I recently had the opportunity to work with a technology leader – let’s call him Sam — who specializes in solutions architecture design, software development, and innovation, most notably in the areas of real-time Web and mobile solutions as well as business productivity tools. Sam’s company had recently gone through two re-organizations, and he was losing confidence in the direction of the firm, despite being elevated in the company during each restructuring.

Sam’s Challenge

Sam’s problem was that he’d been asked to establish the company’s professional services organization, and he was presenting most of his current information as project-based details. That would be fine if Sam wanted to pursue contract-based or project-based opportunities for his next role, but he craved being part of a larger organization that focused on designing and delivering solutions for internal use.

Thankfully, Sam’s experience included solution design and Web product development at multiple companies over the years, so we were able to successfully present his technical chops in the current role and all his previous roles.

Can You Have Too Much Leadership Experience?

The other factor complicating Sam’s profile was the executive leadership flavor that his current role entailed. Although he didn’t want to be an individual contributor, his passion was to be able to lead a team of engineers, architects, and innovators while being hands-on throughout the entire solution development lifecycle.

His old resume was portraying him as a hands-off business leader who oversaw a consulting group that happened to work in the technology/software realm. This was not getting him the type of calls from companies and recruiters that he was hoping for.

What’s the Solution?

Sam and I had some pretty in-depth conversations about the solutions he and his team actively designed, developed, and delivered. I have to say, some of them were pretty remarkable. I wasn’t the only one that thought so, as they have been implemented at some of the world’s leading tech product firms, insurance companies, and financial institutions, generating some very positive outcomes.

I was able to create a new resume that focused his story on solution design and development as well as on the business problems those solutions helped to address. This totally changed Sam’s narrative, gave him a lot more confidence when speaking with recruiters, and improved the perception that potential suitors had of what he offered to them

The opportunities that Sam has entertained since our work together are all completely aligned with his passion for being that hands-on innovator and thought leader in the tech space.

Meet Ally. Ally is a Program Manager for a midsize firm who would like to go back to a Senior Project Manager role at a Fortune 500. She would like to make this move for the simple fact that she much prefers overseeing projects versus project managers. Turns out, she’s very good at it and misses it. She’s even willing to take a pay cut to make it happen. Easy, right?

Well, something seemingly simple…a slight change in direction…caused Ally a lot of grief.

That is, until she started working with Sue, our Job Search Agent. Before then, Ally had a typical process. She either tried to reach out to recruiters or she applied on job boards. At one Fortune 500, she saw the posting of her dreams for the Senior Project Manager role. She applied. She waited. Then she heard back:

Overqualified.

But they would gladly consider her for a Program Manager role. Of course, Ally no longer wants that role. By the time she started working with Sue, she was starting to think it would never happen. But Sue, as always knew better (lol).

The first thing Sue did was work our ITtechExec network and connections to find an in at this Fortune 500. After a few tries and a few calls, Sue had her connection. She then introduced Ally.

Ally met with the connection, explained what she was trying to do and what her experience had been. The connection referred her to someone else inside the company who was in charge of hiring for the senior project manager position. Within a week, Ally was having a phone interview and is currently scheduled to go in for her first round of in-person interviews.

Sue showed us all the difference strategic networking can make.

It’s taken us ~10 years here at ITtechExec to build up a vast, active network of professionals across all types of industries and organizations who generally are willing to support and assist their fellow professionals. Of course, not every connection leads to this kind of response (if only!), but Sue continues to prove to us that the global world we live in can be pretty small at times, and even supportive; it’s really a matter of how strategic your network is and how well you approach them.

I, for one, am grateful for the momentum that the connections made through our network, and Sue’s efforts, make for clients like Ally. What happens from here, and how things turn out, are up to Ally and the interviews she has as a result. Of course, nothing is a slam dunk, and I have already told Ally, we shouldn’t stop here to “wait and see”…there are more connections to be made as things take time.

But, as Ally has already seen, it is a much more promising approach than hearing back from some automated system telling you that you are overqualified.

To find out more, email me at stephen@ittechexec.com, or contact me if you want to know about our resume and job search support solutions.

In 2016, Nigel Travis, CEO of Dunkin’ Brands, spoke at the SIM Boston Technology Leadership Summit to a group of CIOs, CTOs, and technology executives. In case you didn’t know, Mr. Travis also served in leadership roles at Papa John’s, Burger King, and Blockbuster. Interestingly, his 4 CIO tips had nothing to do with technology directly. They all focused on leadership, and leadership tends to be the area that most CIOs, CTOs, and technology executives avoid when writing a resume or LinkedIn profile. So let’s take a look at the CIO tips, and then we’ll discuss how important each one is for the resume or candidate profile.

Invest in People
Recruiting, building, and retaining an elite team in IT is a constant challenge in today’s market. Most companies struggle to develop and retain their best people. Investing in training is important. Once you’ve identified the best people, it is cheaper to reward them financially than it is to replace them.

For the Resume: This is definitely important, as talent combined with good execution is really powerful in business. So what have you done from an organizational leadership perspective to win the day with the building and growth of your technical teams? Have you been able to get these people you’ve developed to stay and grow with you?

