Editor's Note: We've been asking Enterprisers to share advice on the best ways to recruit IT talent. Below we hear from Curt Carver, CIO of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who took on this role last year after serving as CIO for the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
I have discovered in my own career – and that of many others – there's often a dichotomy in being successful. No matter where you live or how successful you are, if your personality relishes a challenge, even if the easiest thing to do is stay put and bask in a well-earned success, you will eventually throw your hat in the ring. Some IT people find meaning in untangling a tough challenge. So why not recruit on that?
In my own case, my team and I had set the stage for success. We were going to be winning national awards for the next several years based on things we had already done. The easiest path would have been for me to stay in Georgia, reap the rewards, go another four years, and just retire at that point. But instead, I chose to embark on one more crusade, one more turnaround – to join a new team intent on innovating. I pulled up stakes and moved 225 miles because they made an offer I could not refuse – the opportunity to change the world.
To learn more about how Carver approached the first 100 days in his new role at UAB, read: Crowdsourcing your way to inclusive IT leadership.
