CIO — James Brown has worked in the IT industry for the same large global company for his entire 15-year career. He began as a PC support technician and after a couple of years was promoted to PC shop supervisor. Brown rose through the ranks quickly and found a niche in management, working in software licensing and asset management.

Brown worked hard in his new role, continuing his education and getting his Sigma Six Green Belt, but after a few years, he starting feeling like he was ready to move on to another new challenge within in his company.

An opportunity presented itself with a new internal initiative to make all digital devices software compliant and documented. This initiative meant tying every software asset in their existing IT asset tracking system to a paper invoice (i.e., proof of purchase, or proof of entitlement). That meant some 80,000 pieces of paper needed to be scanned and attached to the software asset in the inventory tracking system.

Over the next two years Brown was the project leader for this initiative-- the interim manager and go-to guy in the effort. When the time came to choose a permanent manager for the position, Brown was sure the job would be his. "I had been fulfilling the position for some time as this new initiative got off the ground. I was the one who got the ball rolling and while I, and most folks on my team thought I was a shoe-in for the position, they hired someone else," Brown says. This incident made Brown sit up, take notice and reexamine his goals.

CIO — James Brown has worked in the IT industry for the same large global company for his entire 15-year career. He began as a PC support technician and after a couple of years was promoted to PC shop supervisor. Brown rose through the ranks quickly and found a niche in management, working in software licensing and asset management.

Brown worked hard in his new role, continuing his education and getting his Sigma Six Green Belt, but after a few years, he starting feeling like he was ready to move on to another new challenge within in his company.

An opportunity presented itself with a new internal initiative to make all digital devices software compliant and documented. This initiative meant tying every software asset in their existing IT asset tracking system to a paper invoice (i.e., proof of purchase, or proof of entitlement). That meant some 80,000 pieces of paper needed to be scanned and attached to the software asset in the inventory tracking system.

Over the next two years Brown was the project leader for this initiative-- the interim manager and go-to guy in the effort. When the time came to choose a permanent manager for the position, Brown was sure the job would be his. "I had been fulfilling the position for some time as this new initiative got off the ground. I was the one who got the ball rolling and while I, and most folks on my team thought I was a shoe-in for the position, they hired someone else," Brown says. This incident made Brown sit up, take notice and reexamine his goals.

Link to Original Resume

Brown's old resume wasn't doing him any favors in his job search because it was created for internal positions only. "My resume was weak in its ability to paint a picture of my overall skills and the big picture of my entire career," says Brown. "It didn't offer the reader insight to my skillset and it didn't explain how hiring me would benefit their organization."

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That coupled with the fact that Brown admittedly does not like networking with people, preferring to focus on his family, made him feel frustrated. "I don't go to the bar with coworkers after work or play golf on the weekends, which I feel has impacted my ability for advancement," says Brown. He knew if he was serious about moving up to the c-level he would need to re-examine his whole approach but he wasn't sure where to start.