How much do you really want it?

I had an interesting day at Fortress Elland Road (or as my friend Phil refers to it: The Theatre of Screams) on Saturday, watching The Mighty Leeds United overpower Coventry to record an emphatic 1-0 victory.  Whereas I usually take my place with my Leeds supporting pals in the Don Revie stand this weekend I changed seats and sat just by the dugouts.

From this perspective I saw another side to our manager Simon ‘Larry’ Grayson (pictured) which really surprised me.  Me and Larry aren’t exactly best mates but I have seen him at numerous social events over the last couple of years and I have always been surprised at just how nice he is – certainly a really decent guy without the arrogance and edge of other professional managers I have met.  

Sitting five feet away from him on Saturday I saw another side to the man.  Sure, he is committed and focussed but he is also incredibly hard, aggressive (in a good way) and completely in charge – the reaction of the players and staff left me in no doubt that he was fully in control and would accept no nonsense.

Why am I telling you this?

Well, except for the obvious opportunity to post a Leeds United related picture, last week I spoke to students at Sunderland and Teeside Universities.  As always, the students were very friendly, receptive and the vast majority were clearly incredibly bright and committed.  They would be an asset to any Forensics organisation.

However, last week it also really hit me clearly why a lot of these students aren’t going to secure their dream roles.  They are just too nice and lack the focus and aggression needed in terms of securing a job.  Do you think I am being harsh?  I think not.

Make no mistake that to secure your first role in this area you have to be aggressive and ruthless.  You are in direct competition with your fellow students for the very best jobs and there aren’t enough positions to go around.  When I talk in this way I reckon the students think I am talking nonsense  – hmmm, maybe on a broader level they have a point - and don’t really believe me when I tell them that the best jobs don’t go to the best people. 

This isn’t fair but it is certainly true.  Some of the best Computer Forensics graduates from 2008 are still working in IT support.  The best jobs go to the people who have prepared in the most effective way to make themselves attractive to potential employers and then aggressively pursue opportunities.

Simon ‘Larry’ Grayson wasn’t the best professional footballer.  However, watching him at work from such close quarters clearly demonstrates why he is a successful Manager and why he is a winner.   He is, frankly, desperate to win and utilises every ounce of his talent and every resource available to him to ensure he stands out from the crowd.

Can you honestly say the same for your job search?

A better day

After yesterdays little rant, I was, as always, cheered up by reading the latest blog from the very funny GirlieGeek: http://digitaldetective.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/the-dickens-of-a-tale

On the subject of amusing CF blogs I also laughed out loud at this very amusing interview with Geoff Fellows here: 
http://happyasamonkey.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/an-interview-with-geoff-fellows/

In particular, I love his response when asked about whether the glut of computer forensics courses at Universities is a good thing:

"If a Forensic Computing course is offered by a University and it actually teaches relevant current forensic computing, by which I mean at a technical level, in detail, and on a basis of practicality and real-life forensic computing work now, in 2010 then, Yes, of course that would be a good thing.

If a Forensic Computing course is offered by a University in order to cash in on the word ‘Forensic’ and CSI and that sort of stuff, and it is taught by a motley collection of retired system administrators who used to be really good at Cobol programming or who once understood Slotted Aloha or who used to run the Cambridge Ring and who really have no understanding at all of investigative work of any kind then No, they are an excrescence on the face of the planet – they are “a horror, a proverb and a byword amongst all the peoples” (Deuteronomy 28:37)."

Quite so!

This lunchtime I am visiting the impressive Emirates Stadium (pictured) for the very first time to see The Mighty Leeds United take on Arsenal in the FA Cup.

I am not confident but then again I didn't expect us to knock out our friends from across The Pennines this time last year so who knows.

Whatever the result, it is always fun to catch up with some of my Leeds supporting friends who are making a weekend of it in London - especially the three Norwegian brothers I met at the poker table in Vegas who always fly over for the big games!

