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How to hire a Consultant

Consultant hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring consultants in the United States:

  • In the United States, the median cost per hire a consultant is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
  • On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new consultant to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a consultant, step by step

To hire a consultant, consider the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Follow these steps to hire a consultant:

Here's a step-by-step consultant hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a consultant job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new consultant
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a Consultant do?

Consultants are individuals who were tapped by a company or an organization to work on a specific activity, depending on their field of expertise. They act as guides for the organization in undertaking projects that are related to their field. Consultants would usually assist organizations in planning, often giving advice when the need arises. They would, at times, take the lead in activities that involve data gathering and interpretation of data gathering results so that they can provide solid recommendations on actions that the organization may undertake. They may also guide the organization in implementing any changes brought about by their consultancy and in evaluating the effectiveness of the changes.

Learn more about the specifics of what a consultant does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    The consultant hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

    Determine Employee vs Contractor Status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    A consultant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, consultants from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

    This list shows salaries for various types of consultants.

    Type Of ConsultantDescriptionHourly Rate
    ConsultantManagement analysts, often called management consultants, propose ways to improve the efficiency of an organization. They advise managers on how to make organizations more profitable through reduced costs and increased revenues.$27-51
    Program Management ConsultantA program management consultant is responsible for analyzing project requirements based on clients' specifications, developing quality improvement techniques, and reviewing project deliverables. Program management consultants work closely with the project team to identify project initiatives and resolve complexities that may arise... Show More$35-65
    Implementation ConsultantAn implementation consultant is a professional who travels to various job sites to help clients with the installation of different software and hardware solutions. Implementation consultants must be knowledgeable of the software application so that they can conduct training sessions for internal and external customers... Show More$28-51
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common Skills:
    • Customer Service
    • Strong Analytical
    • Project Management
    • C++
    • C #
    • Java
    • HR
    • Financial Statements
    • Business Process
    • Data Analysis
    • SQL Server
    • Business Development
    • Payroll
    • Management System
    Check All Skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Lead IIS tuning to get the maximum through put.
    • Manage daily data operations and customer support for SaaS web application products in Linux.
    • Manage several contractors in the development and coding of DB2 interface programs, as well as modification of the package software.
    • Manage operational incidents and changes to consistently meet SLA compliance
    • Introduce Jenkins to help automate manual deployments to multiple environments.
    • Design and code windows service to automate NRA applications email distribution.
    More Consultant duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in the consultant job description is a good way to get more applicants. A consultant salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

    For example, the average salary for a consultant in Kansas may be lower than in New Jersey, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level consultant. Additionally, a consultant with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

    Average consultant salary

    $78,912yearly

    $37.94 hourly rate

    Entry-level consultant salary
    $58,000 yearly salary
    Updated February 18, 2025

    Average consultant salary by state

    RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
    1District of Columbia$95,478$46
    2New Jersey$93,181$45
    3Massachusetts$91,356$44
    4California$88,622$43
    5New York$87,547$42
    6Washington$87,490$42
    7Connecticut$85,643$41
    8Virginia$84,336$41
    9Colorado$82,248$40
    10North Carolina$81,762$39
    11Illinois$80,773$39
    12Oregon$79,777$38
    13Texas$79,644$38
    14Minnesota$78,025$38
    15Michigan$76,836$37
    16Ohio$76,100$37
    17Wisconsin$75,998$37
    18Pennsylvania$75,532$36
    19Missouri$74,791$36
    20Georgia$74,741$36

    Average consultant salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
    1L.E.K. Consulting$128,777$61.91
    2Nera Economic Consulting$128,496$61.78
    3DLA Piper$125,482$60.338
    4Apple$125,116$60.1518
    5The Brattle Group$125,021$60.11
    6Google$120,875$58.1182
    7AppDynamics$117,486$56.48
    8ConocoPhillips$117,391$56.44
    9Bunge$116,675$56.09
    10Slalom$113,625$54.63182
    11Microsoft$112,863$54.267
    12Bed Bath & Beyond$111,694$53.70
    13Avid$110,617$53.182
    14Open Systems Technologies$110,146$52.951
    15eBay$109,854$52.81
    16SADA$109,766$52.77
    17Intuitive Surgical$109,708$52.743
    18Adobe$109,450$52.626
    19Cisco$109,199$52.501
    20TD Ameritrade$108,252$52.04
  4. Writing a Consultant Job Description

