How long should your résumé be?
If a résumé is more than three pages long, "forget about it," Lieberman said. "Crystallize" your achievements into three pages or less, she advises, since "most CEOs want to see two pages."
Still, it's important to cite individual project, cost-cutting and other achievements in a short paragraph for each, Schneidermeyer added.
It's critical for job seekers to cite their objectives on their résumés, Kannon said. "No one wants to read through a résumé and try to figure out who you are," Kannon said. If reading through a résumé is a chore, she added, "no one's going to want to read it."
Instead, she advises IT leaders to think about résumés they've read from IT job applicants they've screened that have appealed to them.
What's the typical career progression to CIO? Is this changing?
Seventy percent of the CIOs who have a background in IT typically have some experience or roots in application development, Lieberman said.
But there's an increasing number of organizations that are bringing in executives from outside of IT to serve as CIO, she said. For instance, Lieberman pointed to Harriet Edelman, CIO at Avon Products, who was brought into the role seven years ago after running the company's global supply chain.
A third pathway to the CIO office is working for a major consulting firm, such as McKinsey & Co., PriceWaterhouseCoopers or Accenture, Lieberman said. Those types of consultants "are highly regarded by CEOs."