Just how does one go about conducting a proactive, precise, effective job search? As a CIO, you've probably heard it all before: IT infrastructure is like a house; business is like a football game; and an IT project (too often) is like a patient bleeding on the table.
Well, if you love a good analogy as much as the next CIO, then think of your next job search as something like bringing a quality product to market. In this scenario, you, of course, are the product. You have been in product development for a number of years, and while you've enjoyed some trial runs in the market, you are now ready for a full-blown launch. So what does it take to go to market?
Step One: Define your brand.
As any good product manager will tell you, you cannot go to market before you truly understand your brand. What are your attributes? Are you a turnaround CIO? A technology guru? A financial services expert? A startup CIO?
Once you understand what qualities you embody (beyond simply CIO of ABC Corp.) and once you can articulate those qualities succinctly and effectively, you are ready to move to Step Two.
Step Two: Define your market.
Barring, perhaps, Coca-Cola, there are few companies that can claim their product appeals to consumers in every demographic. Most companies will define a particular market for their product: women over 40, small businesses in the Northeast, wealthy couples who like to dress up their dogs.
So I am always amazed by how often CIOs intent on marketing themselves skip this essential step. When I ask them to describe their dream job they often neglect to specify industry, geography or even the job function they want. The more specific you can get about your goal, a midsize retail company in the Midwest, the more proactive you can be about building a pipeline of leads to get you there.
Step Three: Develop your marketing materials.
Let me say just a few words about your resume: Limit it to three pages. Include a one-line description of each company you list. Emphasize the business impact of your technology achievements. Avoid listing specific technologies, unless you are going for a CTO or chief architect role. Mention accomplishments in team building and leadership development. Include metrics: size of staff, budget and annual revenues. Pay attention to formatting: keep the font crisp and easy on the eyes. Finally, put dates on your education regardless of how long ago you received your degree.
Step Four: Build the pipeline.
Now that you know your market and you have your collateral, you're ready to build your pipeline of prospects. Take the general market definition you've developed and make a list of every company that qualifies. Once you've got that list, chances are, you know someone who knows someone who knows a decision-maker in every company, so pick up the phone and start calling your contacts.
Be sure to include your vendors in an early round of calls, suggests Scott Hicar, who recently left his role as CIO at Maxtor to become CIO of Solectron.
"Your best salespeople are generally well-connected," he says. "They typically have better networks than you do and for them, there is nothing better they can do than find an old customer a new home."
Continued:The cold call
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