IT Consulting Guide: Tips and Tactics for Being a Successful Consultant 
Welcome to the Information Technology (IT) Consulting Guide. Hopefully you’re a consultant in the information technology industry. The alternative is that some search engine has brought you here after you’ve searched for something I’ve written about. Either way, I welcome you.
First off, a little about me. I trudged my way through a computer science degree in the early 90′s and then spent several years writing code on contract. For the last several years I’ve taken on more senior roles and have been involved with system architecture and project management. I was around during the dotcom boom and continued to consult when the bubble burst. I’ve seen the good and the bad of what a career in consulting can offer.
The purpose of this guide is to help you, the aspiring consultant, do your job better and to hopefully help you navigate the sometimes rough waters of a consulting career. In future posts I’ll be writing about my experiences and about my thoughts on the IT industry both in the present and future. I’ll also look at how things differ when you work through a recruiter and when you work as an independent.
Lastly, I believe keeping in touch with the IT industry is important. One easy way to spot trends and prepare for future work is to keep an eye on what market research companies are doing. These are the companies that make money off of spotting trends. So you can easily benefit from their legwork by keeping tabs on the press releases they put out. The ones I think are interesting will be re-published on this site.
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Moving Beyond Recruiters Tip #1
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Working for Free on a 1099
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Job Boards Can Be Useful
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How Do I List My Consulting Work On A Resume?
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Go to Lunch
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Presentation Tips for Consultants
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Don't Accept Royalties
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How to Give Bad News
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Everything You Need to Know About Consultants
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3 Skills a Consultant Must Have
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Answering Interview Questions
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Report Writing for Consultants
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WordPress
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Customer Influencer Roles
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How Consultants Get Their Business
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Setting Your Consulting Rate
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Finding Work
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Consulting Relationship Stages
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IT Consultant Humor
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5 Phases of Consulting
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Office Politics and Consultants
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Selling Consulting
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Recruiters Don't Work For You
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Fixed Fee vs. Hourly Billing
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Common Consulting Mistakes
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What is Consulting?
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Deductions for IT Consultants
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Consulting Process Model
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Being an Independent Consultant
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Interviewing Tip #1
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Video Resume Hype
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Consulting Clients Don't Always Pay
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Salary Negotiations
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Tips for Providing Consulting Services
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Don't Work Overtime for Free
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Good Recruiters
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Consultant Professionalism
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What Consultants Deliver
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Switching from Employee to IT Consultant
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Customer Motivations
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Determining Project Pricing
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W2 Umbrella Companies
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Consultant Presentations
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Listening Tips for Consultants
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The Lunch Interview
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Legal Issues in Consulting
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Don't Work for Free
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Guard Your References
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Questioning Tips
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Don't Get Pigeonholed
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Project Risk Control
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Phone Interviews
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Solution Design Feasibility
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Never Say You're a Consultant
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Fixed Bid vs. Hourly Billing
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How to Write a Memo
