Client Case Study

FROM GATEKEEPERS TO ARCHITECT.

A 25-year CIO spent years chasing job postings and recruiters, convinced there was one correct route in. He learned to lead with value and build relationships instead, and it carried him into a six-year executive role.

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The Challenge

25 years of CIO experience, and still convinced that a substantive role only came through gatekeepers, job postings, and the right resume.

The Shift

Stopped trying to be everything to everybody and anchored on the specific value only he could provide, then built relationships around it.

The Outcome

Six years and counting in his current CIO role, reached through an introduction, not an application.

Olivia Gamber

A Note From The Founder

Olivia Gamber, CEO

When Eric first came to me, he had already made his career in the CIO chair. Twenty-five years of technical credibility, C-suite fluency, real results behind him. And yet he was doing the same thing I see so many senior executives do: treating the job search like a maze with one correct path through gatekeepers, job postings, and the right resume.

When that path stalled, he did what most technical leaders do. He turned inward. Rewrote the resume again. Assumed the fix was a better document, a sharper bullet point, one more pass at a formula he had never actually questioned.

What changed wasn't Eric's competence. It was his understanding of how decisions at his level actually get made, and who is really in the room when they happen. Once he saw that, he stopped waiting to be chosen and started building the relationships and the value proposition that would put him in the room on his own terms.

THE GATEKEEPER MYTH

Eric

I was laboring at the time under a misunderstanding, honestly, of how decisions truly are made. I, like most of the people that I have still met and I'm still meeting, believed that there was a single route defined by gatekeepers and defined by job postings and other things to getting a position of any kind of substance. And as it turns out, and much to your credit, that is not the case.

I believed that I needed to follow the path that I had seen, and when that wasn't working, of course, I became very concerned and inward-looking and changed my resume and all the rest of this.

What I learned... is that your value is what you lead with... for me, the value in what I can provide as a solution is what makes me compelling and unique.

“Your value is what you lead with.”

Eric

I would double down on that statement. You can't rely on a recruiter. Recruiters don't work for you much as they want you to believe they do. They don't advocate for you. They don't know you. You are the commodity they're selling.

FINDING WHAT MAKES YOU EXTRAORDINARY

Eric

What has value are these connectors in your relationship-based network. What has value is your ability to articulate your particular solutions. I'm not everything to anybody. That was another thing I learned from Olivia. I'm not trying to be everything to everybody. But I am good at what I'm good at.

“I'm not everything to anybody. That was another thing I learned from Olivia.”

Eric

A connector is somebody who likes to put other people together, who gets a charge out of seeing connections being made outside of themselves. And there are a few of these people here in the Valley, but I've befriended them, fortunately.

“A connector is somebody who likes to put other people together, who gets a charge out of seeing connections being made outside of themselves.”

Eric

I got in with a company that was a consulting gig, frankly. I needed to pay the bills, so I found a consulting gig through this kind of a relationship... What I did was then leverage that through more relationship building to another company where I'm currently in. We had a person we were working with, one of the lawyers for one of these consulting firms I connected with. And he's like, wow, you're really on top of your skills here. Let me introduce you to some people that could really use your help. And that was the beginning of what is now my six-year relationship with my current company.

I AM THE ARCHITECT

Eric

That's right. You have to get comfortable. I certainly had to get comfortable with the idea that I am the architect. The thing I'm architecting is my life, honestly... I am not the only person with whom I have to interact, but I am in charge of me. So if I architect myself, present myself, and you don't like it, it's nice knowing you. It's not an emotional thing.

“I certainly had to get comfortable with the idea that I am the architect. The thing I'm architecting is my life, honestly.”

Eric

There was one firm that I was perfectly aligned for and they said, no, thank you. And I realized down the road they did me a favor. They were never going to be a comfortable place for me to live.

“There was one firm that I was perfectly aligned for and they said no thank you. And I realized down the road they did me a favor.”

THE VALUE MINDSET, STILL RUNNING

Eric

I'd like to think that one of the reasons that we've made some purchases over the last few years is because I went out to lunch one day with the CEO and the CFO and I go, look, guys, we have to think about this differently... What else could we be doing? Here are three business ideas. Let's do that... So now they come to me and they go, we are going to buy this company. We need your help. Get involved.

So you say I'm expensive. Right? I'm not expensive. I'm a bargain. Why? I'm a bargain because I'm going to provide 10 times the value you're paying me.

“I'm not expensive. I'm a bargain. Why? I'm a bargain because I'm going to provide 10 times the value you're paying me.”

Eric

Rethink your value, present your value, but look critically at your network, the people that you know... Attend every kind of networking event you can. Meet as many people as you can and find the connectors in your world.

Ready to Stop Applying?

Eric spent years believing the only way into a real executive role was through gatekeepers and job postings. Rebuilding his approach around relationships and value led to a role he holds to this day. Your next move can work the same way.

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Read the full transcript

Eric: I was laboring at the time under a misunderstanding, honestly, of how decisions truly are made. I, like most of the people that I have still met and, you know, I'm still meeting, believed that there was a single route defined by gatekeepers and defined by job postings and other things to getting a position of any kind of substance. And as it turns out, and much to your credit, that is not the case. Maybe it was never the case. Maybe I don't have the kind of perspective to make that statement outright. But I believed that I needed to follow the path that I had seen, and when that wasn't working, of course, I became very concerned and inward-looking and changed my resume and all the rest of this. What I learned and what I've subsequently been teaching people that I work

[Question shown on screen]: So I would love to hear your take on this because I see your smile and would love to hear what obviously our take on this?

Eric: Recruiters don't work for you much as they want you to believe they do. They don't advocate for you. They don't know you. You are the commodity they're selling,

Eric: I've been a fan of yours and Career Evolved for quite a while. You know, you turned the light on for me in some very key and elemental ways.

Eric: as I came to understand that, I immediately clicked with people in my social circle and business circle.

Eric: And that was the beginning of what is now my six-year relationship with my current company.

Eric: I'd like to think that one of the reasons that we've made some purchases over the last few years is because I went out to lunch one day with the CEO and the CFO and I go, look, guys, we have to think about this differently. Right

Eric: I have about 25 years of CIO experience, and when I

Eric: I began to have better conversations with them about, you know, I've been reading this. What do you think of that? And building a dialogue before ever trying to present myself or what I

Eric: A connector is somebody who likes to put other people together, who gets a charge out of seeing connections being made outside of themselves. And there are a few of these people here in the Valley, but I've befriended them, fortunately. And whenever I call them, the first conversation is always about how you're doing, how are the kids, what's going on in your life, here's what's happening in my life. And then we get to, gee, you know, I'm thinking about this. What

Eric: I'm not everything to anybody. That was another thing I learned from Olivia. I'm not trying to be everything to everybody. But I am good at what I'm good at.

Eric: I'm not expensive. I'm a bargain. Why? I'm a bargain because I'm going to provide 10 times the value you're paying me. And by the way, I'm not charging. Right? So think of yourself that way. You're worth your salary plus. They're getting a bargain on you. Not because you're cheap, you know, relatively speaking, you're still making the money you're making, but because the value you're bringing

Eric: your value is what you lead with. I know you use terms like marketing-related, sales-related terms when you convey this sometimes, but I tend to see it a little differently because, for me, the value in what I can provide as a solution is what makes me compelling and unique.

Eric: Rethink your value, which is, you know, I've spoken a lot about that here. Rethink your value, present your value, but look critically at your network, the people that you know.