Look for a new job!

Nope. I'm not talking about Steve Jobs! haha...

Just read this really interesting article from CIO.com, which gives a really nice insight on signs that you (if you're the CIO) should start looking for a new job! Indifferent

1. You report to the CFO now, not to the CEO. Once the CEO restructures and puts you under finance, he or she is sending a clear sign that IT is not strategic; it’s a cost center. Unless cutting budgets and watching your pennies is your thing, it is probably time to get out.

2. Your company is on the block. If the parent company announces its intention to sell your division, your future will most likely take one of three paths: 1) in the typical cost-cutting that happens before a sale, you will be asked to downsize your organization, 2) you will be asked to take a package and leave yourself, or 3) once the sale takes place, you will be replaced by the CIO of the acquiring company. Of course, it is possible that the sale of your division will provide new opportunities for you in the acquiring company, but it is better to have a job search under way as you wait to find out.

3. You’re a turnaround CIO in maintenance mode. When I talk with CIOs who are ready to make a move, I often hear them say, “I fixed everything and now I’m bored.” If you, like so many CIOs, are a change addict who gains gratification from bringing order to chaos, it is time to move on when you’ve steadied the ship and can put it on auto-pilot. In the best of circumstances, once you’ve turned around an organization, you are in a position to innovate and help grow the company. However, not every company can invest in enough technology-driven innovation to keep you challenged, and not every CIO can handle slow, incremental growth. If you love a big mess, go find another one.

4. You hate your new boss. In order to work effectively, members of a management team need to have some rapport. Chances are that you took the job–in part–because you were excited to work with the person hiring you. If that person leaves, and his or her replacement possesses characteristics and opinions that are anathema to your own, it may make sense to begin a job search. Perhaps you have thrived in a consensus-driven organization, and your new CEO’s command and control approach doesn’t work for you. As you spend the time doing your best to nurture the new relationship, you can evaluate new opportunities as they come along.

5. Your industry is failing. It is a courageous move to stay with a company that is dying but cannot reinvent itself to survive. You will gain valuable perspective, build character, and have enough lessons learned to fill a book. Once you’ve gained all that you can from helping a company try to survive in an industry that isn’t making it, you might consider moving to an industry in growth mode. (It’s much more fun.)

Read more at http://www.cio.com/article/116802/Five_Warning_Signs_It_s_Time_to_Look_for_a_New_Job

Read the complete post at http://darrensim.com/blogs/techbits/archive/2007/06/16/look-for-a-new-job.aspx

Published Sunday, June 17, 2007 1:56 AM by Technical Bits