generously of their time and expertise to their profession and their community. You will find them serving on the executive and committees of the professional associations they belong to and on the board of at least one non-profit or charitable association in their community.

Many so-called networking events are a waste of time. They attract employment seekers, recruiters who are looking for commission salespeople, personal coaches and the like. If an event is being marketed as a networking event, you probably should avoid it. It is highly unlikely that the people you need to connect with will be there. You need to determine what activities such as seminars, courses, trade shows and conferences are coming up in the next few months where the people you want to connect with are likely to attend and sign up for them.

You need to be patient and not expect immediate results from the networking events that you attend. If you're on the executive or committees of the professional associations you belong to, if you are on the board of at least one non-profit or charitable association in your community and your motive for networking is not self-serving, you will have your share of success. Write some articles for the journals or newsletters of the professional associations you belong to, volunteer as a speaker at events where people can benefit from your expertise, or start up a new association or special interest group in your area and you will be on the radar screens of the people you need to connect with.

Ron McGowan has been helping contract workers, consultants and college/university grads to find work for over ten years. The 2007 edition of his book How to Find Work in the 21st Century http://www.trafford.com/00-0131 has recently been released.

That sinking feeling

Ten things you hope your client never says.

How to market yourself as a consultant - Part 2

Guest post by Ron McGowan

In Part 1 you defined exactly what skills and experience you have to offer employers or clients and why they would be interested in them. Like a rookie salesperson who is being trained on a new product or service, you should now know your product (i.e. you) inside out. The next step is:

Where are you going to sell it?

As part of analyzing the skills and experience you’ve picked up in the past you may have identified some characteristics of the companies where you’ve had success. Or you may have identified certain types of projects that you really enjoyed working on. If not, go back over Part One and look for the types of companies you’ve worked for and projects you’ve worked on that you really enjoyed and that brought out the best in you. Then look for similar companies or projects where you can duplicate this success.

Contract workers and consultants sometimes overlook this. They get so focused on finding their next gig that they don’t pay enough attention to finding opportunities that are a good fit for them. You also want to be looking for opportunities where you can build on the experience and success you’ve had. For example, if you did a project for a legal firm that was successful and that you enjoyed, why wouldn’t you try to build on that experience and success by marketing yourself to other legal firms?

Most commentators on the workplace will tell you that at least 80 per cent of the employment opportunities are never advertised. This is why so many people who are looking for work are struggling. They approach finding work in essentially the same way as their parents did. They scour the mainstream media and popular Internet job sites and when they can’t find work, they give up or settle for low paying service jobs. They simply don’t know how to tap into those hidden employment opportunities.

You need to take your connectivity to what is going on in the economy and in your field to a much higher level than the average person. You need to become a news hound and sniff out those hidden opportunities. You can test yourself on how well you are doing this by your reaction to news about your field that appears in the mainstream media. If it is news to you, you’re not as connected as you need to be. You should already be aware of it through the database of news sites and other sources that you monitor regularly. Talk to successful contractors and consultants and you will find that they are very well informed about what is going on in the economy and in their field. Market research is one of those areas, like getting regular exercise and eating sensibly and so on that everybody agrees is important. Talk to those who are struggling in today’s workplace and you will consistently see that they approach market research passively or simply don’t understand how important it is. They’ve probably heard that most employment opportunities are hidden but they have no idea about how to find them.

Can you identify the fastest growing sectors in the region that you want to work in? What are the key trends in the areas you want to work in? Can you identify some significant projects that are underway or will soon be started that might provide employment opportunities for you? Are you right on top of what is going on in your field? What skills are most in demand in your field? Do you have them? If not, how can you acquire them? If you were asked to take on the “program chair” position for the professional association that you belong to, how easy would it be for you to identify topics that you know would be of interest to the members as you put together the program for the year?

Name the best media sources; web sites, blogs, newsletters, journals, etc, for keeping you connected to what is going on in your field. How creatively and diligently do you monitor these sources? Which companies have recently landed significant contracts that might provide an opportunity for you? Can you identify some key players in your field who have recently been promoted or taken on new assignments? Could your skills and experience be of interest to them?

Recruiters, headhunters and H/R managers are increasingly turning to the Internet to fill jobs or find staff for projects, which is one of the reasons why many employment opportunities are never advertised. How easy would it be for these people to find you on the Internet? Have you ever thought about what a search on the Internet would reveal about you? Do you realize that it’s becoming common practice for managers and business owners to do an Internet search on candidates as part of the hiring/screening process?

Are you doing any Cybernetworking? Do you know about web sites like LinkedIn, Visible Path, Zoodango, ZoomInfo, Ryze and Xing? Have you ever used these sites? Do you know that employers are increasingly using them to find candidates?

Which blogs do you subscribe to? Have you thought about creating your own blog? Are you aware that recruiters often monitor blogs that are related to the field they’re searching for to find experts? They find candidates by looking for postings from people who obviously have the background they’re looking for and who communicate well.

Finally, a potential byproduct of being well informed about what is going on in the economy and in your field is that you may spot unmet needs. Maybe you can create your own work opportunity by going directly to an employer with an idea whose time has come.

Ron McGowan has been helping contract workers, consultants and college/university grads to find work for over ten years. The 2007 edition of his book “How to Find Work in the 21st Century” http://www.trafford.com/00-0131 has recently been released.