Blake Williams’ Post

NEW PODCAST with Ayman Elsawah ☕👋🏼: When, Why, & How to Become a Fractional CISO - Imperial Security Bureau Podcast 10 Ayman Elsawah is a Fractional CISO (vCISO) for Cloud Security Labs. They specialize in providing CISO services to Start-Ups and Scale-Ups. After graduating with a Computer Science degree, his career progressed from Network Engineer to Cybersecurity Engineer to Cybersecurity Architect to Cloud Cybersecurity Consultant to Fractional CISO. He now provides coaching services, advisory services, and authors books and instructional courses online. GUEST: Ayman Elsawah - Fractional CISO at Cloud Security Labs Ayman's LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/eH8CbQyW Ayman's Website: https://lnkd.in/ep9v4bhk Ayman's Fractional CISO Course: https://lnkd.in/eAH5aEHN Timestamps: 2:25 - Favorite Movie & Music 4:45 - Coffee 8:17 - Ayman's Book & Podcast 9:22 - What He's Learned from Podcasting 11:52 - Top 5 Ways to Break into Cybersecurity 13:42 - How Ayman Landed in Cybersecurity 15:30 - Becoming Fractional 17:44 - Should You Go Fractional? 23:34 - Best Parts of Being Fractional 30:59 - Why Fractional is Becoming so Popular 40:26 - Social Selling 43:10 - BD Strategies for Landing Fractional Clients 45:34 - What's Happening in Cyber? 47:19 - Can Cyber Issues Be Solved with Hiring? 49:24 - Opportunities for American Workers 50:16 - What's Up with Ghost Job Postings? 54:41 - What He Does For Fun FOR JOB SEEKERS: I offer a 45 minute consultation for $250 that includes a resume & LinkedIn profile review, career positioning & job search advice, and elevator pitch refinement. Afterward the meeting you'll receive an updated resume in word and PDF format, directions on updating your LinkedIn profile section by section, and a custom LinkedIn banner to upload. Use this calendar link to schedule a consultation: https://lnkd.in/ed2K9jmV FOR HIRING MANAGERS: I'm actively seeking new job orders to work on. If you need recruiting support, schedule an intake meeting using this calendar link: https://lnkd.in/ewWttFcZ New Job Order Search Request Form: https://lnkd.in/e756wJwr

We've shifted from the War for Labor to the War on Labor. US Workers are being impacted on 3 fronts: AI, Offshore/Nearshore, and Diminished Capital Spending. The stats from Thomas Mirc are pretty shocking...

NEW PODCAST with Thomas Mirc: Impacts of AI, Diminished ROI on Software & Future Employment Opportunities within Energy & Datacenter Infrastructure - Imperial Security Bureau Podcast 9 Tom Mirc is the Managing Director - Principal of Shadow Hornet, a strategy consulting firm and your secret weapon in Due Diligence, Scaling, and Nearshore Site Expansion/Selection. Tom has led the firm to 226% top-line average growth (24 month), senior minority interest in FractionalTalent, eclipsing $1M in revenue growth, non-voting interest in 3 portcos. He serves as primary bridge between capital owners and portfolio company leadership. Infusing portcos with AI, nearshoring capability, and EBTIDA recovery as valuation multipliers. He focuses on lower mid-market PE focal verticals: Telecommunications, Energy, Electric Utilities, Financial Services, FinTech, and Technology Services. He's lead 11 business acquisitions and integrations from both the buy and sell side. A large portion of his career has involved turning around non-performing teams, transforming business cultures from pessimistic to energized, and achieving improbable goals in the process. He's led product development/R&D launches and go-to-market campaigns for $330m businesses Tom Mirc's LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/gP4ffpsv Shadow Hornet Consulting Website: https://lnkd.in/g2aGtXVU Timestamps: 5:04 - Tom's Story 10:32 - Current Market Conditions & Statistics 18:08 - 3 Fronts (Offshore, Nearshore, and AI) 25:09 - Growing Energy Production Industry 27:38 - ThorCon - Modular Molten Salt Reactors 29:51 - Where Will the Opportunities Be for American Workers 34:06 - Erosion of Trust in Employers 35:57 - Job Security in Cybersecurity? 38:08 - Reductions in IT Spending (Primarily Software) 41:11 - Tom's Experience as a White House Advisor 42:45 - Leave the World Behind Movie 43:49 - Moore County Power Grid Incident 45:25 - Opportunities in Solving the Feeble Power Grid 47:14 - One Second After Book FOR JOB SEEKERS: I offer a 45 minute consultation for $250 that includes a resume & LinkedIn profile review, career positioning & job search advice, and elevator pitch refinement. Afterward the meeting you'll receive an updated resume in word and PDF format, directions on updating your LinkedIn profile section by section, and a custom LinkedIn banner to upload. Use this calendar link to schedule a consultation: https://lnkd.in/ed2K9jmV FOR HIRING MANAGERS: I'm actively seeking new job orders to work on. If you need recruiting support, fill out a New Job Order Search Request Form: https://lnkd.in/e756wJwr I'll review and get back to you ASAP if it's something I can help with.

