

Ask HN: How to get a job after you have been a CTO? - anon999999999

Hoping some of you can give some me some insight into my situation. I am currently a CTO looking to  get back into an individual technical contributor role.<p>I had 7 years of technical experience as a programmer and unix admin. Then I got a chance to work as a project manager where I was quickly promoted to VP Technical Operations and then Chief Technology Officer for the last 3 years. As CTO I recruited a team of around 10 developers and lead product development for company with around 200 employees. We were very successful and the company is being sold.<p>I have recently applied for systems administration, product manager, project management, and developer positions at larger companies and have been told that I am not a good fit for those roles by the HR recruiters.<p>Is it true that someone is no longer a good fit in an individual contributor role once they have moved into C-level management? If so, why?
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staunch
The fear is that you're out of touch with producing actual work. Most
formerly-technical managers tend to very quickly lose their skills and many
don't manage to reattain them.

You could try simply changing the job title on your resume. Titles are mostly
arbitrary anyway. Change "CTO" to "Software Developer Team Lead" or "Technical
Team Lead" or whatever.

That's not going to help if you don't actually have the ability to do the job,
but at least it should prevent you from getting judged prematurely.

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kls
I second this, but i would probably use the term architect as much as I
dislike it,if you use a term like software lead and they do discover it was an
executive level position they may feel that you are being deceptive. Where
architect implies executive level but hands on. After-all the CTO position
could be equated to being the top level architect.

BTW I have been the CTO at three different orgs, as well as the VP of tech at
a fortune 100 and have had no problem bouncing between technical and executive
level positions.

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anon999999999
Thanks for the insight.

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masterblaster42
I've done this transition myself (from being a manager in a 300+ staff IT
business (back) to a Senior SysAdmin) & when I left that Company, I
deliberately got current training in the area of technical IT that I wanted to
return to. I spent ~$15k on various courses (some Redhat, Oracle, VMWare &
Microsoft courses) relevant to my desired new career as an IT technologist (in
Systems) again, not a 'people pusher'.

I then updated my resume downplaying my Managerial time & emphasising my new &
current technical skillsets. I then re-did my LinkedIn profile & network and
contacted some people I'd worked with or had worked with/for me and even did
some training work.

All successful to get my back into a senior technology role & I've never
looked back. What's more, I get paid more now than I did as a C/B-level
manager & I enjoy the work far more too.

I say, "Plan it out & go for it!". The world doesn't need more managers, but
it sure needs more high-tech & highly skilled workers.

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pbreit
See if you can tone down your resume a bit. Emphasize your talents and
experience as an individual contributor.

In the corporate world, you have to understand that you would be a scary hire
for a manager because you are in a solid position to second-guess.

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anon999999999
Very interesting, thanks.

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cincinnatus
I have to ask (as someone who has also been through this curve) _have_ you
maintained your skills? If you haven't been producing code on a daily basis
for 3+ years you may be in for a rude shock. You can recover but it may take
more time & effort than you'd expect.

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anon999999999
I write code everyday. We are still a small development team, but I am not
just looking for developer positions, also jobs as an admin, product/project
manager. Do you think coding skills are an issue in those positions also?

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amorphid
Recruiter here. Contact me and I will tell you exactly how to position
yourself.

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petervandijck
Don't listen to HR recruiters.

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spacecowboy
If you were a CTO then you know what it takes to get to where you want to go.

