CIO Career Advice: Underutilized IT Execs, Get Your Knowledge Working For You
- Details
- Written by Dave Carey

In my recent blog, "CIO Careers: When you’re gone, make sure you’re not forgotten", I wrote about the various ways unemployed CIOs can keep from getting stale-dated and enhance their chances of finding a new and perhaps even better job.
The second blog in my “CIO Career Advice” series speaks not only to unemployed IT execs but also to those with some extra time on their hands (okay, I know they are rarae aves, but they’re out there). Those in either category can enhance their profile, better brand themselves by creating more visibility for their skills, knowledge and ambitions, and perhaps earn some good money in the process by packaging up their specialized knowledge and putting it into the marketplace. Here are a few ways to do this.
CONSULTING. Consulting gigs are sometimes an option, and they can pay well. Such gigs can be in association with an established consulting firm or they can be done by hanging up your own shingle. Either way, you’ll need to start by taking an inventory of your own personal knowledge and skill sets, and these can be myriad, depending on the type of business you’ve been in. IT executives in the retail sector, for example, may have marketable special knowledge in things like inventory management, social media strategies, or deploying in-store product security systems. Those in manufacturing may have valuable experience with things like Just-In-Time or Lean manufacturing. More generally speaking, experience in things like ERP implementation, outsourcing management, delivery of complex IT projects or implementation of countless vendor product offerings can be invaluable to the right companies. When you start toting up your knowledge and skills, you’ll find you have an impressive list of credentials.
PRESENTING. If consulting isn’t your thing, consider putting together one or more presentations that can be marketed to business leaders in need of IT advice, fellow IT executives, or to vendors. Senior management at many companies are struggling with their current IT organization or in transition between CIOs (Perhaps because of a simple language disconnect). These executives may be eager to get a fresh and knowledgeable take on their situation, and to obtain knowledge and advice from a disinterested third party. Similarly, internal IT management grappling with problems you have dealt successfully with may relish the opportunity to tap into your hands-on knowledge. And IT vendors may value your insight into the information and product needs of CIOs in specific sectors, and how to do a better job of selling to them without wasting their time.
If I may briefly plug The IT Media Group, our service offerings include presentations such as those described above and we have the ability to market these presentations to a variety of clients under The IT Media Group banner on a profit-sharing basis with our presenters. If you’d like to explore this option, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
BECOMING A HIRED GUN. If presentations aren’t your thing either, there are plenty of other options. For unemployed CIOs, you can always market yourself as an IT gun for hire, providing CIO services on a temporary contact basis. This is a fairly common practice and sometimes has the potential of turning into a full-time gig.
GIVING BACK. Many CIOs find mentoring to be a fulfilling pursuit, and those that do it can take pride in the fact that they are nurturing the next generation of CIOs and giving back to the profession and Canadian business in general. Helping start-ups get their IT house in order is another way of giving back. And teaching courses at colleges and universities can be quite rewarding and result in valuable additions to your personal network.
In short, if you want to put your knowledge and skills to work, there are a great many ways to do so. You just have to get out there and do it.
Look for the next blog in my "CIO Career Advice" series, which provides tips for happily employed CIOs who have bigger career aspirations , such as wanting to move on to a COO or CEO role.
And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter & LinkedIn: Follow @CIOscribe & .
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