NEW PODCAST with Ivan Fonseca - Incident Response Consultant at Google Ivan is working within the Mandiant Security team for Google Cloud. He is a talented Cybersecurity Engineer with 3 years of experience in threat detection, AI security automation, and cloud infrastructure. Prior to joining Google, he served as a Cybersecurity Researcher for Threatlocker and Cloud Engineer for Burgess. Timestamps: 3:26 - How Ivan Landed in Cybersecurity 6:51 - How Ivan Landed at Google 9:07 - Importance of Showcasing Work on Social Media 12:23 - His New Role at Google 13:24 - Shoutouts to his Mentors 14:37 - Automap Tool (for Nmap Scanning) 18:47 - Ivan's Favorite Cybersecurity Tools 24:41 - Ivan's Primary Sources of Threat Intel 28:23 - Living off the Land Binaries 34:44 - AI Concerns 41:26 - Ivan's Advice for Entry Level Cybersecurity Job Seekers 48:04 - Gaming 51:06 - The Acolyte & Star Wars chat FOR JOB SEEKERS: I offer a 45 minute consultation for $250 which includes a resume & LinkedIn profile review, career positioning & job search advice, and elevator pitch refinement. Afterward the meeting you'll receive an updated resume in word and PDF format, directions on updating your LinkedIn profile section by section, and a custom LinkedIn banner to upload. Use this calendar link to schedule a consultation: https://lnkd.in/ed2K9jmV FOR HIRING MANAGERS: I'm actively seeking new job orders to work on. If you need recruiting support, schedule an intake meeting using this calendar link: https://lnkd.in/ewWttFcZ Or skip the meeting and fill out a New Job Order Search Request Form: https://lnkd.in/e245GVGX I'll review and get back to you ASAP if it's something I can help with. Watch on YouTube or Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eYfF97-R

Flashback to Sept 2023 in Hawaii. I'm walking on stage to accept a Founders Club award at Jobot for billing $1,032,000 in 2022. Sadly, last week was my last week at Jobot. Let me start by saying I'll always be grateful for the EPIC experience I had there. It was an amazing ride with a ton of incredible people. No hard feelings at all. So what happened? Well, my billing numbers fell off a cliff. 2018: $168,000 2019: $480,400 2020: $373,200 2021: $374,200 2022: $1,032,000 2023: $426,100 So far in 2024 I've only billed $28k 📉 Why? Here are all the possible reasons I can think of... - Down tech market? - Layoffs? - Burn out? - Resentment over changes in company policy? - Lost motivation? - Spent too much time posting content? - Regime changes at big customers? - Ineffective email sequences/campaigns? - Not enough cold calls? - Too stubborn to pivot industries? - Req snobbery? - Senioritis? - Negative mindset? - Poisoned by doom scrolling? - Fear of a pending AI takeover? - Self sabotage? I think it was a mix of all the above. TMI? Maybe, but I don't think I'm the only one suffering from these ailments. Thousands of recruiters are experiencing these. Strangely enough, I saw this day coming a year ago. I felt it. I kinda knew it was coming. But is that why it happened? Not sure, but I'm at peace with it and looking forward to a new chapter. A fresh start. A new challenge. So what's next? I'm exploring a number of options. For now, the Imperial Security Bureau Podcast will live on. There are several more interviews lined up. 🤘 Now that I'm a free agent, let me know if I can be of service. Stay tuned for the next adventure! #opentowork

