How to get a new CIO job

Okay, you have been in your current job for five years, and there's no place to grow at your current company. Every time you apply for a new CIO job with bigger responsibilities and a bigger paycheck, you come in second, slightly behind the guy who gets the job.

It's frustrating, all right. But you are not alone. There are plenty of people who have experienced the same scenario. You have to make a few changes in your approach to the job hunt in order to land in your next position, hopefully one with a bigger salary and more responsibility. Here are a few ideas for ways to help you get what you are looking for:

• Write a different kind of resume. You don't have to include everything you have ever done in IT. A resume is a marketing device to get you an interview with a potential employer, not an oral history of your life.
• Make sure your resume is customized for the specific industry you are looking into, not a one-size-fits-all kind of biography. Drop the dates of your experience and education before 2000. The potential employer does not need to know exactly how old you are and it is illegal to ask.
• Make sure the resume is only one page. No one will spend time reading more than that.
• Use a professional resume writer or a recruiter who specializes in resume redesign. It's worth a few bucks to look more professional.
• Make sure you network. A job may come out of the blue from someone you knew well 20 years ago or played softball with when you had the time and no kids.

And remember, getting the next CIO job may not be as hard as getting your first CIO gig--it may be even harder.

For more on selling yourself for a new CIO job:
- Check out this CIO Magazine article