    A consultant job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a consultant job description:

    Consultant job description example

    This position is 100% remote
    At DXC we use the power of technology to deliver mission critical IT services that our customers need to modernize operations and drive innovation across their entire IT estate. We provide services across the Enterprise Technology Stack for business process outsourcing, analytics and engineering, applications, security, cloud, IT outsourcing and modern workplace

    The Workday Consultant will act independently and advise on or manage the solution configuration for large complex Workday engagements. He/she will provide subject matter expertise supporting delivery, testing and both presales and post-production engagements.
    The Workday Consultant will be an important customer spokesperson for the DXC Workday Practice. The Consultant will help create strong business cases supported by compelling value propositions and will demonstrate how customers can realize substantial value by deploying the Workday solution.
    Could be a part of the application management support team supporting Workday functional system setup, configurations, implementations, testing, support, creating new Integrations or working on Data Migration activities.
    He/she will provide subject matter expertise across multiple HR domains and will be mainly specialized in at least one of these areas (HCM, Recruiting, Talent, Absence, Time Tracking, Compensation, Benefits, Integrations, Data Conversion, Security, Reporting, etc.) and contribute world-class approaches to discovery, fit-gap, process design and reengineering. The Consultant acts as the key interface to the end user or customer.
    Technical skills are required for this position.

    WHAT YOU' WILL DO:
    Lead one or multiple functional domains (HCM, Recruiting, Talent, Absence, Time Tracking, Compensation, Benefits, Integrations, Data Conversion, Security, Reporting) Coordinate with consultants from other locations.Troubleshoot incidents across functional domains Work as a part of a project team to provide postproduction support Work with the Customer to identify requirements Support the tenant migration, enhancement, and release management processes Configure Workday according to customer requirements Test new Workday configurations Develop and deliver customer-specific training and documentation Work independently. Take direction and provide status to the Engagement Manager assigned to their project Work according to the assigned priorities to ensure client's service level agreements are met

    WHO YOU ARE
    Minimum Qualifications:
    Workday HCM certified, ideally with proven experience/certifications in Workday modules (Recruiting, Compensation, Talent, Absence, Time tracking, Integrations, Benefits) Excellent communication skills delivering to functional and management audiences, as well as to external ClientsPractical experience gained on HR implementations, data migration, support, and/or integrations projects.Practical experience gained providing ticketing support using third party tools (e.g Service Now, Jira, etc.) Strong consulting skills, handling customer expectations Fluent speaker of the English language Strong analytical mindset and usage of analytics and reporting tools (eg. pivot tables)

    Additional expectations
    Limited need for travel, up to 10%Ability to work in a diverse, fast paced environment and effectively collaborate across teams Project Management skills or PM experience are very welcome

    Joining DXC connects you to brilliant people who embrace change and seize opportunities to advance their careers and amplify customer success. At DXC we support each other and work as a team - globally and locally. Our achievements demonstrate how we deliver excellence for our customers and colleagues. You will be joining a team that works to create a culture of learning, diversity and inclusion and are dedicated to strong ethics and corporate citizenship.

    At DXC we put our people first. In managing COVID-19, our actions are focused on the health, safety and well-being of our colleagues and their families and our approach is to encourage and support masking, testing and vaccination. With our Virtual First strategy the majority of our workforce now works remotely and will continue to do so. We recognize that requirements and availability around masking, testing and vaccination vary by location, and we continue to monitor and conform with government regulations and customer requirements specific to each location.
  5. Post your job

    To find the right consultant for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with consultants they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit consultants who meet your education requirements.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your consultant job on Zippia to find and recruit consultant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    Recruiting consultants requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

    It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new consultant

    Once you have selected a candidate for the consultant position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

    It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    To prepare for the new consultant first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a consultant?

There are different types of costs for hiring consultants. One-time cost per hire for the recruitment process. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, onboarding, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider all of these costs when evaluating hiring a new consultant employee.

You can expect to pay around $78,912 per year for a consultant, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for consultants in the US typically range between $27 and $51 an hour.

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