When IT professionals create a resume that only embodies their skills and abilities but is unrelated to the realities of their target industries and verticals, their job search suffers.
My goal in this article is to help you bridge the gap between what you are looking for in a job and what the market needs from you. Here is a step-by-step plan to getting the perfect CIO job.
Step 1. Understand the marketplace
To understand the job marketplace, you must gain an understanding of the driving forces in the IT marketplace, the major trends affecting the industry, and what opportunities these trends create for you. Don't think you already know the answers to these questions; you need to research them and write down the answers to these and any other questions that you think of as you explore the IT market. If you haven't been visiting TechRepublic.com regularly, now is a good time to do so. Other great sources for industry trends include CIO.com and the multitude of books, magazines, and Web sites catering to the IT population at large.
Step 2. What is perfect for you?
Once you have a handle on what the marketplace wants and needs, compare that to your skill set and your needs and wants. Specifically, what are you looking for in your next role as CIO and what can you bring to the table? Consider:
- Size of the target companies
- Industry vertical(s)
- Geographic markets
- Cultural climate
- Size of the team
- Number of users of IT
- Specific technologies
If you have access to the Hoover's site, through an outplacement firm or through your university or public library, use it to help you identify which companies you wish to target. Typically, your first list should include about 25 to 50 companies in your target market. Of course, this is an evolving list and can be changed and adapted as you go through the search process. Often, within large global enterprises, there can be dozens of CIO-level opportunities, and the goal is to put your resume in the hands of those hiring currently, or planning to hire down the road. While most professionals target job searches to specific advertised openings, it isn't a waste of time to target companies specificallyâ€"even if they're not publicly hiring.
Step 3. Create your communications
Once you know what you can do to satisfy the needs of the marketplace, how do you propose to reach prospective employers? What will your communications strategies be in the following situations?
- 30-second elevator pitch
- Networking among peers
- Responding to job postings
- Direct mail to target companies
- Communication through recruiters
Write, revise, and practice your verbal and written communications over and over again. Make them perfect. Also, if it suits your style, be excessive. Remember, the goal is to get noticed and create the right impression.
If this means packaging your job application materials in a folder and using FedEx or UPS for delivery instead of simply a letter or an e-mail, then do it. The bottom line is be focused, determined, and aggressive to put yourself way ahead of the curve. While there are no guarantees in any job search, taking this approach will put the odds significantly in your favour.
As an example, I created a unique graphical format (see Figure A) for presenting my list of references to recruiters and potential employers. This often caught their attention, and resulted in job interviews and offers. If nothing else, it prompted them to call me just to hear the voice behind the presentation.
Figure A
The graphic places the candidate in the centre and the various stakeholders, including direct reports, supervisors, customers, and partners around the centre (to protect my references' identities, the text on this graphic has been intentionally made fuzzy).
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