About me on my first real job: baffle the interviewer and you may win - thank you SC!

I will start off with a warning again which is in part one (paragraph one) as well. Young folk, if you are reading this, do not go into a job interview talking like this article.

College which was lasted two years finished in May or June 2004 with me getting a double pass. What was the next problem? I was not 18 yet! Luckily, I had a Saturday job or a spare time job to keep me occupied. After a few months of semi-relaxation, the job hunt began after writing a CV.

In those days physical agencies were plentiful and it was time to print off CVs, and drop them around. I went to a local large high street and tried a few agencies on shop level or above the shops. A lot of the agencies were generic with non-IT jobs and just one had two jobs going.

One: stores support which was first line assisting stores on application and account issues. Two: security administration which was kind of second line (in those early days being second line was like being upper class!). The latter job was the one I applied for.

Being out of college I had few formal clothes since they were not needed. My mother and I bought some interview clothes. An interview was arranged which was my first real interview. Then and to this day I don’t really fear interviews since I am talkative.

Who is SC you may wonder? That was the initials of my first manager. It was the interview day and I dressed up. I arrived, met SC at the start and end, and spent most of the time with a woman called Marion. When people ask me how long your interview lasted, they are shocked by the time taken which is often double the average.

How come? I ask a billion questions about the company, the interviewer(s), role, technology and top management. So much so I baffle the person interviewing me with various tech terms and tools. Marion who was kind of interviewing me and showing me the job was not brought up in IT. Well, no one was in 2004. The barrage of questions demonstrates two things. 1. Knowledge. 2. Interest.

Needless to say, I got the job offer quickly and started within a week or two, then I quit my fruit shop job. Before starting the job, I bought a bunch of new shirts and formal trousers since they were not needed for the fruit shop. This job was my introduction into cyber security not that the word barely existed in 2004. Even before this job I used to mess around with software firewalls and antivirus.

What was the job? Security administration which was a mix of account administration, access control, filtering and security thrown in. The main tool was Active Directory Users and Computers alongside: a mainframe, web filter, email filter, custom scripts, ticketing system and numerous in-house products. In about six months I mastered everything and even before that started I used to write documentation showing new recruits how to do everything.

The conclusion of part three? Hard work gets you up in the world of work! Quickly I became well known and loved for my knowledge + speed. It was my passion to clear the ticket queue and send a success screenshot to all by email.

End of part three! On to more exotic destinations next.