Profectus Cyber

I'm excited to be starting a new position as Founder of Nexo a brand new cyber security recruitment agency... So this is what impostor syndrome feels like... Very excited?to be launching Nexo the brand new premium cyber security?search firm serving the US market. I wanted to say a massive thank you to my now ex-boss Will Morris for not only mentoring me intensely & obsessively over the years, but also for giving me his blessing when it comes to going it alone... Learning the art & craft?of recruitment?(the right way) from Will Morris was key and whilst me securing the office desk right next to Will in my early recruitment days was awesome for my career progression, I'm sure the same can't be said for Will's personal life at the time ?? - for that I thank you buddy, this proved to be priceless for us both! Nexo will be starting out as of today with a team of 5 including myself. For all clients & candidates that are in process?with me this transition will be seamless providing absolute?continuity?of business for all... Excited, pumped, super charged, & 'fired up' are just some of the words I'd use to describe my emotions right now. Our focus at Nexo over the course of 2025 and beyond will be to provide the best possible service we can to all customers and continue to play the long game... This is the most scared I've ever felt in my life but also the most alive! A special thank you to the cyber security community for being so flipping awesome and propelling my recruitment career to where it is today... It's showtime, let's go! Everyone is on their own journey but for me personally this is not the time for work life balance or overthinking. This year is about execution in its?purest?form. It's time to get even more obsessive in relation to the beautiful art and craft of cyber security recruitment... We have zero interest in being the biggest and a massive interest?in being the best - Clients should expect elite service levels and a very obsessive?nature / culture upon engagement.

If you are an easily offended cyber security professional do not read this post... The world is changing?at a rapid pace like we've never?seen before. Intelligent?people within our society are not safe from adversity?with the technological advances?that we're seeing within the AI space but the most adaptable to change amongst us will be just fine & actually?have a real opportunity... ?? - How will all this affect the cyber security jobs market from the?junior to senior end? Many junior level jobs are going to be done by automation & AI as will highly repetitive?tasks. It's already happening right now! Many client organizations are not replacing juniors for this reason. Learning through?osmosis is at an all time low because remote working is at an all time high. Highly skilled & senior roles are not able to be done by AI yet... ??- The positives/the solution? The most adaptable within society?have an opportunity right now to absolutely flipping thrive! Communication and relationship?driven approaches to careers and businesses?just increased in value ten fold?because humans will/are already?getting frustrated?with high levels of automation/AI being used on them. Remember there will always be a point whereby a human just wants to talk to a human! ??- What does this mean for your career & how should you future proof yourself? Firstly, accept and recognize?that the world is changing. The problem with fighting all this is that whilst you might experience?some temporary comfort long term you'll get left behind.... Secondly, utilise?the abundance of learning materials that are available?online & not just the technical ones use the communication ones too! Any human that can pair awesome technical skills with fantastic communication skills has huge value within our society & the security space for the foreseeable. This is the case at any level & adding huge value to society means you'll be hugely successful......... ??- Final thoughts..... Adaptability?is key, complacency?kills, attend events, your network is your net worth, don't rest on your laurels be continuously up skilling, focus on combining amazing communication?skills with your awesome technical skills.... The world is not all doom & gloom it's actually SUPER exciting just make sure you're playing the 2025 game of life and not the 2005 one... During the industrial revolution a lot of people changed theirs & their families lives for the better forever, right now for anyone that hasn't noticed we are smack bang in the middle of a digital revolution! Don't miss out and don't forget to enjoy this moment in history. It's meant to be fun... If anyone would like to hear more episodes of The Cyber Security Recruiter Podcast on this subject please do let me know? I'm on it! :)

How to 10X your response rate from recruiters, make it impossible for anyone to 'ghost' you... Human behaviour in public and in private are 2 very different things. Anyone that tells you any different is BS'ing you. So here's a 3 stage process to ensure the recruiter you're attempting to contact responds to you... ??- Send the recruiter a connection request via LinkedIn. ??- Grab that recruiters email from 'Apollo' (tool that gives you everyone's corporate email address for free) and follow up with them asking if they could accept your connection so you can talk about the opportunity they have live. ??- If they don't respond comment on one of their posts in a very gentle & polite way telling them their awesome & you want to chat. Make sure you ask them a question on the post. The more active that recruiter is online, the more they are likely to value their personal brand meaning the more replies you'll get. Health warning that comes with this advice DO NOT IGNORE: This strategy is highly effective and will get you in front of a lot of recruiters but please don't abuse this insanely effective follow up methodology by 'spraying & praying' and applying for every job 'under the sun' without showing care/attention. If you do you are simply demonstrating to potential employers & recruiters that attention to detail is a skillset do not possess. Final thoughts: ?? - Read the job description carefully & only apply for roles whereby you are a genuine match. This allows you to work a smaller dataset of potential employers, get personalized with your outreach, and get some results. ?? - In 2024 some people on LinkedIn love to post that if you 'kind of' fit the role just apply anyway. These type for posts often get lots of likes and give the person posting them a huge dopamine hit but they don't help you land your next role and this attitude has made job adverts largely ineffective. ?? - So there you have it. You now have access to around 90% more recruiter than you did before reading this post. Please use you new secret weapon with caution & care as long term relationships do matter... PS please don't use your new secret weapon against me if I'm crazy busy and a little slow on replies - I'm trusting you! :)

