Nearly every week, I receive resumes from CIO applicants with wonderful backgrounds but no operational healthcare IT leadership experience in the “typical hospital/provider” or private-sector setting. The unfortunate truth is that health system clients prefer candidates who are/were sitting CIOs in similar organizations.
It is frustrating to applicants outside of healthcare to knock on the door, and have no one answer. As an industry, we may be leaving the next great wave of IT talent outside the gate. This may be changing in some of the very large organizations that are multi-state, multi-facility organizations and are looking outside of healthcare to draw IT leadership talent into their immense commercial and complex environment.
Where does the non-healthcare IT executive look to enter the healthcare industry? Who is hiring these individuals? What credentials or connections can help smooth entry into healthcare IT leadership roles? Let’s examine a variety of entry points for individuals who may be qualified and capable of great contributions to healthcare.
Some typical entry points
The IT executive who wants to move into the healthcare industry may be able to use his or her background in technology and infrastructure, IT security, ERP systems, project management, consulting, or hospitality to get a foot in the door. Healthcare IT companies, healthcare consulting and outsourcing firms, and large scale multi-site hospital enterprises might be more open to hiring from the outside. The competition is fierce for health system CIOs, especially in desirable locations, but perhaps joining an organization as a technical leader or “number two” job can get you started. Sometimes taking a step back and getting into healthcare first makes more sense than only applying for the top CIO role.
Transferable skills and attributes
If you have achieved an IT leadership role or are a CIO in another industry, you have amassed some key transferable skills. Be realistic that joining a new industry may mean a cut in pay (ouch) or may mean different levels of position until you have earned the credibility and respect in healthcare IT. Certifications in Project Management Professional – PMP or CISSP – Certified Information Systems Security Professional are highly desirable in healthcare, but these won’t be enough to get you an equivalent role in the industry.
If you fit into one of the following categories, you may have a leg up:
- You were a CIO in the military medical services, in which case you are equipped with leadership training in people and project management in a healthcare setting
- You’re coming out of the hospitality industry and are very customer-focused
- You have specific technical or infrastructure skills — eg, you’re an ERP expert in another industry
- You have the following skills: Good communicator, politically savvy, collaborative and consensus-oriented, and able to mentor and develop staff
Do your homework and figure out what skills and traits you have that healthcare organizations will desire.
Networking and connections
An advantage to those actively seeking a position in healthcare IT is to join the healthcare IT associations that best fit your career goals, such as HIMSS, CHIME, and AMDIS, and attend their conferences and meetings. Many of CHIME’s current and past board members are or were health system CIOs, and are obviously good people to know. (Their stories of how they moved into IT leadership roles in the healthcare sector would make a great reality TV series!)
Also, make sure you are fully profiled and pictured on LinkedIn; this is your key marketing tool as you move forward in your career. No matter how you do it, seek out leading health system CIOs to connect with and open up a dialogue to get their advice on moving into healthcare IT.
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