Maybe this could be useful to CTO's/CIO's looking at the minute? Apologies to all the Tech leaders that I've not got chance to respond to on the back of a couple of recent searches. My inbox is full at the minute and It's super tricky to spare time for individual CV reviews / detailed feedback for each message. For anyone still searching, these are a few tips I've been sharing with the CTO/CIO's I've managed to catch up with. Hopefully there's a point or two in here which might help, and easier for me to put something out on here. - If you are an interim, don't rebrand yourself to CEO. You'll just be over-looked. Keep the title to the role you do / want to do next. - Don't send follow up emails about opportunities you've applied to that are pages long, they won't get read. Keep it super short and to the point. Happy to share examples if needed. - Don't send "?" as follow up's to non-answered messages, the recruiter will probably never follow up with you again. - From 3 Head of AI / CAIO roles we've had (over 2k applicants) I've not received one phone call. This could be a differentiator now. - PDF the CV. If you share it via LinkedIn as a word-doc and someone is reviewing on mobile, they won't be able to access it. Couple points on networking here... - Networking with Recruiters. Meeting as many recruiters as you can isn't networking, and most won't handle appropriate roles. Isolate people you know that operate at this level and actually build genuine relationships. The recruiters you've used to hire people at your most recent business will also work harder for you than ones you don't know. - Most of the CIO/CTO roles aren't on the open market. They still exist, it's just understanding where. (Spoke to a CIO this week that's rejected 2 offers, and has 3 at final stage). - List previous CEO's/CFO's/COO's down you've worked with in the past, where are they now, and what are they doing? - Most important one. Who are your previous suppliers such as AWS / Microsoft / Gartner / Service Providers - they are in touch with companies in your sector, and the Account Directors will know of opportunities before most and will do intro's - speak to them! - CTO/CIO Roundtables / Dinners (according to nearly everyone I speak to) aren't useful for your job search - you have to do something different - get yourself to a CFO/CEO roundtable (or where your future boss could be) and solve problems for people. Sorry it's long winded, if you're still reading and want more insight DM and I'll do best to share something!
Thank you for sharing these valuable insights Tom Delaney To clarify, were you expecting calls from candidates for your CAIO roles?
Great tips, Tom Delaney! Commenting for my network.
Amazing tips! Commenting for my network. There’s a lot that goes into recruiting CIOs and CTOs that I don’t think people are quite aware of, so this is super useful as a lot of people don’t know how to position themselves or find roles 😊 Tom Delaney
Excellent advice here. Thank you Tom.
CTO | CIO | Creating value with strategic transformation, innovation for growth
2moI am surprised to hear of no follow-up calls on your CAIO roles - is that too many fire-and-forget candidates? I would expect an applicant to follow-up, if the right opportunity came along.