This interview advice will shock you... Do not do any of the following: ?? - Wear baseball caps during interviews. ?? - Wear t-shirts in interviews. ?? - Wear t-shirts with huge logo's on in interviews. Operating at the senior end of the cyber security recruiting market so it's crazy that I'd be giving this advice but the reality is it needs to be said. The biggest 'eye opener' for me this year has been when very experienced, technically sound folks get relaxed during the 2nd or 3rd stage of a hiring process and do one of the above 3 things... Real life email example between me and the client organization I am recruiting for (Using the name Sarah as a fictitious candidate name): ?? Client: 'Tom we really like Sarah but she's just turned up to her 3rd technical virtual interview in a baseball cap and t-shirt, I know you know a lot of other folks so can you source someone else for us as we're now worried about putting her in front of some of our fortune 500 customers' ?? Me: 'Gutted that's frustrating I liked Sarah as well. Yes, that's fine I'll get some more good options / candidate profiles over to you shortly.' Before anyone says: 'But Sarah can do the job she's a great candidate that's not fair'.... I'm not trying to win a fairness competition with this post but I am trying to demonstrate to you how simplistic things during a hiring processes can hold awesome cyber security professionals back... I hope this post optimizes career growth for others - don't be like Sarah! The jobs market is heating up again now but it's not back to 2022 levels yet so client orgs will still be this way guys and girls :)

Tips for prolonged success in security… ??- Spend less time worrying about what others think about you & more time just doing the ‘thing’! ??- Don’t ever shout about how great you are. Stay humble, grind everyday, & learn to love the process. Other people will then do the shouting for you (if you’re into that kind of thing) ??- Stay hungry & remember that complancy ‘kills’. No matter how well things are going never forget that awesome daily routine that got you there in the first place. ??- Learn to understand the compounding effects of working hard for a sustained period of time. Marginal gains are everything & most are too impatient to leverage these significant gains! ??- Don’t buy flashy things or spend time showing off on social media. Instead spend time, effort, & money reinvesting in your chosen art and craft to refine this even more. Maintaining this type of focus will ensure you add even more value to your customers & continuously improve your results. ??- Finally always remember observe the masses and do the opposite. Let’s all finish this year super strong & remind ourselves that it’s a privilege to be able to work hard and reach our potentials! :)

Feeling anxious as a security professional is really normal... If you ever have feelings of anxiety I want you to know this is normal. I'd also like to give the security community some awesome tips on how to deal with these feelings... ??- Physically write a list using pen and paper. Cross out your done tasks as you do them by putting a line through each job as it's done. This gives you a sense of achievement, purpose, and satisfaction. One task might be as simple as taking the dog for a walk. The other might be spending some time on HTB, reading a book on leadership, or stepping up you Cloud Sec game. ??- Always keep in mind that action is the biggest cure all! This is huge so whether it's finishing the current engagement you're on, writing that report you've been putting off, taking your next cert, or finding time to do your lab time in prep for OSCP - push yourself to get things done and you'll feel great afterwards. ??- Remember that we all feel anxious, it's normal. You're not weird or abnormal, it's totally fine and acceptable to feel this way. When you see a confident person they are just channelling their feelings of anxiety into positive action by putting one foot in front of the other. You can do this as well. Give it a try... ??- Talk about how you feel with friends & family. Bottling things up never helps so try and talk about things as much as you can. You might find others close to you feel the same so you’ll get the opportunity to help them as well which feels flipping awesome. It also feels great to open up. This wasn't something I was always able to do at first but like anything in life the more you do it the easier it gets... I'm no mental health expert but these are the strategies I'm adopting in my everyday personal & professional life along with my closest friends and family. It's really helping when it comes to how I feel within myself & I hope it helps you as well...

