The Post: Vice-President of Client Engagement, CGI Scotland and Northern Ireland
The Post Holder: Chris Shorthouse
The ability to build relationships is key to Chris Shorthouse’s role as vice-president of Client Engagement.
Give a brief outline of your career to date.
I joined a company called Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 2004 where I spent six months working in their second line support service before moving into project management. I continued to work my way up through various roles in account management, commercial management, and then moved into sales in 2014. I left the company in 2018, by which time EDS had been acquired by HP and subsequently merged to become DXC Technology, to join the public sector team in CGI, based in London and in 2020 I became the Vice President of Client Engagement in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
What was your favourite subject at school?
I really enjoyed business studies and religious studies at school.
Did you go on to further/higher education, if so, what did you study and where?
My passion for business studies continued as I studied it and Law in further education. This was a great way to gain general business skills while also exploring a specialism.
Is this what you always wanted to do?
No, I always wanted to be a policeman. I applied when I was 18 and a half years old to be told they were oversubscribed and to come back when I was 21. By the time I reached 21 I was enjoying my job too much, so I had changed my mind about becoming a policeman. I’m glad things worked out the way they did.
Were there any particular essential qualifications or experience needed?
For the positions I have worked in to date, there are a lot of soft skills involved as well as the formal qualifications required for the individual roles. It is harder to teach softer skills like managing people, setting direction and working closely with clients, and there’s no doubt that the type of person you are has a big impact on this. What excites me about my current role with CGI is the engagement with people and the breadth of different things I get to do.
Are there alternative routes into the job?
Apart from traditional career paths into client engagement, there are some alternatives, including internal transfers within a company or internships.
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
The most crucial skill is the ability to build relationships with people, including our clients, stakeholders, and colleagues. In a large corporate organisation, positive relationships are essential for both personal and commercial success.
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
The best part of my job is knowing that our solutions can help businesses and public sector organisations overcome the challenges they have and deliver the best outcomes for their clients or citizens. However, one of the most challenging things can be the budgetary pressures that our clients face.
Why is what you do important?
What I do is important because we provide digital solutions that enable our clients to achieve great things, which in turn improves people’s lives.
What advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar career path?
I would emphasise the importance of soft skills. Developing the confidence and ability to engage with people is crucial.
What is the one piece of advice you would give to yourself on your first day?
My advice would be ‘don’t be too hard on yourself and don’t take yourself too seriously’. As my career has developed, I have learned that what you think is a disaster today, you may not even remember in a few weeks time.
Describe your ideal day off.
My ideal day off would be walking with my wife, daughter, and my dogs in the middle of nowhere, followed by a nice dinner at a quaint pub. There would be no phones and no technology, just a complete escape.
And finally, what’s the key to any successful job search?
Find a way to stand out and ensure it’s a job that you are genuinely interested in. When you are passionate about the role you are applying for, your engagement in the recruitment process becomes evident at every stage. Most importantly, be yourself. Authenticity in the process is rarer than you would expect, so be yourself and if you don’t get the role, it probably wasn’t for you.
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