Suggestions For Heating Up Your IT Career

Let’s start out the year with some career ideas to get you out of the January cold, or maybe a deep freeze in your work life. Are you ready to thaw out your career and take yourself to a new level? Fortunately, CIO hiring activity is heating up, with some organizations recruiting their first-time CIOs, others that have CIOs retiring, and others with openings following shakeups or mergers. Here are some ideas to unfreeze your career aspirations.

Warm up your resume

Nine out of 10 resumes I review are missing vital information. Below is a listing of the top flaws or omissions that keep resumes from lighting a fire of interest:

• No career profile paragraph or professional summary on top of the first page
• Gaps in career progression or the omission of early roles, especially entry-level or non-healthcare positions
• Vague details and demographics about past employers
• Missing key accomplishments and key EMR/CPOE vendor names/products in which you have expertise
• Lack of white space and readability of format
• Inconsistency in grammar and style

Fix all of these items, freshen up the language a bit, and your resume will be read with interest and enthusiasm.

Warm up your skills, credentials and education

The need for experienced CIOs in complex organizations is growing. Here are some ideas to put you on the winning path:

• Get a graduate degree
• Improve your speaking and writing skills
• Certify yourself in Six Sigma
• Join networking groups like HIMSS and CHIME
• Teach part-time at the university level
• Mentor, coach, and build strong IT teams
• Stay informed on hot topics driving the healthcare industry
• Expand your credibility and worth by successful EMR/CPOE implementations in both hospitals and ambulatory facilities

The current CIO and IT job market has opened up tremendously. If you have been frozen in one position or organization for too long, now is the time to look. Be sure not to freeze out all important experiences and skills on your resume, and heat up your career development activities.