Finding an Information Security Job after getting laid off

The U.S. Economy is currently in shambles from the sub prime meltdown.  One of the hardest hit sectors has been the financial sector. In turn some of the highest paid technology workers have now found themselves out of work.  You are facing two questions right now. First, how do I find another job, and second how do keep myself afloat until I do. 

Here are some tips I have compiled based on either personnel experience or from the experiences of friends currently going through the same situation.

Hit the Street Now!
The best piece of advice that I can offer is to begin your job search the day you find out you are going to lose your job.  If you are one of the lucky few that received a severance package, do not take a two week vacation. If you think that it is going to be a walk in the park and you can waste time because you have a few months to year of money in the bank, you are wrong.  During times of economic troubles you are not the only one who is looking for a job.  The Market has been flooded with human capital and the competition is tight. Your severance money dries up faster then you think. Especially when paying your COBRA payments to keep your health insurance active.

Secondly the longer you go without a job, the harder it will be to look employable to a potential employer.  Think of yourself as a house that has been on the market for a few months.  Potential buyers (ie employers) are going to begin wondering why no one has picked you up.  Many times they are going to assume that you have an undisclosed issue that is not showing up on your resume.  So do the right thing and start sending out resumes immediately.

Get Temp Work
If you are a tech worker who has been working in the financial sector I am sure you are reading this with a bit of skepticism. Yet I still recommend that you to call a temp agency.  Yes the jobs will be lowly and for terrible pay, but it will keep some money coming in. You may also be eligible for better rate on your health care then what you are paying into COBRA.  In addition the temp work will most likely be technical in nature. This will keep you semi-fresh and allow for opportunities to continue networking.  Which  brings me to my next point.

Networking!
Get the word out.  Don’t be embarrassed that you lost your job.  You are not the only one. Others are looking for a job as well, and you can be sure that they are telling anyone with an ear. Think about it, a product with no advertising is a product that doesn’t sell. The majority of jobs never hit the want ads.  The reason is simple; you can’t tell the true value of a person from a resume.  The cost of hiring a person is a huge risk to a company; if they can find someone through a referral it has a higher percentage of success.  I can say that the majority of people I have ever hired have been referred to me. Also every job I have ever had has been by referral except for one.  Sites like http://linkedin.com can be a huge asset in tracking down people that you know, or people you have worked with.  Use it.

Your Resume
After putting the word out to your network that you are looking for a job, start working on your resume. You must think of your resume as your personal advertisement for selling the most valuable product you have, yourself.  Try to make sure that it is concise but still gives enough detail.  You never want to leave the reader with to

many questions unanswered. You are fighting for their time and attention.  A descriptive and relevant resume is a must if you hope to get an interview. Ask any manager; hiring is likely the most dreaded part of their job. 

Personally I prepare two resumes. One is my shorter buzz word injected resume that I use for general inquiries and with recruiters.  I then have a much deeper and detailed technical resume I provide to a potential manager.  The recruiter will be interested in the results you have achieved and the metrics you can present but your prospective direct manager is going to be interested in the technical methods that you used to achieve it.  Him/Her is not going to be impressed by a bunch of fluff without the real work being described.

Make sure you explain in detail how each company you worked for operated. Managers are looking for people who can make a quick transition into their company. So they will be interested in people who have worked in companies similar in size and management structure.

Take a look at the jobs listings that fit the work that you want to perform. Look at the requirements and business language they use.  Incorporate the language into your resume. You may be exactly what they need but, if you are not describing your technical skills in a way a business manager can understand, no one is even going to bring you in for an interview.

After you have spent some serious time on your resume using the tips above, I always suggest that you then send it to a resume writing service.  Monster.com has one and they do a great job.  Remember, you may be the greatest SAN engineer the world has ever known, but you are about to be reviewed on your writing skills. So it is a prudent idea to employ an experienced writer on your team to give you that added edge.

Post your resume
This is one part that almost everyone already knows about. There are a huge number of sites available to you. You can go to:

Hotjobs.com
Monster.com
Dice.com
Theladders.com

Don’t forget about some of the less mainstream sites.  I found one of my jobs in the jobs mailing list from security focus.  Look inside of your industry trade magazines. Even the online addition of the New York Times.  Some of your most targeted opportunities will be in these sites and publications.

The Interview
No one is ever good at it.  In most cases the person who is interviewing you is not very experienced in interviewing. The most important step on pulling off a great interview is you must always remember who your audience is.  If you are interviewing for a job in the financial sector they are going to be looking for one key quality; a person who can perform complex tasks in an extremely accurate manner and under immense pressure. They are not going looking for some one who is anything other than extremely intense and focused. So be relaxed in the interview but make sure that you project you are all business and you can be trusted with systems that support millions of dollars worth of transactions.

Never turn down an interview, even if the job doesn’t exactly fit your requirements.  It is an opportunity to get another interview under your belt and will help lessen your nerves the next time. You never know, they may be looking for a person to fit another position you may be interested in.

Stay Involved
Finding a job can take weeks or even months. It is important that you stay up to date on your industry Read your trade publications; keep up to date on technology websites.  Go to a few sales seminars for the latest in operating systems or hardware. Since you have the free time, go to a local technology conference.  Personally, I feel if you aren’t as busy or busier when you are unemployed as when you were employed, you are not trying hard enough and you aren’t exploring all of your angles. I hope this helps someone out.  Remember keep your head up, this is just temporary.
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About the Author
Blake Wiedman has been in the technology industry for 10 years. Serving in the United States Air force and working as a security assessor for the banking and financial industry. Blake is currently working as the Head of Technology Infrastructure for a financial firm.
You can contact Blake at: gso.gsecur@gmail.com