Welp MagazineImage consulting is a professional field that aims to improve the image of the client personally or professionally through appearance, behavior, and communication. It is the process of evaluating the effect of a person’s appearance on their professional image.
What Is An Image Consultant?
An image consultant is also sometimes known as a personal image consultant, image coach, image advisor, image assistant, interpersonal style coach, or a persona image consultant. An image consultant advises their clients on how to present an appearance that will help them to achieve what they desire to achieve. An image consultant does not instruct their client to wear a specific style or brand of clothing, or to purchase products from a specific store. Rather, they help their client “dress for success” by focusing on the visual elements of appearance.
The image consultant has a wide range of clients. Although many people mistakenly think of image consultants as the people who help people land the top jobs of the career ladder that is only one segment of the image consulting market. There are image consultants who work with law firms, financial institutions, real estate companies, property investors, and medical professionals to name a few. These professionals are sometimes called “business image consultants,” but image consultants work with all types of businesses. For instance, there are image consultants that work with doctors and psychologists. These professionals help their clients with their professional branding, clothing, and logo design. It is important to note that all types of businesses have to work hard to maintain their image and brand recognition.
There are many types of image consultants such as the Cosmetologist, Image Designer, Image Developer, Image Developer/Image Buyer, Image Consultant/Stylist, Image Consultant/Stylist/Personal Shopper, Image Consultant/Stylist/Product Demonstrator, Image Consultant/Stylist/Personal Shopper/Product Demonstrator, Image Consultant/Personal Shopper, Image Consultant/Stylist/Personal Shopper/Product Demonstrator, Image Consultant/Product Demonstrator, Image Evaluator, and Image Developer.
It should be noted that sometimes cosmetologists who identify themselves as image consultants do not offer the full range of services that image consultants offer. Although the Cosmetologist may give some basic image advice, he or she does not typically meet with clients on a long-term basis, advise them on every facet of the image, or offer a broad range of image services. The cosmetologist may help clients select clothing, do makeovers, or give advice on improving their overall appearance. These services often are offered as a package, or as a one-time consultation.
What Does An Image Consultant Do?
Image consultants act as advisors to the person communicating an image to the public. They provide professional advice to help their clients improve their appearance and image so that their clients can achieve their professional goals. Image consultants spend some time with their clients to learn about their goals and ambitions and to discover more about who their client is as a person.
The goal of the image consultant is to identify client specific goals, and to help to discover what is preventing the client from achieving those goals. Image consultants help their clients select the appropriate clothes that will create a desired effect: they improve their choice of words, help clients to present themselves to the public using the telephone, and provide guidelines on how to behave in public.
They conduct on-going assessments of the client’s appearance and professional appearance, and they provide client-centered advice on a variety of topics that include hair, makeup, clothing, accessories, jewelry, shoes, etiquette, public speaking skills, body language, and so on.
An image consultant acts as a critical friend by providing honest feedback about the client’s professional appearance and by giving proactive recommendations, as well as in-depth suggestions on how to act and how to communicate in certain situations. An image consultant is a problem-solver who gives advice on how to achieve the image the client seeks, and who helps the client to clarify his or her goals.
Image Consultants specialize in specific areas like career, health, youth, and professional development. They also identify the resources that the client should use to get help or treatment. Sometimes image consultants specialize in only one specific area, like a specific career field, for instance.
Image Consultants work with their clients to help their clients to act appropriately in specific situations, by helping them to deal with certain behaviors. Image consultants also help their clients to identify the appropriate clothing, accessories, and makeup for the occasion.
An image consultant acts as a coach who gives their clients specific advice and direction on how to achieve their goals and obtain the self-esteem they desire. An image consultant looks at the private and professional image of his or her client and helps to evaluate where the image could be improved. Then, they suggest ways to improve the way the client looks, and to correct the image. Finally, they help their clients to implement the changes. The goal of the image consultant is to help clients to achieve the image that they want, and to move into the direction in which they want to move.
What Does An Image Consultant Look For?
An image consultant looks for a variety of qualities in their clients. Some image consultants look for a specific occupation that their client is interested in obtaining, while some image consultants work with clients of any type. There are image consultants that work with children and teenagers, some that work with adults, and there are some that work with both groups.
An image consultant considers the personality of their client. An image consultant tries to achieve a balance in the appearance of their clients. The height, posture, hair, face shape, skin type, body type, and shape of the face are some of the physical characteristics that the image consultant considers. Also important are the style and color of the clothing, the length of the hair, and the style of hair cut. The image consultant will also consider the facial features, hair, make-up, and presentable clothes.
Sometimes an image consultant also finds it important to know the values and culture of their client. Some image consultants work with businesses while some work with personal clients. An image consultant may work with people of any age or gender.
