Going client side: a destination, not a detour
Going client side: a destination, not a detour
Moving from consultancy into an in-house role can be one of the best decisions a surveyor makes. But it is far easier to cross in one direction than the other — and the reasons are worth understanding before you sign.
Client side offers ownership, influence and a different rhythm of work. The surveyors who thrive there are the ones who chose it as a career — not as a break from one.
Every year, talented consultancy professionals make the move in-house: to investors, developers, owner-occupiers, funds and operators. Many never look back, and for good reason. The work is closer to the asset, decisions carry your name, and the relentless pressure of the fee clock falls away.
What is less often discussed is the return journey. When a client-side professional decides, three or four years later, that they want to rejoin a consultancy — often at associate director, director or partner level — they frequently find the door narrower than they expected. Not because their technical ability has faded, but because the things a consultancy pays for at senior level are precisely the things client side never asked them to build.
This piece sets out why, and how to make the move on your own terms.
Why the move makes sense
Let us be clear from the outset: going client side is not a mistake. For many surveyors it is the natural next chapter — a chance to apply years of advisory experience from the principal's chair, to shape a portfolio rather than report on it, and to be judged on outcomes rather than hours.
In-house teams value consultancy-trained professionals precisely because they have seen hundreds of deals, assets and clients. That breadth is a genuine asset, and the best client-side careers are built on it.
The point is not whether to go. It is how you think about the decision when you do.
Client side is a strong career in its own right. Treat it as a destination you are choosing, not a holding position.
The network goes quiet
In consultancy, networking is not optional. Breakfasts, industry dinners, panel events, the steady cadence of keeping in touch — it all exists because the pipeline depends on it. Over time it becomes a reflex.
Move client side and the dynamic reverses. You become the person advisers want to meet. Invitations arrive; pitches land in your inbox. It is a pleasant position to be in, but it means the muscle of building and maintaining relationships for commercial gain is no longer exercised.
The network you do keep tends to be one of service providers rather than potential clients. That is valuable — but it is not the same network a consultancy is hoping you will bring through the door.
Being courted is not the same as courting. A consultancy hiring at senior level wants evidence you can still generate work, not just receive pitches.
Your client base disperses
A client following is not a list of names. It is a set of live relationships sustained by delivering good work, regularly, to people who trust you with it. The moment you stop advising, those relationships begin to drift.
Your former clients will have appointed new advisers — and those advisers will, by now, have earned their own loyalty. Your contacts will have moved on, been promoted or changed firms. The goodwill remains; the instructions do not.
By the time you consider returning, the honest answer to "which clients would follow you?" is often a short one. And at associate director level and above, that answer carries real weight in the hiring decision.
Goodwill fades slowly; a following fades quickly. Few clients will follow an adviser who has not advised them for several years.
Billings: the number you stop producing
At senior level, consultancies hire on commercial evidence. Partners and business owners want to understand what you have billed, what you could realistically bring with you, and how quickly you will cover your cost. A strong fee record is the shorthand for all three.
Client side, that metric simply does not exist. You may have managed significant budgets, driven value across a portfolio and appointed the very advisers you now hope to join — but none of that translates neatly into a fee figure on a business case.
The longer the gap, the more a returning candidate is assessed on technical capability rather than commercial contribution. That usually means re-entering at a lower level, on a lower package, or without a route to equity on the timeline they would have had by staying.
Consultancies pay senior people to win and grow fee income. Without a recent billing record, you are asking them to take that on trust.
“Going client side is easy to do. Coming back is a business case — and it is one you have stopped writing.”
Weighing up a move in-house?
Talk it through in confidence before you commit — we will give you an honest view of both directions.
How to go client side well
None of this is a reason to stay put. It is a reason to move with intent. Before accepting an in-house role, it is worth being honest with yourself about a few things:
- Are you choosing a career or escaping a job? If the motivation is fatigue with your current firm, a move to a different consultancy may solve the problem without closing any doors.
- Could you see yourself there in five years and beyond? If the honest answer is yes, the trade-offs above matter far less.
- Does the role keep you externally facing? Positions that involve appointing and managing advisers, transacting, or representing the business in the market keep your profile visible and your relationships active.
- Will you keep the network warm deliberately? Stay present at industry events, keep in touch with former clients and peers, and maintain your CPD and MRICS standing as if you might need them.
- Do you understand the window? A shorter stint in-house is far easier to explain and reverse than a long one. If you think you may want to return, decide early rather than drift.
The best client-side moves are made deliberately, with a long horizon and a clear view of what you are trading — and what you are gaining.
Make the move once, and make it count
We regularly speak with surveyors who went client side for the right reasons and have built excellent careers there. We also speak with those who went for the wrong ones, and found that the route back to a consultancy — particularly at a senior level — required them to rebuild a network, a following and a billing record they had set aside.
Our advice is simple. If you are considering an in-house role, treat it as a long-term career decision and assess it on that basis. If you are not sure it is, there may be a better move available within consultancy that delivers what you are looking for without the trade-off.
Either way, the decision deserves a candid conversation before it is made, not after.
Considering your next move?
- A confidential view of your options on both sides of the market
- Honest advice on timing, trade-offs and long-term positioning
- Candidate-exclusive representation with partner-level clients
Building a team that bills?
- Access to MRICS-qualified professionals with active networks and following
- Candidates assessed on commercial contribution, not just technical ability
- Retained search for partner and business-owner level hires