Adding Consultant Experience to Resume and LinkedIn [duplicate]

Question

A similar question has been asked here, but I believe my situation is slightly different.

I recently started working a consulting position at a fairly well known company, lets call it Company A. I was recruited to Company A by a rather obscure consultancy/recruiting firm (let's call it Company B).

My question is: can I state that I am a consultant in the job title (i.e. Software Engineer Consultant) and set Company A as my company on LinkedIn profile and on my resume?

Additional Relevant Information:

1. I am technically not an employee of Company A yet. However, on the official offer letter, it states that this is a contract position with "intent to hire".

2. I receive paychecks from Company B even though I negotiated the terms of the offer with Company A.

3. I am a software engineer working in the United States

4. I plan on staying in the United States for future employment.

5. If a future employer were to run a background check, it will most likely state that I am an employee of Company B (at this point).

My motivation for wanting to do this is because Company A is well known in the industry, whereas Company B is not. In addition, Company B is not a traditional consulting company. For example, Company B describes itself as a "recruiting firm" on its website. I am worried that doing so will likely make the wrong impression on future employers if they run a background check.

Answer 1

Resumes are sales tools. You want to paint yourself in the best light in terms of "showing off" why you're a good candidate for a job. Of course, you also want to be factually correct since lying during the hiring process is generally a good way to sour relationships.

When working as a consultant, or employed by a staffing firm, it's totally reasonable to want to display the name of the client company, especially when it's a brand with clout in your industry. However, it would be factually incorrect to pass yourself off as their employee. As such, it's typical to include both names. Generally, this is done in one of two ways. If your contract was with a single specific client during your entire tenure at Company B, you'd typically list both companies in the header of that position, i.e.,

Software Engineer I, 2015 - current, Company B under contract to Company A

Then follow with the details of what you did, as usual.

If you had multiple clients, you'd more typically list them separately as sub-sections:

Software Engineer Consultant, 2015 - current, Company B

(General details about Company B)

Company A, 2015 - 2016

(Details about what you did for A)

Company C 2016 - 2018

(Details about what you did for C)

This has the advantage of showing "continuous" employment for A, without the impression of job hopping, while still being able to show off the brands you consulted with.

Answer 2

Your information is unclear.

Are you going to be contractually employed by company A or will you remain an employee of company B (they already pay you for work at company A)?
What kinds of contracts do you have with either companies (employment or recruitment etc.)?

So here are the 2 scenarios I see will be the case:

• you'll be employed by company A
  WAIT until you signed your contract with A before postinig anything.
  Coincidentally, your CONTRACT is where you'll find your official JOB TITLE.
  

• you remain employed by company B.
  (but work on company A premises / projects)
  You can't associate yourself directly as an employee with company A!
  You may state you work on projects X,Y,Z for company A, contracted by company B
  (read your NDA, you might not be allowed to say certain things about your work or who you work for)
  Your JOB TITLE should be properly listed somewhere in the paperwork between you, company B and company A.
  (probably in your contract with B or in their outsourcing contract with company A which you might not have a right to see)
  If you don't have your job title for the work at company A in writing, ask for it with company B(your employer).
  If it is different to the offer of company A, attempt to correct it to your liking with company B.

If you're after a certain title, make sure in your negotiations before signing that it is stated as you want it in your contract...obviously provided you're qualified and / or the company is willing to give you that job title.

Careful, it may quickly jeopardize your negotitations if you demand an outlandish or unnecessary job title.

Should you want to become employee of company A you NEED to become proactive with company A to sign an employment contract in accordance with the offer.

Only in that case will company B truly be a recuiter for you, not your actual employer, which it apparently currently is...

Answer 3

Can I set Company A as my company on LinkedIn profile and on my resume?

I have seen this situation in the wild such as you're working at Google, but you contract through Adecco. Basically, you want the prestige of Company A, but you can't really ignore that you're technically contracting through Company B. The way I would list this position on your resume is (your title) at (Company A) via (Company B).

Can I state that I am a consultant in the job title (i.e. Software Engineer Consultant)

Use your actual job title.