What Makes a Great Consultant?

At Test Driven Solutions, we pride ourselves on our ability to connect our clients with the right consultants, helping to upskill their internal teams and support with timely project delivery.

But which skills help define the ‘right’ consultant? What sets a consultant apart from a traditional developer? And what does their role entail? Here, we set out the skillset and some of the key characteristics we look for when it comes to hiring a TDS consultant.

What sets a consultant apart from a developer?

At first glance, there isn’t too much difference between a developer and a consultant. Ultimately, both roles revolve around using various programming languages to work on, build and improve software solutions, whether that’s a website, app, embedded system or something else.

Both roles are technically minded and require strong knowledge of the programming languages and platforms in question.

Our consultants, however, are able to do a little bit more. As well as possessing the sound technical ability required of a developer, our consultants work in a client-facing capacity much of the time. This means, at TDS, people skills, good communication and the ability to work with clients are just as important as technical skills.

Working with colleagues

At TDS, we’re a tight-knit bunch and the ability to work well within a larger project team is absolutely vital.

Working well with colleagues comprises a number of vital skills. Communication, of course, is key. Our consultants are always talking to each other, bouncing ideas off each other and checking things over before actioning client work.

“It’s really important that we correct each other where required and give different perspectives on work,” says Chris, one of our senior consultants.

Adaptability is key too – we work with an Agile mindset during our projects. Therefore, you might be asked to work within planned project sprints, or pivot to support another member of the team.

We can’t forget the basics either – respect is a big part of our award-winning team culture at TDS. “Nobody here is above helping out, giving an opinion or supporting,” says Zoe, another senior DevOps consultant. “We’re all trying to do the best we can, and deliver the best solutions we can, for our clients.”

Working with clients

Perhaps the main skill that separates our consultants from our developers is the amount of time they spend in client-facing situations. Typically, our team members split their time between working from home, working in one of our offices and working at client sites during a project.

Confidence and enthusiasm become more important than ever when working on a client project. From the first time we visit a client site, or meet them on a call, we must imbue them with confidence that we’ll deliver a great solution for them – so positivity and an open mindset are key.

The best consultants will not only consider how to deliver the best possible solution for a client, but also the best way to communicate that strategy to the client. Our consultants must be prepared to have tough conversations with clients where required. We need to be able to trust that any new team members will conduct themselves in a way that leads to the best outcome for the client and for us.

Upskilling client teams

Working as a TDS consultant involves sharing your knowledge, both with your colleagues and with client teams. Our work aims to leave client teams in a better position than we found them, with a more diverse and in-depth skillset – and part of that is down to your insights.

We train our consultants using the best and most efficient methods, so skills can be efficiently passed onto clients. You might work with individual team members to teach them about specific processes, or be asked to run a group training workshop.

Your perspective is so important – the best consultants encourage client teams to question what they know, pick apart processes and learn for themselves.

Being inventive

Last, but not least, we want our consultants to be inventive! Innovation never started from people sticking to the status quo. We always encourage our consultants to think outside the box and draw on their learnings from outside the workplace when ideating client solutions.

“Some of our team work on their own games and apps outside of work and they’re encouraged to bring their own knowledge and learnings from those projects into the workplace,” says Chris.

“We’re a young company and we’re agile – if it’s a good idea, we’ll at least give it a try and see what happens!”

Enquire now

Is your skillset aligned with that of a TDS consultant? We support clients on a wide range of projects across different programming languages, including Java, Scala, JavaScript (Angular, React), .NET and more.

We’re hiring for a number of roles in our delivery team, each of which brings the opportunity to work on an exciting range of client projects across multiple sectors, in both the public and private realms.

Discover our vacancies now via our Careers page and apply directly – we look forward to hearing from you!

If you’d like to know more about TDS or any of our other services, contact our team today.