In our ongoing series, career coach and strategist Donald Burns shows technology executives how to better transition from IT consulting back to corporate IT as he works with a client who’s feet are planted firmly in both worlds.
Tim Davis has had what most would consider a successful IT career. He’s navigated to the top of the corporate ladder with boasts 20 plus years of IT management experience under his belt.
Having held several positions in that arena over the last couple decades, not the least of which was his role as the CIO of the Popeye’s chicken franchise, Davis decided it was time to strike out on his own as an IT consultant. “You know the saying; the grass is always greener & . I’d been working in the corporate environment since I got out of college and wanted to try something different,” says Davis.
He had a successful IT consulting career going as well but after four years of going from contract to contract Davis decided he wanted a more stable position that the corporate world could offer. So with that he set out to find a new position in the corporate world within IT management.
IT Job Search Problems
As his job search progressed, he was running into an unforeseen problem. Potential employers and hiring managers would look at his history, see his four years of IT consulting and assume that meant he had been looking for a job for four years and not necessarily working in the IT trenches.
“Consulting is real work. I wasn’t looking for a job. I was working with several different clients, working on various projects and working within different industries. You have to do your own billing, collections, business development and marketing. I got a ton of experience going out there and starting my own consulting firm,” says Davis.
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