If you’re reading these lines, you’re probably interested in Keyrus but are thinking “why them more than any of the dozens of other consultancy companies out there?”

 Well, you’re actually the only one who can make this call but read on further to see if my personal experience helps you take a more informed decision.

Keyrus as a client

That’s right! When I first got to know about Keyrus, I was their client. It was in 2013 and I needed them to find a good ETL developer for me in order to maintain and enhance the European data warehouse that I was responsible for. They presented me to a young candidate. Only a few years of experience but he was a perfect match. After just a month on the job, he already knew the environment inside out and provided a huge value to the team… for over 3 years!

During my time as the Head of Data Warehouse Operations, I recall having interviewed numerous candidates from various consultancy companies, but more often than not I went for the ones proposed by Keyrus, and not a single time did I regret it!

Dorian, Jelle, Danny, Gerald, Eduardo, Stef, Stef (no, this is not me getting old, there were actually 2 of them), Kris, Georges… I had been working in BI for many years already but I nevertheless learned a tremendous amount from every one of them. And for this, I would like to take this opportunity to thank them once more! Thanks guys!

Keyrus as an employee

You certainly heard a lot of testimonials about consultants accepting a position at one of their clients. That’s typically how the trend goes. Well, I felt a bit like a salmon that day when I went against the current and left my company after 18 years of loyal service to join Keyrus as one of their consultants.

It all happened so quickly. I still remember that message from James on LinkedIn asking me if I was interested in a job at Keyrus. It came just as I was starting to itch for a more “nomad” professional life. After so many years working on Oracle, Informatica, and SAP Business Objects, I needed some fresh air. I knew that there was more out there. I wanted to wander across the vast plains of Business Intelligence, visit the abyss of Data Lakes and climb the cliffs of Big Data.

This was actually quite of a scary leap for me. I had worked with many consultants before but had never been one myself. Next to that, my education was very far from computer science: I graduated in Marketing. I acquired most of my knowledge of data warehousing and BI on the job and by being in contact with professionals from Keyrus and others. No certification, very few official training courses, this was definitely going to be a challenging new world for me!

Being a consultant

One of my first concerns when I prepared myself to become a consultant was how I would manage to combine my private life with my new professional responsibilities. Would I still be able to pick up my son on time after school every other week? Would customers accept this constraint? What if I was sent on a mission on the other side of the country?

It all turned out to be a non-problem. Keyrus and also clients (all so far) are very flexible and do not stick to the traditional 8-to-5 schedule. Until now, I didn’t have to call in late a single time at my son’s school!

My next worry was whether Keyrus would find a mission for me and how long I would have to wait. This can sound odd for those of you who are mostly familiar with “body-shopping” companies. Keyrus however doesn’t recruit to fill in specific project needs. Their philosophy is to invest in people and help them develop competitive strengths.

It turned out that I was with my first client after only 2 weeks spent on training on Microsoft SQL Server and SSAS. I’ve been busy ever since!

Finally, the last and greater fear was not to be up to the task.

The client pays for the service and expects the consultant to deliver but what if I couldn’t make it? What if I didn’t know how to resolve their problem?

Well, that didn’t happen. I did manage. I did resolve their problem. Why? How? Probably because Keyrus lines up the right resources on the right projects. Probably because you’re never on your own. Even when you’re the only resource assigned, a team is always there to support you on topics that are beyond your expertise. Probably also because it’s such a thrilling journey that you eagerly go the extra mile to make it work!

Keyrus has given me the chance to embark in that journey and they could give it to you too! This could be your story! Do you fancy giving it a try?