Finally, after the triumph in The Ashes have you heard this old joke doing the rounds?  What do you call an Australian man with a bottle of champagne?  A barman....

Where are jobs advertised?

On one of the forums this week a poster asked where Computer Forensics jobs are advertised.  Really, this should be an easy question to answer but, in reality, for all our specialist markets (including computer forensics) the answer isn't quite so simple. 

Unlike some recruiters who advertise the same/similar jobs endlessly (yawn) as a company we hardly ever advertise our open roles for a number of reasons:

1, Apathy

We aint hot on riting and can't be bothered as we would rather be in a bar with a lager from 11.30 am.   This is, of course, just a rather tame little joke (regular readers will know that most of my attempts at humour tend to be as amusing as a Liberal Democrat MP defending their current position on any given issue).

So, moving swiftly on to the serious points:

1, Advertising is hit and miss

Our Consultants and Researchers have worked in our sectors for a number of years and have large networks.  This means that we tend to know who works where and based on our market knowledge we can then approach suitable people directly for specific roles.  Advertising jobs is a terribly ineffective way of attracting the right applicants for all but the very lowest-level positions - it really is posting an advert and then keeping fingers-crossed for the right response!

The following example illustrates this point.  When we first recruited forensics specialists for the Met Police a few years ago they had previously advertised their jobs in the Evening Standard.  They then interviewed something like 25 people who all proved unsuitable.  Excluding the cost of placing the advert, the cost of four people interviewing the unsuccessful candidates was a tremendous waste of time and money.

There is also the issue of where to advertise online in niche areas as there are just so many different sites.

Out of the generalist boards we use Jobsite for some of our roles and they certainly give us the best response plus, in my experience, they are a pleasure to deal with every time.  Also, as sponsors of Portsmouth FC they are kindly entertaining me in their box for the visit of the Mighty Leeds United in January (thanks, Alex)!

Other sites produce a terrible response and are a real pain to deal with on a daily basis.  Seriously, dinner with Gillian McKeith starts to look appealing compared to working with these guys!  I forget which ones I have vowed never to use again but the thread below about Monster has taken on legendary status in our office (the 'hilarity' begins at the fourth response when the poster is rumbled):

http://web.ukrecruiter.co.uk/forum/Forum/read.php?i=171440&start=80

2, Finding the very best people for the job

People who apply for jobs tend to be unhappy for some reason - sometimes due to less than perfect performance (although, of course, not always) whereas our Clients tend to want to employ people who are performing to an exceptional level.  In his fantasic training courses, the outstanding and inspirational recruitment trainer Roy Ripper (his real name, honestly: http://www.royripper.com/about/) described this as 'finding the best people in the market rather than on the market'.

As recruiters the very essence of our existence is that we are supposed to find the very best people for any role.  If we can't go beyond sifting advert response then employers may just as well advertise the roles themselves.

3, Time

Although I constantly read from disillusioned jobseekers (presumably) that recruiters advertise jobs just to harvest CV's for most of us that is far from the case.  Believe me when I say that I really don't want to waste lots of time filtering through unsuitable responses and providing the necessary feedback.


However, back to the question of Computer Forensics jobs.  When we do advertise these roles in addition to our website it is either on Forensic Focus or Linkedin (where the number of job postings are rapidly increasing). I would also advise keeping an eye on the better generalist boards such as CWjobs or Jobsite as occasionally jobs are posted there that you won't find anywhere else.  You can also sometimes find gems on the specialist financial sites or legal-orientated boards like the excellent:  www.legaltechnology.com.

My advice is to always employ a balanced strategy.  Check the job boards above, make enquiries through your own network and, most importantly of course, speak to your favourite specialist recruiter!  For those of you who try to avoid recruiters and raised your eyebrows at that last line I suggest you think of it in the following way.   Even if you choose not to be represented by a recruiter for specific vacancies why not take advantage of the free market intelligence a recruiter can provide in the form of trends, salary advice etc.  In this market what is there to lose?

