Laid off to ring in the New Year

Hello Everybody,

2019 started off just wonderfully, six days ago I was laid off quite unexpectedly. Having worked for a very small company, having been hired to generate revenue and wind up becoming a cost center caused the owner to stop offering the service I was hired to provide and let me go.

Everyone keeps talking about unfilled cyber positions. I'm pretty junior level and I'm not seeing a ton of positions without "senior" in their title and a lot of these "senior" positions include 'mentoring of junior level employees' in the job description.

I've been sending out resumes and I've had a few call backs. I filed for unemployment and I've managed to pick up additional hours at my moonlight job to bring income in. I'm able to devote more time to studying for my PenTest+ certification.

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cshkuru

"Everyone keeps talking about unfilled cyber positions. I'm pretty junior level and I'm not seeing a ton of positions without "senior" in their title and a lot of these "senior" positions include 'mentoring of junior level employees' in the job description."

A co-worker and I went to a conference last year where they kept telling us there is 0% unemployment in cyber-security. We both knew people at the time (and know people now) in the field who have been looking for work. It's discouraging to those looking to hear such things and it offers up the perception that if someone isn't employed something is wrong with them, making it that much harder to get another job. People need to stop talking about the vast number of unfilled positions without offering context

Sorry about your job and good luck.

paul78

Hang in there. Hope you get some interviews soon.

NetworkingStudent

Can you attend your local ISSA chapter meeting and networking with other security peers? https://www.issa.org/ I know you can attend a few meetings for free before they ask you to become a member.

scaredoftests

That truly bites. Hang in there.

COBOL_DOS_ERA

Hang in there bud, I was laid off back in 2008, and again in the middle of 2018 after working with one of the tech giants for 7 years. I used the downtime to upgrade my skills while looking for the next opportunity. I would suggest you do the same.

NavyMooseCCNA

NetworkingStudent said:

Can you attend your local ISSA chapter meeting and networking with other security peers? https://www.issa.org/ I know you can attend a few meetings for free before they ask you to become a member.

There is an ISSA Chapter in my state, I'll have to bite the bullet and make the drive out there.

NavyMooseCCNA

promethuschow said:

Hang in there bud, I was laid off back in 2008, and agian in the middle of 2018 after working with one of the tech giant for 7 years. I used the downtime to upgrade my skills while looking for the next opportunity. I would suggest you do the same.

Already doing that. I'm working on my PenTest+ certification and I'm working through the exercises to gain familiarity with the tools.

DatabaseHead

NavyMooseCCNA said:

promethuschow said:

Hang in there bud, I was laid off back in 2008, and agian in the middle of 2018 after working with one of the tech giant for 7 years. I used the downtime to upgrade my skills while looking for the next opportunity. I would suggest you do the same.

Already doing that. I'm working on my PenTest+ certification and I'm working through the exercises to gain familiarity with the tools.

Sounds like a good use of time.

JDMurray

LinkedIn is the best hunting ground for recruiters. Spend a lot of time hunting for opportunities and making yourself available there.

NavyMooseCCNA

JDMurray said:

LinkedIn is the best hunting ground for recruiters. Spend a lot of time hunting for opportunities and making yourself available there.

I've been on LinkedIn for years. I've gotten my last two positions via Indeed, I'd prefer not to work with recruiters because they have not been helpful to me in any of my job searches. Thank you for the suggestion.

cyberguypr

Ah, the mythical cybersecurity talent gap. I am seriously considering taking on this topic for my next public speaking engagement because it's just ridiculous at this point. "Experts" say the solution is women, students, veterans, etc. The reality is that the raw talent is out there but no one wants to spend time and money ramping up those who are not cyber unicorns, yet have potential. That is the real problem why you are struggling. I just read a story the other day about how one company is pushing back on staffing an incident response team because they never have breaches and there is nothing to worry about. <insert head bang here>

jeremywatts2005

cyberguypr said:

Ah, the mythical cybersecurity talent gap. I am seriously considering taking on this topic for my next public speaking engagement because it's just ridiculous at this point. "Experts" say the solution is women, students, veterans, etc. The reality is that the raw talent is out there but no one wants to spend time and money ramping up those who are not cyber unicorns, yet have potential. That is the real problem why you are struggling. I just read a story the other day about how one company is pushing back on staffing an incident response team because they never have breaches and there is nothing to worry about. <insert head bang here>

