Whether personal or work-related, what are the top 5 career tips you've picked up through the years as a consultant?I'm looking for tips to help me get through my working life that little bit more easily. Please avoid posting things like "that XYZ is a rubbish company" or "not to take advice from strangers on a message board" etc - I'm looking for little snippets of wisdom that can be applied to almost any situation. Thanks in advance!

If your manager is unreasonable, find another role.It's ok to go home.

1. Don't take things too seriously. Job security is non-existent in this industry, so don't sweat over being number 1 at everything you do, because it will only make you bitter when you get an unfair appraisal or made redundant after years of hard work.2. Go with your gut instincts. If you feel that a colleague is a time-waster, a back stabber, or the type to keep you hanging around in the office late at night, then your instincts are probably right. Try and avoid them. 3. Make sure you communicate with people frequently. It's easy to get buried away with report writing, but if you don't talk to people then come appraisal time you won't have anybody who's able to sing your praises.4. Take what senior management and the HR dept says with a pinch of salt. All this nonsense about "we're the best in the industry" etc is usually just rhetoric designed to make you work harder.5. Try and keep your self-esteem high. Don't let bad managers or harsh performance reviews make you feel bad about yourself. Listen to and respond to feedback, but don't hold yourself up against impossible standards, it will drive you nuts.

There's more to life than cufflinks and watches.

1. actions speak louder than words, particularly where promises of pay and career progression are concerned2. responsibility is, in itself, not a good thing unless you thrive on stress and pressure. more responsibility should result in more pay or other benefits3. don't neglect your personal friendships. the people you work with are colleagues, not friends (in most cases). 4. like petey says, if your manager is unreasonable, find another role. sometimes this may mean jumping ship.5. beware of 'salami slice' negotiation tactics by employers. if you accommodate minor inconveniences or let-downs, you'll find that over time these all add up to make things miserable for you. always strike while the iron's hot and object to things with which you disagree. do not suffer fools.

Good ones Mike.

I concur with Mike. It's real easy sometimes to take what managers say at face value and think they know. They're just people too, and don't know it all (even when some of them think otherwise). When a manager gives you feedback, evaluate it for merit. Sometimes the manager is just giving feedback so she/he can say that they did so on their assessment. It may be totally worthless garbage advice. But like Mike said...step back from it all and don't take it too seriously. It will drive you nuts for sure if you are in it all the time.

This is great, more suggestions please!

Guess I'll chip in as things come to mind--Find a hobby. A real hobby that you're really interested in. Separate work and you-time. There are situations where this is very difficult, but try as hard as you can to keep that separation while still being of value to the firm. I've noticed that I have been a lot happier after I did that. When I'm at home, I refuse to open outlook, don't answer calls unless it seems to be an emergency, and try not to even think about work related stuff. I keep this thought in my head at all times:"I work to support what I want to do." That'll help keep you happier than just working for the sake of working. Make yourself happy first.ok nuff babbling from me

OK, a couple from me, as all the above very noble and difficult to achieve :)Do unto others...... (it won't stop you getting knifed in the back by colleagues, but you can look at yourself in the mirror in the morning)Don't badmouth the client in public.Fitness is important - corollary: don't kill yourself on the firms behalf.And the points above are sound as well

Balance and perspective. Family is everything - you don't get back the time you missed. (e.g. A child's fifth birthday only happens once.)It's like that analogy with you juggling four balls: JOB, FAMILY, FRIENDS, SOUL. The job one is made of rubber, and if you drop it, it bounces. The others are made of glass, and if you drop them they are damaged beyond repair.Summary: A job is just a job. It should not dominate your life at the expense of what really matters.

1. you are a long time dead, do work you enjoy and get the balance right.2. how ever money you earn you only spend it3. never bad mouth anyone in an email, you don't know where it will go4. stay calm and cheerful under pressure, you're not fighting a war and nobody is trying to kill you - it's just a job.5. do your best and if it's not good enough so be it, just pick yourself up, learn, go home to the family - tomorrow is a new day

'you're not fighting a war and nobody is trying to kill you'Brilliant.

A friend of mine (partner in a big 4) had a heart attack. I visited him in hospital. He said "I barely know my kids and I never had time to have a garden. I love my kids and I love gardening. Why have I wasted the last 20 years?"

good work guys, keep this thread running!my 5:1. if you want to say something contentious, use the telephone rather than e-mail2. keep fit/healthy3. carry around a 'buffer file' of things that need to be done with you so that you can use travel/commute time productively4. whilst it pains me to say it, YOUR client is your employer. the "client" (in the traditional sense of the word) is your employer's client. make sure you understand your priorities5. be alert to politics and make sure you know who to trust.

I can't second the last comment enough. Politics are HUGE. When assessments roll around, it is the people around you that will be contributing to whether you get that bonus or if you get bitched by your manager. Play the politics game, and be sure who you can trust. Too many haters, backstabbers, and shady people in this industry.

Brilliant, absolutely spot on! I've learnt that this is an industry where perception is more important than reality. You can be a really good, hard worker that always produces top notch analysis and reports, but if you mis-judge the politics, you can get seriously shafted at appraisal time because of the comments of a few jealous, insecure back-stabbers. Bad consultants are like pack animals, it only takes one person to badmouth you and next thing you know the entire herd starts talking badly of you. Mud sticks, and even the most subtle comment made by somebody who plays the politics game can transform your career (for better or for worse).

Applies to MBBB firms:1. Eat and drink in moderation. Those "no $ limit" client-expensed team dinners can be seductive.2. $hit rolls downhill. As an associate or analyst, you will receive more than your fair share of psychopathic managers and partners. Life as an associate or analyst is living hell. If you can't hack it, find another job.3. If you want to advance your career, you need to pay your dues. All this advice about finding another manager if he's a time waster, back-stabber, etc. is not realistic. As an associate or analyst, you have very little say on who you're staffed with. Just roll with the punches. 4. It does get better as you advance... signficantly more money, significantly more interesting (i.e., someone else is the data jock, someone else is the deck boy). I hated life as an associate, but boy do I love what I'm doing now.5. See # 1.

I'm an associate and can definitely relate to the sh** roles down hill one after the last few days - the projects feeling a bit rocky and I'm getting criticised for typos and other mistakes I didn't make!

Associate - this kind of thing happens a lot. it's part of the politics. "make other people look bad by criticising them for things which aren't their fault, whilst at the same time knowing they can't say anything about it because they will either look insubordinate or petty". classic sign of a bad manager.

Voicemail was invented for you to use. Don't answer the phone when having a conversation with someone. Don't take work calls when you don't want to in your private life (it is up to you where you put that divide). Don't answer the phone in meetings.

OK, the message is coming through, 90% hate the evil politics even as they get dragged in (and the other 10% get promoted fast). Are there any alternatives to the negative politics, other than striving to become the biggest and slyest backstabber in the room? I know many of us have struggled at great personal expense to hold ourselves above that fate. A respectful request to any Change and Culture consultants, 5 hot survival tips for constructive human beings?

Personally, when I advised "play the game," I didn't mean become the most ninja bastard in the office. To me, playing the game means foremost to figure out who my real friends are and who I can trust. Those are the people I want to be around and work with. These are the people who will laud you on your assessments. For the backstabbing haters, it's important to spot them out quick, but not avoid them altogether. To play the game, you have to be nice and cordial, as you never know when they'll try to screw you over. Since that is the case, be guarded and make sure you never give them anything to use against you. This means being polite even though you wish they were run over by a bus, providing help when needed, etc. That is my take on playing the game. It's a delicate thing, and takes some proper finesse, which I personally am still working on.