How To Hire A Project Consultant
Research Summary. Some key points about hiring a project consultants in the United States include:
- HR departments typically spend 15% of their expenses on recruitment.
- It usually takes about 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
- It typically takes 36-42 days to fill a job opening.
- The median cost to hire a project consultant is $1,633.
- Small businesses spend an average of $1,105 per project consultant on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
- There are currently 36,931 project consultants in the US and 113,013 job openings.
- Tallahassee, FL, has the highest demand for project consultants, with 22 job openings.
- New York, NY has the highest concentration of project consultants.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Project Consultant
Recruiting project consultants involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.
You can expect to pay around $86,654 per year for a project 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 project consultants in the US typically range between $28 and $60 an hour.
How to hire a Project Consultant, step by step
To hire a project 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 project consultant:
- Step 1: Identify your needs
- Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
- Step 3: Make a budget
- Step 4: Writing a project consultant job description
- Step 5: Post the job
- Step 6: Interview process
- Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new project consultant
- Step 8: Go through the checklist for the hiring process
1 . Identify Your Needs
The first step to find project consultants for hire is determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.
Before you hire a project consultant, you should also consider the ideal background you'd like them to have. For example, what industry or field they have experience in, what level of seniority or education the job requires, and how much it'll cost to hire a candidate that fits the bill.
The list breaks down common project consultant roles and compares their salaries.
Type Of Project Consultant | Description | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|
Project Consultant | Management 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. | $28-60 |
Project Officer | A project officer provides vital support to a project by monitoring deadlines for each project task and closely monitors the project schedule. They work with the project manager and other team members to reach the project target... Show More | $19-40 |
Implementation Consultant | An 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
Before you draft a project consultant job description, imagine the ideal employee for the role and begin creating a profile. What are they proficient in and what sort of background do they have?
Here are some of the most common project consultant skills:
- Customer Service
- Project Management
- Client Facing
- Project Scope
- Process Improvement
- Healthcare
- Data Collection
- Financial Statements
- Business Process
- SharePoint
- Windows
- Strategic Plan
- Sigma
- R
Here are the most common project consultant responsibilities:
- Lead a pilot project to introduce strong document management features to support document repositories in SharePoint.
- Manage a team responsible for designing service-orient application architecture, standards and best practices guidelines, security and data access frameworks.
- Create SQL scripts to implement test unit cases and ensure data quality.
- Gather all systems, applications and processes documentation into one repository on SharePoint to enable incoming vendor education.
- Implement strategic initiatives for operational transformation, including SDLC processes, role specialization, order tracking and labor tracking.
- Develop amendment projection and confirmations user interfaces using JavaScript and XML and develop PL/SQL procedures and packages to handle business logic.
Beyond the basics, you should also consider how well a candidate fits into your company culture. In other words, you should think about how your ideal project consultant will live by the company's mission statement and contribute to the team dynamic you already have in place.
Most Common States For Project Consultants In The US
Rank # | State | # Of Jobs | % of Population | Avg. Salary |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Georgia | 2,339 | 22% | $66,174 |
2 | Virginia | 1,775 | 21% | $88,540 |
3 | Minnesota | 1,766 | 32% | $76,022 |
4 | Massachusetts | 1,738 | 25% | $89,692 |
5 | Missouri | 1,268 | 21% | $72,130 |
Professional Project Manager CV example
3 . Make A Budget
Including a salary range in the job description is a good way to get more applicants. A project consultant salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, their level of experience, education and certifications, and the prestige of the employer. For example, the average salary for a project consultant in North Dakota may be lower than in New Jersey, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level project consultant. Additionally, a project consultant with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.
