With increased awareness of the need to manage one’s image to have a better personal, professional and social life, the demand of image consultants is increasing. Just like individuals, companies need to manage their image. For corporations and other organizations, image can affect the financial bottom line. Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of most admired companies has found a correlation between a company’s image and its profits. Companies can have the following benefits by creating a positive image.
- Larger market share
- Ability to charge a premium
- Ability to pull through tough times
- Greater attraction to talent
- Higher retention and productivity of people
- Lower costs
- Better and favorable media coverage
- Higher returns for investors
If a company’s image is not as good as it could be, the company may lose out on all of these benefits.
Considering this, the job opportunities for image consultant are many although it may not come with a designation of “Image Consultant” in most cases. It will primarily come under the designation of “Trainer”. Various organizations hire trainers. With the option of hiring a person with the additional knowledge of image consulting is going to be a tempting thought. Although any organization can hire a trainer the following segments have an acute need of the same.
Airline and Hospitality Industry
These industries set one of the highest benchmark of service delivery and a key factor in service delivery is the image projected by the personnel of the company. It is essential for everyone working in cabin crew and hospitality professionals to be able to project a positive image. A fresh image consultant can apply for a job in the training department at an entry level.
Retail Garment Stores
Today retail sector is in boom. However, most people buy clothes in an impulse and end up regretting their purchases by the time they reach home and these results in huge refunds and returns. It also brings client dissatisfaction. There is an excellent opportunity to get hired as an image consultant in garment stores and advising buyers on what to buy based on their personal characteristics.
HR/Recruitment/Training firms
There are excellent job opportunities for image consultants to get hired by HR/Recruitment/Training firms. All these companies specialize in dealing with people and that is where image consulting can add a tremendous value.
Existing Image Consultants/Fashion Stylists
With the increased awareness of the need to manage one’s image, there is a boom in the image consulting business and there are many image consultants and fashion stylists who have set up shops. They will look to hire fresh image consultants to assist them in dealing with the clients and there lies a huge opportunity for people who have just started in this profession or who aspire to become an image consultant.