I recently had the opportunity to learn how Lance James is using AI in his recruiting process and was blown away. It was interesting to hear how he trained their AI on his company's data, helping him identify top candidates without any human bias. While AI won't be making hiring decisions on its own, it's clear that it will play a significant role in helping us determine the "shortlist". I'm curious to hear from others: - What emerging AI tools have you been impressed by? - Dear candidates: Have you already had a phone/video screen with an AI bot? How did you feel about it? FOR JOB SEEKERS: I offer a 45 minute consultation for $250 which includes a resume & LinkedIn profile review, career positioning & job search advice, and elevator pitch refinement. Afterward the meeting you'll receive an updated resume in word and PDF format, directions on updating your LinkedIn profile section by section, and a custom LinkedIn banner to upload. Use this calendar link to schedule a consultation: https://lnkd.in/ed2K9jmV FOR HIRING MANAGERS: I'm actively seeking new job orders to work on. If you need recruiting support, fill out a New Job Order Search Request Form: https://lnkd.in/e756wJwr I'll review and get back to you ASAP if it's something I can help with.

NEW PODCAST with Lance James - CEO of Unit 221B Lance is an internationally renowned cybersecurity specialist with 25 years of experience in programming, network security, digital forensics, malware research, cryptography design, cryptanalysis, counterintelligence, protocol exploitation, and executive leadership. Credited with the identification of Zeus and other malware, James is an active contributor to the evolution of security practices and counterintelligence tactics and strategies. Over the years, he has championed several FBI-led takedown operations of criminal organizations through his strategic alliances with industry, academia, and law enforcement. Lance is regularly sought out as a keynote speaker worldwide, has been a frequent commentator on MSNBC, was featured on an episode of USA Network's hit television series "Mr. Robot," and recently delivered a powerful Ted Talk on "How Attackers Can Use Your Brain Against You in Psy-Ops." Timestamps: 2:12 - Lance's Favorite Movies & Music 6:00 - Red Team vs Blue Team AF 11:19 - How Lance got into Cybersecurity 21:29 - Spinscore.io - Free Tool to Detect Spin & Bias in News & Content 24:44 - The Story Behind Unit 221B 31:50 - Confidence & Strong Mental Game 44:05 - The Dear Son Hack for Writing Content 44:45 - The Art of Communicating Book & Writing a Yearly Letter to Yourself 48:36 - How Lance is Using AI for Recruiting 58:18 - Approach to Writing Rejection Letters with Compassion FOR JOB SEEKERS: I offer a 45 minute consultation for $250 which includes a resume & LinkedIn profile review, career positioning & job search advice, and elevator pitch refinement. Afterward the meeting you'll receive an updated resume in word and PDF format, directions on updating your LinkedIn profile section by section, and a custom LinkedIn banner to upload. Use this calendar link to schedule a consultation: https://lnkd.in/ed2K9jmV FOR HIRING MANAGERS: I'm actively seeking new job orders to work on. If you need recruiting support, schedule an intake meeting using this calendar link: https://lnkd.in/ewWttFcZ Or skip the meeting and fill out a New Job Order Search Request Form: https://lnkd.in/e245GVGX I'll review and get back to you ASAP if it's something I can help with.