Cyber you are right there is not a gap at all in Cyber. The issue is companies are unwilling to spend money on training to develop talent in house. Seemingly everyone wants one of us Unicorns. Then said company tries to attract talent while offering nothing better or new to the talent they want to attract. When they cannot find people willing to apply or accept the job they scream there is a shortage. Yet they are not developing the talent in house and they are not willing to offer awesome compensation packages benefits included to get the Unicorns from another company. I interviewed with a company a few yrs ago for a security director for DFIR. They asked me how I would get talent in the door. I told them that they already had the talent they just needed to develop it and create training plans for those to advance into the roles. They offered me the job I looked at the package and laughed and till this day 3 yrs later they are constantly running an ad looking for that director and looking for folks to work. Companies need to get real! Comp packages from 10 yrs ago or more and yes I know I worked during that time and recruiting people like they did in the 90's is not going to happen. Another aspect companies are hung up on is the 6 month or 1 yr contract. I am sorry if you cannot figure out someone is a good candidate during the extensive hiring process usually 3 or more interviews and a team interview then you need better people judging talent.

paul78

NavyMooseCCNA said:

JDMurray said:

LinkedIn is the best hunting ground for recruiters. Spend a lot of time hunting for opportunities and making yourself available there.

I've been on LinkedIn for years. I've gotten my last two positions via Indeed, I'd prefer not to work with recruiters because they have not been helpful to me in any of my job searches. Thank you for the suggestion.

Don't discount using LinkedIn. Many companies prospect for candidates through LinkedIn besides recruiters because it's relatively inexpensive. Also - if you are managing your professional network through LinkedIn - that is perhaps the best way to get intros and referrals to companies and hiring managers. For example - just this morning, I got a note from someone in my network who saw an open job and they were seeking an introduction to an exec at the company that posted the job.

Also - instead of just enabling the feature that let's recruiters know that you are looking for a job. Make sure that in your profile, you put something like "seeking new opportunities" or similar. That's a keyword that hiring managers will use instead of paying for the recruiter subscription. (although LinkedIn is catching on and throttling searches these days which is annoying).

Johnhe0414

If your interested in local IT government jobs (City, County, School districts, etc.) try looking at www.governmentjobs.com (filter with "IT and Computers"). I hope you find something soon.

DatabaseHead

Agree with Paul.... I usually get my direct recruiting connects from LI. The 3rd parties come in as well, but they come in from indeed mostly. LI is my go too. However, my current job came from applying directly to the website..... Who would of thought!

uicjyg

Having worked at multiple companies as an employee during my 30 years in IT (both as a manager and a tech) the tip I would throw your way is to focus your search on the actual company websites. Check out every entity in your area (hospitals, city governments, utilities, etc) and apply through their websites. It costs them nothing to post on their own website vs posting on Indeed, Careerbuilder, etc.) and if they can even get someone in the neighborhood skillset wise you will get a call. These places use the job boards as a last resort. My 2 cents and best of luck -- you'll nail something soon.

shochan

Just learn that cyber stuff on the fly just like they do everything else in IT...

MontagueVandervort

Man, that sucks. Sorry to hear it. Hope you find something soon.

yuddhidhtir

It's good you are positive and seems already on your way to get a exciting opportunity rather than stressing over the situation. Members here always gives great suggestions, follow them and you will be gold. To be honest nowadays one should be always ready for the layoff , one can never be sure when you will be next

NavyMooseCCNA

I just changed the headline on my LinkedIn account, I had already enabled the feature let recruiters know I am available.

E Double U

I started off 2013 being laid off while having a pregnant wife and a one year old. Saying it sucks doesn't quite describe it. Just stay positive and things will work out. Good luck on your job search.

DZA_

I'm sorry to hear that you lost your job in the new year. As the folks have mentioned, keep your head up, network smart, apply to positions as most efficiently as possible and don't go too crazy over it (easier said than done). We as a community TechExams in general are very smart and driven folks so I don't think you will have an issue with your job search. Good luck and keep us posted.

NavyMooseCCNA

I had my first face to face interview today. It is not a job I'm particularly interested in, but I wanted the practice with interviewing. One question they asked me "Think of ten things you can do with pencil other than writing or erasing". I feel this question was there to gauge how well I can think outside the box. I actually thought of ten and it took a while.

I have a phone interview for a position I am interested in, in the morning. Hopefully I will get more face to face interviews soon.