Step Back, Move Up

For all the business and soft skills talk, recruiters, when pressed, nonetheless still have one foot firmly placed in the technology expertise camp. Employees wanting to assume a CIO role must make sure to broaden their skills across a range of technologies, one recruiter says. But then adds the requisite caveat that potential CIO wannabes should also pursue business opportunities that take them out of the technical arena, and spend time as part of a senior executive leadership team learning how to demonstrate how IT&T adds value to the business and the customers.

Many of the up-and-coming CIOs promote their job that way to the CEO the recruiter says. "I would draw some parallels there with marketing. Marketing is very often seen as a cost centre and the best marketing directors in the business are able to demonstrate to the CEO or to the board the value that marketing brings. Up-and-coming CIOs do the same thing."

Aspiring CIOs should also seek mentors who can provide valuable career insights, motivation and guidance.

"I have a few different people who work with me on a mentoring basis and I believe that's incredibly valuable," says Andrew Seebach, a director IT in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' (DEWR's) Employment Systems Group. "I use them to bounce ideas off and they have helped me come up with solutions to issues that pop up."

Seebach says he plans to get more business experience as his career advances. "I'm hoping that I can make a move into more senior management in the medium term. For me the key thing I will be working on until then is the business side, which is really being able to understand the business and actually apply IT skills to the business effectively. That's one of the key criteria, as well as continually improving your management skills because if you want to be able to move up the management chain into more senior management positions you have to be able to take a step back and strategically manage things as well as being involved with your day-to-day items."

A business degree can also be a major asset. "I've got my masters in IT, I've got an MBA, I've done a company directorship course," Ericsson's Dekker says. "Other than doing a PhD in some research area I'm not too sure what further longer term study I could be doing."

Getting Political

Experts say today's aspiring CIOs need to have foresight, be proactive and adaptive, and work continually to improve themselves if they want to advance. But as much as technical and business nous, today's aspiring CIOs also need a good mastery of office politics.

"The CIO role is now very much in a business role, focusing on the business and requiring somebody who has a good understanding of the technology, but there's a lot more politics than there was 10 years ago," says Ron Sawyer, director corporate services ITS Monash University.

"If you have a look at the directors of IT within Australian universities, 10 years ago they were very strong technically and now they're very strong business people with a broad understanding of the technology. Ten years ago it was the other way around. We encourage our promising project managers and section managers to go into an MBA program, [because] we see that as being an important step in moving towards senior management in IT."

Sawyer says one way aspiring CIOs can sharpen their political nous is to work extensively on project steering committees.

But potential CIOs need more than just the political acumen, they have to be prepared to take that "seat at the table" where strategic workforce planning, company positioning in the marketplace and retention strategies are concerned. "They need to lead through innovation and be clear in their thinking," notes a recruitment specialist. "As CIOs these people will need to lead a group of people on a journey and have their support while doing so. Therefore they need to be influential and persuasive; a vast network of contacts is essential. And while being solutions oriented, a CIO also need to be creative."

Another career adviser recommends that if you are in a mid-management position at a large corporate and want to continue up the career ladder to the CIO rung, then consider making a move to the CIO spot at a tier two company or smaller organization. The smaller organization, she says, tends to provide a great deal more flexibility and autonomy in allowing a CIO to tangibly demonstrate value.

"An alternative career path for CIOs is to transition into consulting," she adds. "Many of the smaller boutique consulting firms value real world experience with many 'lessons learned' to share with their clients." she says.

If all else fails, there is always the overseas option. Australian IT management talent is sought after in some markets.

You should also think about your ideal job and the environment where you would like to work rather than just the role type, the recruiters say. After all, opportunities you have not considered in the past may offer you the challenge and opportunity you are looking for. Consider taking up a project director, general manager or line manager role in the right organization. Regardless of the career path, tech executives, career coaches and recruiters agree that individuals must continually improve themselves if they want to advance. One of the experts sums it up quite nicely. "It is paramount that all candidates take responsibility for their futures," she says. "Get involved, ask questions, volunteer for projects. And put your own time and money into additional training to be ever on the bleeding edge of what's out there." v

A Foot in the Door

Gartner vice-president Barbara Gomolski in a recent Computerworld (US) column offered four strategies for getting a job that will put the right IT experience on a resume, or help those whose IT skills are somewhat out of date.

1. Go to work for an IT vendor. While it may not be your ultimate career goal, working for an IT vendor provides the kind of entry-level IT opportunities that are evaporating from many corporations. There are a couple of angles you might pursue here. You can work for a vendor on the product development, marketing or sales side. Or you can pursue a career working for an IT services company that does development and integration work, desktop support or data centre and application support, for example. The second option will better prepare you for an IT career in an area that requires a significant amount of hands-on technical experience, such as security, networking, architecture or application development.

2. Pursue a career at another data-driven company that is not an IT vendor. There are certain types of businesses that depend heavily on IT to succeed. These include most financial services companies, such as banks, credit companies and insurance firms. Other data-driven industries include telecommunications, credit reporting, online information retrieval and publishing. If you are struggling to find an entry-level IT job, a good bet is to apply at such a company. But there is one caveat: if you go this route, make sure you have selected a company that believes in promoting from within.

3. Consider playing the compliance card. Most companies are extremely concerned about compliance issues. Job hunters with IT and finance backgrounds can parlay their expertise to capitalize on these concerns. Compliance concerns are not about to go away, and for heavily regulated industries like life sciences, financial services and utilities, compliance issues are an ongoing reality.

4. Get creative. Sometimes thinking out of the box really gets you noticed. Some other unconventional thoughts: work for the online iteration of your favourite retailer, or consider opportunities that may be available in law enforcement for individuals who know their way around a file system.