You're "over-qualified" for the job. You're "too senior". You're "too seasoned" If you're hearing this a lot, listen up. Ageism is a real thing. I hate it, but I witness it happening. No one will say it outright. It's always disguised as something else. They're "over-qualified" or not a "culture fit" They fear you're too set in your ways and not coachable. You've seen too much and will not be agreeable enough to company mandates. In general, companies tend to gravitate towards candidates in the 5-15 years of experience window. I'm running into candidates that have completely removed their experience older than 15 years from their resume and LinkedIn profile. Like it never even happened. Gone and never to be spoken about again. Sadly, this approach might help you land more interviews. Especially if your resume scrolls all the way back into the 90s. Think about it over the long weekend and consider testing it next week. Let us know in the comments if it worked. Has anyone else tried this and seen better results? ------------------------ FOR JOB SEEKERS: I offer a 45 minute consultation for $250 which includes a resume & LinkedIn profile review, career positioning & job search advice, and elevator pitch refinement. Afterward the meeting you'll receive an updated resume in word and PDF format, directions on updating your LinkedIn profile section by section, and a custom LinkedIn banner to upload. Use this calendar link to schedule a consultation: https://lnkd.in/ed2K9jmV FOR HIRING MANAGERS: I'm actively seeking new job orders to work on. If you need recruiting support, fill out a New Job Order Search Request Form: https://lnkd.in/e756wJwr I'll review and get back to you ASAP if it's something I can help with.

Tech companies always seem to want a "hands on player coach" dev manager. Most candidates I speak with find fault in this... They ask me, "are they looking for a manager or a developer?" Regardless, companies will typically put dev managers through technical interviews just like developers. Even with Director or VP level roles. They still expect those tech leaders to be "hands on player coaches". Richard Ford is an anomaly. He's a CTO who still writes code. ***He's also available right now if you need a talented CTO*** Richard does a great job of explaining why it's valuable to have hands on player coaches in tech leadership roles. Elon Musk was quoted saying ”I strongly believe that all managers in a technical area must be technically excellent. Managers in software must write great software or it’s like being a cavalry captain who can’t ride a horse!” That makes sense to me. But when you ask dev managers/directors/VPs "when was the last time you wrote a line of code?" most will admit it's been a few years. That question eliminates the lion share of candidates from consideration. But talented hands on player coaches like Richard are out there. Whenever I place a highly sought after hands on player coach, I always stay in touch. They often need to hire more people for their new team. After a few months on the job, I'll ask them, "So, how much of your day-to-day is coding?" Most will say "oh, none, this job is 140% management". I think to myself, why did they need to hire a hands on player coach then? Aside from that, I've witnessed dozens of senior developers get promoted into dev manager roles and end up bowing out after 6-9 months. Sometimes they don't realize they're signing up to be in back-to-back meetings all day with no time for coding. Dear Dev Managers: Are you still hands on? Whenever you hire a hands on player coach, do they have time to actually be hands on? In reality, would a talented people manager with software engineering in their background be just as good? AI writes most of the code these days anyways, right? Where do you stand on this debate? #handsonplayercoach #playercoach #devmanager #appdevmanager ---------------- FOR JOB SEEKERS: I offer a 45 minute consultation for $250 which includes a resume & LinkedIn profile review, career positioning & job search advice, and elevator pitch refinement. Afterward the meeting you'll receive an updated resume in word and PDF format, directions on updating your LinkedIn profile section by section, and a custom LinkedIn banner to upload. Use this calendar link to schedule a consultation: https://lnkd.in/ed2K9jmV FOR HIRING MANAGERS: I'm actively seeking new job orders to work on. If you need recruiting support, fill out a New Job Order Search Request Form: https://lnkd.in/e756wJwr I'll review and get back to you ASAP if it's something I can help with.