Average Project Consultant Salary
$86,654yearly
Project Consultant Average Salary By Location
Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New Jersey | $116,752 | $56 | |
2 | California | $113,732 | $55 | 2 |
3 | District of Columbia | $105,877 | $51 | |
4 | North Carolina | $96,831 | $47 | 2 |
5 | Arizona | $94,891 | $46 |
Project Consultant Average Salary By Company
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dell | $114,992 | $55.28 | 1 |
2 | CVS Health | $114,644 | $55.12 | 268 |
3 | SAP | $112,297 | $53.99 | 39 |
4 | GROM | $108,053 | $51.95 | |
5 | Hess | $107,590 | $51.73 | |
6 | State Street | $105,219 | $50.59 | 5 |
7 | Medidata | $101,544 | $48.82 | 12 |
8 | Florida Power and Light | $100,142 | $48.15 | 30 |
9 | USC Consulting Group | $99,594 | $47.88 | |
10 | Zurich | $97,721 | $46.98 | 32 |
11 | Turner & Townsend | $97,514 | $46.88 | 21 |
12 | Dassault Systèmes | $94,497 | $45.43 | |
13 | Analog Devices | $94,028 | $45.21 | |
14 | Highmark | $93,890 | $45.14 | 169 |
15 | Loup Logistics | $93,843 | $45.12 | |
16 | HCSC | $93,705 | $45.05 | 161 |
17 | Navis | $93,477 | $44.94 | |
18 | Bank of America | $93,167 | $44.79 | 5 |
19 | Lurie | $93,040 | $44.73 | |
20 | Deloitte | $91,204 | $43.85 | 6,714 |
4 . Writing a Project Consultant Job Description
A project 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a project consultant job description:
Example of Full Job Description
Provide leadership and guidance to customers on best practices and use cases to support a variety of business needs.
Develop implementation approach, documentation, and training material to support the launch of new products with Avalara Product Management, Sales, and other Customer Success teams.
Clearly articulate and manage the scope of work for client-initiated projects related to software and data services.
Monitor client projects and solve problems to keep projects moving forward. Drive practice improvements such as documenting business processes and proposing best practices for sales and use tax automation initiatives to streamline the customer onboarding experience. Develop and document business requirements related to business processes, data transformation and reporting. Assist clients with developing and executing testing plans and procedures. Support the sales and account management teams in selling additional tax and professional services. Perform other tasks as assigned.
Qualifications:
Eight or more years of software delivery, preferably within the B2B sector. Strong ability to articulate process logic and technical architecture including building and delivery of functional/technical presentations. Strong ability to understand and conceptualize accounting and tax processes and procedures. Experience working with clients at all organizational levels with a high degree of professionalism and business acumen. Experience with multiple ERP and e-commerce solutions with a focus on sales order/invoicing processes. Excellent written and oral communication skills are required with a demonstrated ability to work with cross-functional teams. Ability to support cross-functional internal initiatives across the sales, product management and engineering organizations Teamwork-oriented with a strong focus on customer satisfaction and business development. Ability to think strategically, solve problems effectively and tenaciously follow-through to ensure client success. Results-oriented with strong people and time management skills, highly organized, motivated and driven to succeed.
Preferred Qualifications:
Strong ability to understand and conceptualize accounting and tax processes and procedures. Experience working with clients at all organizational levels with a high degree of professionalism and business acumen Experience implementing Avalara products including AvaTax, CertCapture and Returns Experience with multiple ERP and e-commerce solutions with a focus on sales order/invoicing processes. Proven dedication and loyalty to Avalara. Demonstration of the Avalara Success Traits. Excellent references from management, team members and cross-functional employees at Avalara. Avalara is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, national orientation, disability, sexual orientation, US Veteran status, or any other factor protected by law.
5 . Post A Job
To find the right project 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 project consultants they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit project 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 project consultant job on Zippia to find and recruit project consultant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
6 . Interview Process
To successfully recruit project consultants, your first interview needs to be all about engaging with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.
You should also ask about candidates' special skills and talents to see if they match with the ideal candidate profile you came up with earlier. Candidates who are good enough for the next step can then move on to the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills. Explore the top questions to ask project consultants here.
7 . Send A Job Offer And Onboard Your New Project Consultant
Once you've found the project consultant candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary, as well as the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer needs to be competitive if you really like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.
It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.
Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new project consultant. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.
8 . Go Through The Checklist For The Hiring Process
- 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.)
Hiring Project Consultants FAQs
How Much Does A Good Project Consultant Cost?
What Are The Duties Of A Project Consultant?
- Lead a pilot project to introduce strong document management features to support document repositories in SharePoint.
- Manage a team responsible for designing service-orient application architecture, standards and best practices guidelines, security and data access frameworks.
- Create SQL scripts to implement test unit cases and ensure data quality.