The reason job adverts are performing so poorly in 2024... Value associated with a job application has diminished significantly due to the ease at which anyone can apply for a job. The digital revolution is upon us! AI and automation means that over 95% of resumes employers receive from a job advert are totally useless. The ROI on a internal recruiters/employers time when it comes to sifting through 100's or 1000's of resumes has gotten nasty!.. Solution for employers: Build out talent pools of 'security rockstars', nurture these relationships, follow up with them regularly before you need them, & most importantly do NOT just place a job advert when you need to hire someone. If do you're in for a rough ride & as AI becomes more prevalent these issues are only set to exacerbate... Solution for job seekers: Do not 'pray & spray' and/or apply for a job you 'sort of want' or that you are 'kind of a fit for'. People that advise you to do this should be avoided at all costs as this is appalling advice to give any cyber security professional. It will lead to you feeling deflated and getting 'ghosted' by pretty much ever security employer out there accept maybe the insanely nice ones with loads of spare time on there hands... Instead: ?? - Build a list of high calibre / actual / real potential employers. Hand pick the decision makers within each organization. ?? - This should include companies that are not advertising as they are often the best to approach. ?? - Follow up with these people, go hyper personalized, stay persistent, and never complaint or play the victim. It's vital to realise that technology & AI is shifting the landscape when it comes to traditional ways of executing on a solid recruitment solution. In theory tech should make everything in easier, the reality is it's just made the game of recruiting way more relationship driven... Anyone can 'click apply', anyone can place a job advert, not everyone is finding the time to build meaningful, real, & strong relationships that enable you to 'kick down doors' on demand... Happy Sunday, observe the masses & do the opposite!

How to 10X your response rate from recruiters, make it impossible for anyone to 'ghost' you... Human behaviour in public and in private are 2 very different things. Anyone that tells you any different is BS'ing you. So here's a 3 stage process to ensure the recruiter you're attempting to contact responds to you... ??- Send the recruiter a connection request via LinkedIn. ??- Grab that recruiters email from 'Apollo' (tool that gives you everyone's corporate email address for free) and follow up with them asking if they could accept your connection so you can talk about the opportunity they have live. ??- If they don't respond comment on one of their posts in a very gentle & polite way telling them their awesome & you want to chat. Make sure you ask them a question on the post. The more active that recruiter is online, the more they are likely to value their personal brand meaning the more replies you'll get. Health warning that comes with this advice DO NOT IGNORE: This strategy is highly effective and will get you in front of a lot of recruiters but please don't abuse this insanely effective follow up methodology by 'spraying & praying' and applying for every job 'under the sun' without showing care/attention. If you do you are simply demonstrating to potential employers & recruiters that attention to detail is a skillset do not possess. Final thoughts: ?? - Read the job description carefully & only apply for roles whereby you are a genuine match. This allows you to work a smaller dataset of potential employers, get personalized with your outreach, and get some results. ?? - In 2024 some people on LinkedIn love to post that if you 'kind of' fit the role just apply anyway. These type for posts often get lots of likes and give the person posting them a huge dopamine hit but they don't help you land your next role and this attitude has made job adverts largely ineffective. ?? - So there you have it. You now have access to around 90% more recruiter than you did before reading this post. Please use you new secret weapon with caution & care as long term relationships do matter... PS please don't use your new secret weapon against me if I'm crazy busy and a little slow on replies - I'm trusting you! :)

Here's the harsh reality of what's really happening in the cyber security jobs market right now... Despite mass layoffs hitting the headlines daily client organizations are still hiring aggressively and even still paying premium headhunting fees, not just mine there are other good specialist recruiters within the security market and other niche verticals... So why are so many folks finding it hard to land a role & get off the jobs market? The truth is clients right now are looking for grade A top tier talent, the hard to reach, passive types that actually don't want to be found or approached. Literally the best of the best! 95% of the market are after the top 5% of cyber security talent atm & it's one of the many reasons why job adverts are a complete joke (which I won't go into now). Basically the demand is extremely high within this top tier subsection of the market and that's the truth that not everyone is willing to talk about on a LinkedIn post... I'm seeing this more & more in my day job. There's a huge misconception within the wider community that recruiters/head-hunters are here to help absolutely everyone and generally get people a job, this is not the reality of what we do at all. We're paid to target and recruit a very specific ICP (Ideal candidate profile) that very few are able to access themselves. The sorts that can only be accessed by recruiters that have done a solid job in a niche for a long time, have incredibly strong networks & relationships in this space. There's no quick wins here, it's bloody hard graft... My advice: I could sit here and be Mr positive and tell you it's not fair that the market isn't as 'hot' as it was back in 2022, and how Amazon are totally out of order for doing this and that... The truth is the market will probably never be as 'hot' as 22 again but there is a solution here for everyone that's willing to listen, work, and has authentic passion for the game... Action plan: Listen to the market. Fair or not, ultimately we are all slaves to this market and it's very unforgiving. Corrections don't care about our emotions so spend some time looking at where the high demand is. What are clients looking for? What does a grade A top tier cyber security professional look like? What's her communication style like? What does his personal brand look like? How does she interact with the community? Use your re-con skills to get a handle on what's going on in order to optimize your career growth... There's still opportunity out there, the rewards are still immense. All opinions, thoughts and comments here are very welcome. Let's debate, discuss, interact, and create a community on this platform so that everyone has the information they need to have an awesome cyber security career. After that it's up to everyone how they choose to utilize this info...