Finally, good luck the Mighty Leeds United tomorrow as they once more demonstrate their unique brand of 'total football' to the people of Burnley!

Christmas thoughts

On a freezing, snowy day here in Essex my thoughts have wandered to where I would rather be and, the answer, of course, is in fabulous Las Vegas surrounded by beautiful people - well, my buddys JP and Angus anyway - sipping a cold drink at the awesome Voodoo Lounge (pictured) before heading to the Bellagio for a spot of poker.

If not Vegas then maybe in one of the bars lining Las Ramblas in Barcelona watching the world go by....Instead, on Saturday afternoon I found myself on the outskirts of Reading watching the Mighty Leeds United playing out the most tedious 0-0 draw in arctic conditions - not quite living the dream!

I know it is a cliche but here in England it is odd how everything stops when there is bad weather.  All three interviews I had scheduled for today have been cancelled which is frustrating as we are rapidly approaching that time of year when recruitment slows right down (in my sectors) for a wide variety of reasons.  Incidentally, last year I wrote a short article on when is the best time to look for a new job which can be found here: http://www.appointments-uk.co.uk/articleMarch2009.php

I am particularly irritated by these cancellations today as ideally I would like these deals finalised before the holidays begin as it really is a battle to schedule meetings in December.  I am never quite sure why this is the case: is it really because people mentally switch off and move into party mode? 

In recruitment there is a saying that 'time kills deals' due to the two sides courting each other cooling off or other complicating factors arising - for example, here in the UK a number of people I know who were offered Computer Forensic roles in the Public Sector earlier this year had these posts withdrawn following the Public Sector cuts introduced in George Osborne's budget.  A more extreme example is my Venture Capitalist friend who lost all his prospective deals immediately after the terrible events of 11 September 2001.

The Christmas period can also have some very odd effects on jobseekers.  I recall one Fraud Investigator who was at final interview stage for a Big Four Company and was incredibly excited about the opportunity before Christmas.   After spending the holiday with her rather dull husband (seriously, half an hour with this guy makes a Nick Clegg speech look strangely exciting) she finally decided to divorce and so cancelled all her plans to change jobs.

Finally, a note of humour (well, arguably - it made me chuckle anyway) on this miserable evening.  Did you hear the joke about what Audley Harrison and Michael Jackson had in common?  They both wore a glove for no apparent reason....

Not Welcome!

I have sailed for most of my life.  Through this wonderful sport I have literally travelled around the world to compete at events and met some of my very best friends from all walks of life and of all ages.  

Unfortunately, sailing still has an elitist reputation in some quarters.  Those who still hold this view should visit my home club – The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club – to see just how far from the truth this is (in fact, let me know when you are at either of the club houses in Cowes or Burnham-on-Crouch and if I am free I will happily buy you a drink or four and introduce you to some of my pals).  Every weekend sees parents giving up their time to encourage the thriving youth fleets and although there are some very wealthy members (funnily enough, none in recruitment) everyone mixes in a very casual atmosphere on the balcony on a summers evening – it is inclusive and all are welcome.  I like this attitude and actively refuse to attend any sailing event at a snotty club with ‘members only’ on the door.  

I mention this inclusiveness as very rarely for me I am in ‘Billy's Bar’ at Elland Road – home of the Mighty Leeds United (Billy’s Bar is in memory of the late, great Billy Bremner, sadly missed in both Leeds and Scotland)  as they prepare to destroy Hull City this evening – and  yet would rather be elsewhere. I adore being in Leeds so it could be a lot worse especially after our recent couple of startling victories.   

However, the point is that I want to be at the F3 conference with a lot of my friends in the computer forensics sector but I am not welcome.  My name isn’t Dave and I’m not getting in – although ironically it is, but I still am not getting in.....(dodgy 90’s music reference – apologies)!

For those of you not in the computer forensics sector, F3 (http://www.f3.org.uk) ‘exists to provide an open forum for all forensic computing practitioners, to enable them to share their collective knowledge through discussion and training’. I have tremendous respect for the numerous members of the committee whom I have known for years and the organisation no doubt does a great job for the members.  However, F3 have an annual conference which begins today where, as a recruiter, I am not welcome.  I pay to advertise in the brochure but I am not able to attend the conference as I am not a practitioner.  I have tried to argue the case in previous years that I wish to attend as I am a member of the community but I have had no success.

Yes, it is ‘members only’ and sadly I am as welcome as Phil Woolas at the christening of Ed Millibands newborn child.  

My colleagues here tell me to not get so irate about this as it doesn’t matter in the scheme of things and that there is no point in me attending anyway.  I think that misses the point: the reason I attend Infosec every year is that I am able to hear speakers discuss trends/issues and by understanding these points I am more informed and credible when I am discussing the industry with my network.  Ok, forget that worthy reason, I just want to spend a couple of nights in the bar with some of my friends!

  

As I see it: 

• I am active on numerous forums where I think I am a part of the community who is able to actually contribute above the tedious recruiter level of purely posting current vacancies;
• I lecture extensively to the computer forensics students at Universities;
• I speak at events attended by experienced members of the computer forensics sector and so far, I don’t think there have been any complaints that I am bothering people (well, except for the unfortunate case involving a case of vodka, three packets of wine gums and the Russian gymnasts which we will skip over as that was a simple misunderstanding).     

But still, I am not welcome at the biggest UK computer forensics event of the year. Is this fair?

If you help run a club, community or forum of any description that bars people for no clear, valid reasons please do reconsider.  Some of the snotty ‘members only’ sailing clubs I have shunned in the past are now desperate for new members to ensure their survival but they have woken up to the new world order too late and the future isn’t bright.

Oh, and if you are at the F3 conference and sober enough to read this, do please have a beer for us recruiters stranded at the door....

Be very afraid....

Today I waited outside a school and stole the dinner money from the cutest, smallest children.  I then committed a number of armed robberies before finishing off the day with a random killing spree.

That is bad enough, but even worse, I am a recruiter!  I know you could accept all of the above and still be seen with me in public but well, when you know what I do for work I quite understand that you will shun me if we ever meet at a party.

I was prompted to write the above as on Forensic Focus yesterday, someone called ‘4rensics’ posted the following about recruiters:

“Dont get me started! Completely useless... but thats a different rant for another day
If I never rang back any of the people I've done jobs for, both forensic and before I joined this I would have been saked a thousand times over... yet when they don't call back, it’s the norm... sounds like a cushy number, get CVs... End! Go home. OK I've started....
Walk away from the keyboard!!!”

Clearly ‘4rensics’ rather tediously falls into the arrogant trap of thinking that others have easy jobs.  However, sadly the basic views of ‘4rensics’ are shared by many jobseekers and due to the number of terrible recruiters around I have to accept these are widely held for valid reasons.   

This is a major problem.   The perception of recruiters isn’t changing – in the fifteen years I have been in recruitment I would say it has got worse.  I think the basic problem is that as recruiters our fees come from Clients which means there is a tendency to neglect jobseekers unless we can clearly see how they are going to make us money.  As I work in niche markets I can spend a lot of time helping people with their CV’s and discussing the market as although this doesn’t earn me money in the short-term over a longer period of time it is invaluable, but generalists aren’t able to do this.  Surely, however, the model has to change so that we can use our industry expertise (especially those of us in niche areas – I think the generalists are doomed) to help people effectively manage their careers over a long period of time?  

As an amusing aside (well, maybe not amusing at all), I did hear one excruciatingly bad story in the computer forensics area about a real cowboy recruiter who made a ‘headhunting’ call to ‘sell’ an Analyst role to the Computer Forensics Legend Professor Tony Sammes.  To get through to him he told people he was a friend and, well, just came across as a complete idiot.  It is a bit like me calling David Cameron and offering him a role managing parking regulations for a local council.

It is increasingly clear that recruiters don’t just provide a patchy service to jobseekers but also to Clients.  In his excellent blog an HR Manager (http://myhellisotherpeople.com/2010/10/26/listen-to-the%C2%A0music/) compares the slow death of the recruitment industry to the decline of the music industry for a number of reasons but mainly due to arrogance and a reluctance to accept inevitable change.  

On the whole, recruiters still expect to work to a percentage fee structure regardless of the actual work involved and there is usually no follow-up after a person has been recruited.  In the rapidly changing environment in which we work and with the huge growth of social media this just cannot continue.   In particular, I agree with one commenter on the above blog who says that the big organisations and many medium-sized ones are embracing resourcing as part of a wider talent strategy and as a minimum now have the tools and the ability to eliminate all but the very niche recruiters from the process.  As a niche recruiter it really must now be all about how we can genuinely add real value.

Moving on......

Today, I am entertaining at Twickenham as England see off the All Blacks whilst of course keeping an eye on events at Coventry as the Mighty Leeds United bring their unique brand of silky football skills to another stadium of admirers......Have a good one!

New article

Are you a fan of cutting edge, insightful, thought-provoking recruitment articles?  Nor me but apparently there are some out there!  In the meantime, why not look at my latest article 'How to seduce potential employers - or even your recruiter' which has just been published at Forensic Focus: http://www.forensicfocus.com/david-sullivan.

A selection of previous articles/interviews from 2005 onwards can be found on our website:  http://www.appointments-uk.co.uk/articles.php

Another great result for the Mighty Leeds United as we swept Middlesbrough aside this evening but I hope this doesn't mean the end for the 'boro manager and Leeds Legend Gordon Strachan as his interviews are pure comedy!  For those of you who don't follow UK football an example of Strachan's 'wit' was last week when he was grilled by irate local media on how he dealt with the pressure at the club where he has won just 13 times in 45 games."Take drugs, and drink, and smoke," was Strachan's reply!  Unfortunately for the manager not everyone saw the funny side....

Don't miss out....

I have just read an interesting thread on the excellent www.forensicfocus.com about when graduates should start to apply for jobs.  Although most of my active work is now senior level recruitment I am still surprisingly often asked to source computer forensics / ediscovery  graduates for some of my Clients.  With the large number of computer forensics courses that have started in recent years and the surplus of supply over demand you would think that recruiting graduates is straightforward?  Sadly not.  The standard of course ranges from excellent to very poor and unfortunately the quality of the graduates is variable which means that if graduates are invited to interview just based on their CV  a lot of time can be wasted.

Still, this is great news for me as it means I can still continue to accept invitations to speak at Universities running courses in this area.  I have been speaking at some Universities for over five years and it is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job as the students are almost without exception incredibly passionate about their subject and eager to learn about the opportunities available to them upon graduation.  Also, a trip to campus always takes me back to those carefree University days and often gives me a chance to catch up with old friends/contacts in different parts of the UK...

When reading the Forensic Focus thread today I wasn’t really surprised that some students aren’t being advised early on about when to apply for specific roles.  When I speak at Universities I am usually shocked at just how unaware students are about the actual roles they are likely to take and how they intend to secure these positions.  I do appreciate that it is difficult for University Careers Officers to offer specific advice about these niche career paths but still, surely a student studying Computer Forensics should at least have some idea about the very real differences between working for a High Tech Crime Unit as opposed to Big 4 organisation?  I guess the key is for the students to be proactive about their future career from a very early stage in their University life so they don’t miss out on opportunities – or to ensure their favourite recruiter is invited to campus to speak not just to final year students but the new intake too!

I trust that like me you will all be glued to the TV screen tomorrow evening to watch the Mighty Leeds United take the three points from Middlesbrough.  Have a great weekend.