INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYLance B. Eliot, Feature Editor, Eliot & Associates SEARCHING PROPERLY FOR THE CIO JOBby Lance Eliot, Eliot & Associates In previous columns I have noted that the job market for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) has been heating up, offered tips on examining the job and career aspects of being an I.T. executive, and described how to make a CIO resume that will cause sparks to fly off the page. In today's column I tackle another career focused topic for CIOs, namely, how to search for an open CIO job. Before I launch into my top five tips on CIO job searches, allow me a moment to comment on when an I.T. executive should search for a new job. Some CIOs figure they should be looking for their next job only when their existing job is in direct peril, or when they are completely jobless. At the other extreme, there are those enterprising CIOs who think about job searching as soon as they have established themselves at their current job (usually waiting a year or two into their present job before contemplating their next move). My answerþthough somewhat unconventional and probably controversialþis that an I.T. executive should ALWAYS be looking for the next job. Why? Well, the cruel and hard facts about CIO job tenure say it all. Most CIOs will only hold their position for two to three years. Their present employer is unlikely to have made any firm commitment to keep them for any lengthy period of time (there are one-year contracts, but they are still quite rare). And the search process itself is likely to take anywhere from an optimistic 6 months to a depressing 12 months or more. Since employers aren't willing to make a firm commitment to the employee (the CIO), why should the CIO feel guilty about always keeping an eye out for another job? Keep in mind, the days of your employer taking care of you are gone. With mergers, downsizing, reengineering, and all sorts of organizational musical chairs going on, the odds that any CIO will be treasured, retained, protected, and honored by his or her firmþno matter how good a job they might be doingþis quite unlikely. Of course, if your present employer finds out that you are job searching when they don't think you should be, you could put your job in jeopardy. So take my advice with a bit of care. You should always be searchingþbut you shouldn't always search in the same manner. Your search technique should vary depending upon the circumstances of your particular situation (i.e., whether your job is stable, at risk, or nonexistent.) With these caveats fully in mind, I offer my list of top five tips for conducting a CIO job search. Though the list isn't exhaustive, I hope it will at least steer you in the right direction. 1. Understand Your Prospective Employer's Needs Why should I hire you? That's the question you have to keep in mind. Some CIOs, long accustomed to barking orders to their I.T. staff, rarely need to justify who they are and what they can do. Indeed, when they go in for interviews with a prospective employer, perhaps with the CFO and/or CEO, some CIOs make the mistake of talking endlessly about themselves without connecting their experiences to the needs of the CFO or CEO. Engage the CFO or CEO in a dialogue and find out what he or she is searching for. Is this an I.T. function that needs a complete turnaround? If so, emphasize your ability to overhaul an I.T. staff and revamp an I.T. infrastructure. Is this an I.T. function that needs to be expanded? If so, emphasize your experiences at building an I.T. group and how you can quickly staff up to meet the firm's demands. 2. Have a Good CIO Tale, and Tell It Well ``Tell me about the best systems that you have ever implemented.'' When I ask this of many CIOs, they stammer and roll their eyes thinking about the various systems they have implemented, finally selecting the best system without any apparent rationale. Before embarking on your job search, put together a good tale about the systems you have completed. Did they use client/ server technology? How many users were impacted? Was there a demonstrative payback to the organization? What involvement did the CIO really have in the system? These kinds of questions must be anticipated, answers must be prepared, and the CIO must describe the systems without a moment's hesitation. 3. Realize That Good CIO Jobs Are Hard to Find I remember one CIO who told me that he assumed he could find a position comparable to his present job (managing about 600 I.T. staff, salary in the $250,000 range, not including bonus) that would not cause him to move, or otherwise change his present lifestyle, and that he figured the search would take less than a month. I only wish I had bet him a year's salary (his, not mine). I would have easily won the bet. Of course, he didn't succeed in his ambitious (read: unrealistic) goal. Trying to find a good CIO job that meets your current specifications, assuming that your current specifications are decent, is bound to take several months of intense searching activity. In essence, the search will be similar to taking on a new, full-time job (the job of CIO searching). If you do the search part-time, you must multiply the length of time that the search will take. 4. Use Every Network You Have When you conduct your search, decide who you will choose to assist you. Friends? I.T. colleagues in the industry? Professional I.T. search specialists? Vendor contacts? For each of the search stakeholders, develop a strategy of how you will deal with them. If you lack sufficient contacts, begin building your base of contacts. However, be careful of allowing your good name to be used by just anyone. Sometimes the shotgun method of I.T. job searching actually makes things worse for you. If prospective employers perceive that you are desperate, they may decide that you are not worth having. In fact, there is a bit of stigma attached to being an out-of-work CIO. Prospective employers generally like the idea that they are "stealing" a hot commodity (a CIO gainfully employed elsewhere), as opposed to picking up a dead weight that some other firm decided was no good. It is important that you blend the search for a new CIO job with the perception that you are still desirable elsewhere. 5. Remember Your CIO Competition For every CIO job that opens, a whole gaggle of prospective I.S. executive candidates will throw themselves at the door. You will be one of the gaggle. Thus, you must find a way to outdo your CIO competition. Why should the prospective employer pick you instead of the other five, ten, or fifty qualified CIO candidates? For particularly egocentric CIOs, the realization that there are others out there competing for the same þdream jobþ is a sudden, eye-opening experience. Yes, no matter how good you think your track record is, there may be someone with a better track record, or perhaps someone who has done a better job of selling themselves (but may not have as good a track record as you do). Match perception with your actual track record. Conclusion Many CIOs believe that job searching is degrading and unpleasant. Well, they're probably right. On the other hand, avoiding a degrading and unpleasant task doesn't make it go away, and may even make it more unpleasant if botched by improper technique. For those CIOs who want to advance their career, start with my top five list and begin preparing your search efforts. It's never too early, but it can always be too late. Good luck finding those sought after and highly rewarding CIO jobs. Remember that your input is welcomed. If you have projects addressing the information technology area, and you would like to share this with readers of "Information Technology," please write to me at the address below.
Dr. Lance Eliot |