Consulting Lets You Balance Lifestyle With Stimulating Work

Consultant Spotlight: Rob Nancarrow

Rob Nancarrow is the first to admit that the frequent travel of his early consulting career was tough. While he enjoys working face-to-face with clients, he’s now found a good balance that gives him the freedom to enjoy his lifestyle in rural Victoria.

Rob became well versed in TechnologyOne’s Property and Rating product early on in his career when he filled a maternity leave position in a local government. He found the work interesting, so when an opportunity came to work for TechnologyOne as a consultant, he took it up a few years later.

This 3-year stint involved working with a large variety of clients, mostly on implementations and software upgrades. He was travelling to sites in Tasmania, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria – sometimes visiting 3 or 4 within a week! It was a hectic lifestyle, but he saw and learned a lot.

“I really noticed the differences in how organisations use the exact same tools – both state to state and even shire to shire. Consultants get exposed to a lot of different ways of thinking, and that’s part of the reason I enjoy it. It’s good when you can actually work with a group of people and get their take on things. That helps me grow and broaden my mind – get a better idea of what works and what doesn’t.”

After tiring of the travel, Rob moved back to client-side work at a different council. But when Lánluas was looking for a Property and Rating specialist a few years later, we managed to draw him back to consulting. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rob took advantage of our remote work policy to relocate outside of Melbourne. He describes his rural location as “the middle of nowhere” – a nice change after years of urban living and frequent interstate travel. Remote work allows Rob to stay on top of his clients’ needs, while spending time on his own hobbies and interests, and maintaining his property.

“I volunteer at a cat shelter once a month. I like to work on car projects. I get into woodworking a bit. I do a lot with electronics and automation. I get into gardening. I love that in the country I have the space to plant the trees I want. A couple of acres is a good size to manage alongside consulting work.”

Rob appreciates that working as a consultant helps to fuel his desired lifestyle. But while he’s happy to not be on the road several times a week anymore, he’s also quick to add that he still enjoys working in-person with clients when it’s required.

“I love being out here, but don’t have qualms with occasionally travelling to see someone face-to-face. Nothing beats sitting together and solving problems one-on-one.” 

There’s certainly an aspect of relationship management that comes with consulting, and Rob has spent many years honing his skills in this area. He mentions that a boss early on in his career gave him some great advice on what it takes to be a successful consultant: The ability to listen.

“If you don’t listen you might end up doing the wrong thing. Or the client might just feel like they’ve not been heard.”

Another attribute that Rob feels is essential in this line of work – and most types of work – is having knowledge and expertise, but also being honest when you’re unfamiliar with something.

“If I’m unfamiliar with something I’ll be upfront about it. People always apologise when they ask questions, but I believe that asking questions leads to valuable discussion. I’m big on sharing knowledge. By sitting down and working through jobs with people, they can see how it’s done, ask questions, and work through different scenarios.”

Of course, your experience with consulting as a profession will be highly affected by where you work. After nearly six years with Lánluas, Rob is still going strong, and enjoying the team culture.

“We have a great team. Everyone gets along. People are really busy, but also really happy to put time aside to help. I always appreciate that.”

So if you’re looking for a consulting position at a company that challenges and respects you, and will help you achieve the lifestyle you want – take a look at what’s on offer on our Careers page.