con·sul·tan·cy (dev)
1 bedrijfstak die advies geeft bij de bedrijfsvoering

con·sul·tan·cy·bu·reau (het)
1 onderneming die beroepsmatig diensten verleent of die adviseert op een of ander gebied

Consultant
While many businesses are based on selling products or services, consulting firms primarily sell knowledge. Whether it’s management consulting, human resources consulting, marketing consulting, technology consulting or something else, consultants advise corporations and other organizations regarding an infinite array of issues related to business strategy. You name it—re-engineering, e-commerce, change management, systems integration, billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions, corporate—there is a consultant that is available to tell companies how to meet their challenges better, stronger, and faster. They are the directors behind the scenes of nearly every major event in the marketplace.
Of course, “consulting” is a big, one-size-fits-all term that includes virtually any form of advice-giving. Pretty much anyone with a specialty in a field can offer consulting service. The area that most people think of when it comes to consulting is management consulting, a broad category in its own right. Often called strategy consulting, this segment of the industry includes firms that specialize in providing advice about strategic and core operational issues. However, there are also consultants who specialize in everything from workplace safety issues to environmental concerns to family-owned business issues.
While most management consultants hold salaried positions at firms that cater to a clientele of mostly large corporations, other consultants hang out a shingle and offer their services as soloists or as owners of small companies. They usually deal with clients on a project basis, and clients are billed by the hour for their services. Depending on the client's needs and the firm's functional specialty (or core competency, as it's often called), consultants conduct objective research and analysis on behalf of their client, and make recommendations based on their findings. Ultimately, consultants take on the responsibility of improving their clients’ businesses by effecting change through their recommendations.
Although some of the highest-profile firms populate this segment, there are thousands of other organizations and individuals that call themselves consultants, make money by selling their advisory services, and offer plenty of opportunities for employment. If you like the idea of giving advice to other businesses, and you have a particular interest in computers, human resources, corporate communications, mobile communications, health care, financial services, real estate, e-commerce, or some other specialized field, there’s a good chance you can find a position with an organization doing precisely that.

What You'll Do
Research and analysis are the main tools of the trade for management consultants. They analyze a business problem from various angles by conducting research and forming and testing hypotheses. Research may consist of collecting raw data from internal sources—such as the client’s computers or employees—and external sources, such as trade associations or government agencies. Consultants get some of their most valuable data from surveys and market studies that they devise and implement themselves. The data must then be analyzed in relation to the client’s organization, operations, customers, and competitors to locate potential areas for improvement and form solutions. These solutions are then recommended to the client and—with any luck—implemented. (Sometimes convincing a client to accept a consultant’s recommendations can be the most difficult aspect of the job, and there is always a chance that the client will choose not to accept the consultant’s recommendation at all.)
Consultants often must travel to where their clients are located, sometimes spending days—even weeks—conducting research or implementing solutions. Long hours are common. But the pay is great, not to mention the bonuses.

Who Does Well
For those who enjoy problem solving and thinking about business strategy, consulting can be a very fulfilling career as well as an excellent jumping-off point for a management career or a future as an entrepreneur. On the flip side, frequent travel and long hours can make a consultant's schedule very demanding.

While consulting is great for people who like variety in their work, it is not for those allergic to structure and hierarchy. The large and elite firms tend to have a culture that mirrors that of their corporate clients, complete with a steep career ladder: Only a select few make it to partner-level, and that's with an MBA and 6 to 8 years at the firm.