Effective Communication
An open and continual dialog with your team is critical. Travis cites his use of technology to stay in touch with his employees and leadership team; however, he also mentions that in-person discussions over coffee work well whenever possible.

For the Resume: Everyone knows that good communication skills are important. The problem is, if you just say “good communicator” or “excellent communication skills” on the resume, it comes across as trite. You’ll get a ho-hum response. What is an example of a communication program you’ve put into place or a business outcome that stemmed from excellent communications in your line of business?

Inspiration
You’ve got to overcome the dull, unexciting reputation that many IT leaders get pegged with. Sorry, but that’s the perception. Some of it has to do with the dominant personality trait that attracts people to technology to begin with: they prefer interfacing with the technology or solution more than with people. I get it, you can fix a broken gadget, enhance code, and come up with a more elegant solution to a problem…but when it comes to people, you can’t fix stupid, right?

For the Resume: As a technology leader, what have you done to inspire teams? Have you been able to steer the team in a common direction with a positive energy to deliver a solution?

Culture
Culture is the biggest buzzword of all these days, especially in technology organizations. Culture goes well beyond inspiration, which is great to get things kick-started. A culture is built over time and is something that requires continual maintenance. More importantly, culture is not something that can be faked.

For the Resume: Cultivating a vibrant culture is a huge deal! Technical deliverables are great too; however, I would contend that the IT organization that puts these four things together (Investment in People, Communications, Inspiration, and Culture) will deliver timely, high-quality, and innovative solutions.

Conclusion
A winning presentation today for a CIO, CTO, or IT executive must delve into what I call the “intangibles” like business and leadership skills, personal strengths, and management philosophy. That’s why providing a traditional resume with facts and figures is only a part of the picture, not the whole. Get out of that paradigm and discover what you can do to highlight your abilities to invest in and inspire people, communicate effectively, and build a winning culture. Think about it…don’t you want to be part of an organization that recruits you because they value these things highly as well?

Stephen Van Vreede

—About Stephen—-

Stephen Van Vreede is not your average IT/technical résumé writer. He provides career strategy and concierge job search solutions for senior (15+ years) (ITtechExec) and up-and-coming (NoddlePlace) (5-15 years) tech and technical operations leaders. Stephen and his team focus on building simplified, targeted, and certain career move campaigns, be it an external search or an internal promotion. He is co-author of UNcommon with career development leader Brian Tracy (out June 11, 2015). Contact Stephen directly at Stephen@ittechexec.com or send him an invite at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenvanvreede. To see whether Stephen and his team are a good fit for you, take their free (and anonymous) 1-minute compatibility quiz, Is the ITtechExec Approach a Good Match for You? Also, feel free to take his complimentary resume self-assessment quiz, How Certain Can You Be About Your Technical Resume? You might be surprised by what you find out!

More tech to make landing an executive role even harder

Executive search firms and recruiters

Most companies are flat-out bad at recruiting and hiring talent. Their history of attracting the right executives is poor too, which is why so many companies use executive search firms, headhunters and executive recruiters (retained or contingency) to fill many of their senior-level and executive suite roles.

But this represents a big cost to the company, opening the door for the use of emerging technologies to help them hire executives who are qualified and a strong fit culturally at a lower net cost in the long-term. Say hello to artificial intelligence (AI) and other automation technologies, which have been exploding onto the market over the last 3 years.

Executive recruitment innovation with AI

AI has resulted in some real innovative solutions to hit the market, including:

  • AI-enabled video interviews with companies like HireVue
  • AI solutions to automate the resume/CV screening process
  • AI-powered algorithms to remove bias from candidate selection
  • AI and machine learning (ML) to rate the match between recruiters and candidates
  • AI tools to mine the digital footprint and social media presence of candidates
  • AI-enabled solutions to determine cultural fit
  • AI chatbots to automate handling of candidate inquiries

There’s more, but you get the drift.

Networking is the answer

So what do all of these AI-enabled solutions mean to you as an executive who hasn’t conducted a job search in the past few years?

Quite simply, it makes an effective plan to tap into your executive network that much more vital.

Look, these companies desire to land a great candidate like you for their executive team. However, they keep raising the bar and making it more difficult for you, the candidate, to know how to stand out versus other qualified executives for a small number of open positions. The chances are slim that these cool technologies will help them to find you specifically. Remember, these technologies typically come into play when the company doesn’t have a referred or recommended candidate presented to them who is highly qualified for the role.

Grow and engage your network for great results

Having a simple, focused, repeatable plan is a must. Spending just 10 minutes each day, or even 30 minutes each week, doing the right things will super-charge your network. People are more than willing to help, but you need to have multiple touch points with them, know how to approach them when it’s time to ask for help, and be clear in how they can help you.

Our program

We’ve put together a great program to set you on the path for success in executive networking. Through our proven coaching program or our exclusive curated offering, we will help you to do the following:

  • Grow and expand your executive contacts
  • Activate your dormant network
  • Tap into an executive recruiter audience
  • Find connections with target companies
  • Broker introductions with key contacts

Schedule a free appointment today or email us to learn more.

Stephen Van Vreede is the top Executive Coach and Executive Resume Writer for technology and business executives in the market today. He is the co-author of UNcommon, a best-selling book featuring prolific leadership guru Brian Tracy. Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn.