Autumn

I know, I know.  It has been a month since I last blogged and you have missed my incisive, witty, intelligent and informative posts.  You don't have to say it out loud, let's just leave it unsaid!  As today is my birthday I thought it was time to share some more random words with the world this time about autumn.

The month of my birth is in many ways as unremarkable as a senior member of the Cabinet taking his best friend everywhere with him (apparently David Cameron can't sack Liam Fox because, and I'm not making this up, he has a cat).  Talking of politics, I bumped into a friend of mine earlier who told me his wife had just phoned to say she's just gone into labour.  He told her it was bloody ridiculous to start a career in politics when they are expecting a baby.  

I digress.  Here in England the weather on this day is usually quite dull and dreary (please don’t even think of making the connection here) however, it is notable as it is one of the most popular times to change jobs in our sectors.

It is hard to give a concrete answer why the autumn is such a popular time to make a move, but looking back through my records from 2003 the shape of the graph is remarkably similar each year.  Immediately after Christmas recruiting levels are very low and this doesn’t really change until March. We then see a steady increase in recruitment through to September and this activity accelerates until late November before declining to a standstill by mid-December.  

According to one of my first bosses, the reason for the autumn peak was that people resigned after reflecting on life during the annual summer holiday.  Mind you, the same boss who shared this wisdom with me placed a £500 bet on England to win Euro 2008 the day Steve McLaren was appointed England Manager!  OK, so I think we can conclude my old boss is not exactly Nostradamus for the 21st Century but there is probably some truth in his thoughts.  I think it is also because appointments need to be pushed through before the party season begins in mid-December.

This autumn has been especially busy, particularly on the ED side where demand far exceeds supply at this time which means that some very attractive salaries are currently on offer to help persuade professionals to make a move.  If you are pondering new opportunities this is as good a time as any to make that call to your favourite recruiter!  

As it is my birthday I am feeling a little self-indulgent so will leave you with one of my favourite songs of all time by the incredible Nick Drake. Enjoy!

Musings on events

Like you, I have been glued to the coverage of the riots here in the UK these last few days.  Also, no doubt like you, I have been appalled by the plight of the innocent people who have either suffered physical injury or who have had their homes and/or livelihoods destroyed.  I can't offer any amazing social analysis (no surprises there, huh) but I do increasingly worry about the implications for the future when we have a society seemingly split between those who have opportunity and those who are seemingly left behind without the same opportunities.

Like everyone I know I am alarmed by what is proposed for policing in the UK.  I personally know lots of police workers through my work in the computer forensics industry.  Almost without exception they have a real passion for their work but over the last few years I genuinely don't recall one who is happy with the way the police force is progressing at this time.  I appreciate the necessity of public sector cuts but surely recent events have once again demonstrated the folly in cutting police numbers further?

Where I live in the sleepy coastal town of Brightlingsea in Essex (pictured) we actually have an unmanned police station and I genuinely don't think I have ever seen a police(wo)man in the town.  As someone who grew up with the local bobby being a regular face in the community and at my school I find this quite hard to accept - I like to see a police presence on the streets, even here in Brightlingsea.

From a recruitment point of view recent events haven't really affected our work (so far, anyway).  I am, however, reminded of the terrible events in July 2005 when terrorists bombed the London Underground.  That day, we had an ex-policeman on interview for a forensics role at Control Risks Group who were based very close to where the bomb on the bus was detonated.  He arrived maybe twenty minutes after the explosion and although unable to access the offices where the interview was due to take place he spent the rest of the day helping the Met police maintain order around the scene.  I have come to expect this hands-on attitude from people I know who work for the police service.   Incidentally, he returned a week later and was offered the job.

Moving to less important matters, sadly, my pessimism about the prospects of the Mighty Leeds United is proving well-founded after we were humiliated at Southampton on day one of the new season (thank you to the 4,000 people who texted me about the game - I appreciate it).   Still, as the song goes (if you don't know, trust me on this one), we have our 'ups and downs' but as every true Leeds supporter knows we only enjoy the ups so much as we spend most of our time 'enjoying' the downs....

Actions & Consequences

Poker players nearly always lie: it is the essence of the game.   

At the Bellagio late one night I was playing at a table with a wise old Vegas local I know well and who is a preacher at his local church.  I asked him how he could justify the lies, even in a game.  He looked at me, sighed deeply and said slowly with a mischievous glint in his eye, ‘Always tell the truth son, even if you have to make it up’....

Away from the poker table we all lie sometimes, don’t we?  However insignificant the lie may appear and however noble the reasons for doing so, is it always wrong ?

Just this week I got caught out telling a small fib: well,  in reality it wasn’t even telling a lie, it was just not clarifying a situation which then gave the perception that I was not telling the truth.   Friends and business colleagues know that the very essence of my work is integrity and without it I have no credibility, especially in my sectors.   However, perception is reality - especially for people who don’t know you well – and due to my omission it looks like I am going to lose a potentially important friendship.

For jobseekers the parallels are obvious as numerous studies have shown that the primary job seeking tool – the CV - usually fails to reflect the whole truth.  When I am specifically asked about lying on CV’s my advice is always to exaggerate the positives but never lie.  In an area such as Computer Forensics you usually will be checked out fully by potential employers (even if the role doesn’t require SC vetting or similar) and if there are any discrepancies the job offer will be withdrawn.  

If you think that in reality this never happens then think again.  I have personally seen this occur maybe twenty times in the last ten years and the situation is exacerbated further by the offer usually being withdrawn after the jobseeker has already resigned from their current role.  Three of the most recent examples of offers being withdrawn are as follows:

• The CV stated that the jobseeker had obtained A’level grades (eight years ago) of BBB.  The reality was BCB.  The A’level grades weren’t necessary for the role but it was just the lie that lead to the offer being withdrawn.
• The jobseeker altered dates to show that they had worked for an employer for an extra three months when in reality they had resigned and been unemployed.  Like the previous  example, the period in question was a few years ago and would have had no effect on them being offered a position.
• The most recent case was a little more extreme.  The jobseeker had been sacked from a position and when asked for a reference contact actually supplied the details of a friend who had never worked at the company.   Unsurprisingly in such a tight sector as forensics, this did not prove to be a successful strategy!

In summary  the situation is exactly the same for jobseekers as in the rest of life.  If you do choose to lie (or omit key information) go ahead....but be very aware of the consequences of following this course of action.

Teesside Digital Forensics Conference

As readers of this blog will know, I spend a lot of my time at Universities talking to forensics students.  I have spoken at Teesside University for the last four years and for the last two years, my company has awarded a cash prize for the best presentation at the annual Teesside Digital Forensics Conference.  This year, the quality of presentations was exceptionally high but the prize for best presentation was won by Louise Purvis who has kindly written a summary of the event and her presentation below:

 "The Teesside Digital Forensics Conference (TDFCon) is an event organised and run by final year Digital Forensics and Forensic Computing students at Teesside University.  The students are responsible for the full organisation of the event, from arranging catering and inviting guests, to creating contingency plans for the day of the event!  In addition to the organisation, students are also required to prepare and present papers, which must last approx. 45 minutes. 

As secretary of the conference, I was very involved with the organisation stages, so when the event received such good feedback from the guests and our course leader it was very pleasing to see many months of hard work and organisation go to plan, especially as it was the last assessment of our final year, and therefore marked the end of our time here at Teesside University.   

We were also incredibly grateful to the guests, who ranged from representatives from HMRC, Trading Standards, Northumbria Police and Teesside Uni. staff and Graduates, who took the time to attend and offer advice and support to the students.  We are obviously also very grateful to David Sullivan for providing the prize for the best presentation.

My presentation was based on my final year project “Online Vulnerability: Identifying Characteristics for Victim Profiling”.  It aimed to identify what it is about a victim that makes them an attractive target to criminals, and what vulnerable areas are preyed upon.  I chose this area after speaking to Arron Martin Zeus Brown, my course leader, as I wanted a project that mattered, and could in the future, potentially make a difference.  There is a noticeable gap in literature in this area, in that much research addresses cybercriminal profiling, but very little is currently available about the victims of cybercrimes.  

After conducting a thorough literature review, the 17 characteristics identified which contributed to vulnerability levels were grouped into four specific categories, namely: Biological, such as gender and age; Psychological, such as human emotions and desires, trust, and impulse; Situational, such as environment, exposure to risk and time spent online, and finally Social, such as lifestyle, education, experience and employment.  All of the aforementioned areas were believed to hold some influence over levels of vulnerability online, as they all contribute to victimization.

My presentation aimed to raise awareness of these areas, as many of them such as trust, are carried out at a subconscious level by an internet user on a daily basis, without fully considering the implications and the risks.  Educating users as to what it is that makes them attractive targets online, as opposed to what the risks are and instructing them what (not) to do online, could be a useful aide against preventing cybercrime.  Those who are aware of such vulnerable behaviours may alter their online activity/behaviour in such a way that they could minimise the risk of being targeted and subsequently becoming a victim.

