Finding the right healthcare IT consulting firm to work for can be overwhelming. There are more firms popping up every year that do similar things, so it is important that you find the firm that you will be proud to work for and aligns with your core values. As someone who recently went through the process of selecting which consulting firm would be best for me, here are the steps that I took.
Finding the Right Firm
1. Research the firms that you are interested in
o Almost every company has pages on LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Facebook, Twitter, as well as their own website. Look at their mission statements and their blog posts. Take notes on which ones stand out.
2. Think about your long-term career goals
o If you don’t plan to spend the rest of your career in consulting, use this as an opportunity to grow skills that will be applicable for your long-term goals. Find a consulting company that has roles that fit what you are planning long term, whether they are IT, Project Management, or Operations focused.
3. Look at the leadership of the different firms
o The leadership of the consulting firm can tell you a lot about the firm. What did the leaders do prior to working at the firm? Is that something that you are interested in? Additionally, would you be inspired to work with the leadership? Do their values as leadership and organization align with your values?
4. Look at the employees who work at each firm
o What are the backgrounds of the some of the folks working there? Is there diversity among the team? If you have a connection to some of the employees, get their thoughts on what it is like to work at the firm? If you have a connection to former employees, talk with them as well about what they thought of the firm and why they left.
5. Talk to multiple firms
o There are a lot of firms that do similar things, but every company has their own culture. Meeting with different firms during the process will help you to understand more about the culture of each and how that aligns with your values.
6. Think about what benefits are most important to you
o After talking with the different firms, you will have a better idea of what benefits come with working with each. Weigh how those benefits will affect your work/life balance to help further narrow down the list. Are you looking for the highest pay possible? Unlimited PTO? Minimal (or no) travel? Flexible work hours so you can help your kids with virtual schooling? These different benefits will play a big role in your happiness and fulfillment with your new career.
After taking the steps above, hopefully you have narrowed down your choices to two to three firms and they extend offers to you. You’ve already done your homework on them, so you know that they all fit with your values, now you have the hard part – selecting one to move forward with. For me, that was The Wilshire Group.
If you’re interested in learning more about what it means to work for Wilshire, take a look at our Work for Wilshire and our Team pages on our website. We’d love to be considered for your professional home.