Winning ‘best presentation’ of the conference came as a complete shock and was totally unexpected, as there were so many good presentations over the two days.  I was just pleased the guests and other students found my presentation interesting, and hopefully took on board the message I was trying to purvey"

Contact Louise

I should add that Louise is actively seeking employment in the field.  For more details about Louise take a look at her Linkedin Profile: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/louise-purvis/20/536/7a or email Louise directly at: louisejpurvis@gmail.com.  

Trust

Events this week have made me reflect on the relationship of trust between a recruiter and jobseeker.

When I started in recruitment my manager made it clear to me that I was not able to tell a jobseeker the name of the company we were recruiting for as it would be easy for them to then just contact the company directly.  I always felt pretty uncomfortable – and a little ridiculous – following this policy and would tell somebody, for example, that the recruiting organisation was a ‘large bank near Liverpool Street’.

Forward-wind to 2011 and I am always 100% transparent about the name of the recruiting organisation.  Frankly, it is nonsense not to be as it is just as important to talk about cultural fit with any jobseeker before they commit to spending time attending an interview.  I certainly wouldn’t want a recruiter to represent me at an unknown organisation.

This week I spoke to a jobseeker about a new opportunity at company ‘x’.  The jobseeker knew somebody who worked at ‘company x’ but he wasn’t aware that they were recruiting at this time.  I then sent the jobseeker a full job description ahead of our discussion about the role and the next day they emailed to inform me that they had been contacted by ‘company x’ and invited to interview.  Ok, this could just be coincidence but I have my doubts.

I spend a lot of my time giving free advice on all aspects of recruitment in my sectors and am happy to do so as this builds long-term relationships.  However, as a recruiter the situation described above is just plain annoying as we make our living by finding people jobs.   At least in this particular scenario it isn’t as bad as the other two cases I have experienced in my recruitment career  where the jobseeker had no knowledge of the recruiting company and just sent them their CV after speaking to me!

The relationship between recruiter and some jobseekers is often a loose and transient one as not every jobseeker is interested in building a relationship with the recruiter.  It can be seen by some like a trip to a car showroom where the buyer just wants to buy a car and not become godfather to the children of the car salesperson!  Of course, I understand this view but even in the short-term the relationship can only work with trust on both sides.

Moving on.....

As readers of this blog will know I have supported Leeds United all my life.  This week was the eleventh anniversary of the tragic deaths of two Leeds supporters, Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight, who were stabbed in Turkey on 5 April 2000 ahead of the UEFA Cup semi-final against Galatasaray.  The fact it is the anniversary makes me even more bewildered to hear from my friends at the Millwall game today that some home supporters were waving Turkish flags.  Unbelievable.

Cultural issues

A new computer forensics graduate we placed almost three months ago was last week told that he hadn't passed his probation at a major consulting firm.

The Company has been excellent about it - as you would expect from a global market leader -  and his manager spoke very highly about his ability but it just wasn't quite the right fit at this time.  However, of course it feels like the end of the world for the person who has been released and right now a million miles away from the autumn day he moved to London with high hopes of a fantastic forensics career.

The reality is that this sort of experience can often be a blessing, although at the time it can feel like the end of the world.  In my recruitment career I have seen so many people leave a role feeling disconsolate and certain that they will never be a success wherever they go - and they were absolutely right!!  Not really, just a little joke...of course that isn't the case at all  - well, except in very rare examples - and I am a great believer in different people fitting into different cultures, even in a discipline as technical as computer forensics.  Many of these people have gone on to develop outstanding careers within forensics with a company where the culture is right for them.

In my experience, one of the most common examples of this is when somebody first leaves Law Enforcement for the private sector.  After a couple of months they know the position isn't right but they feel they can't move on so soon as it almost feels like failure.  Almost always, they do leave and then settle into the next organisation for a long period of time.  It is like personal relationships in a way where after the breakdown of a long relationship there can be a period of experimentation before forming another serious relationship  - oh dear, am I of all people really using a relationship analogy?  Time to end the post I think before I start to move on to other areas I have no idea about - it could be fashion next!

Anyway, if you do leave your position whether due to your own choice or otherwise, please do try to see it as an opportunity, however bleak it can feel at the time.  I would love to hear your stories of how a move that felt terrible at the time turned out to be fantastic for your career....