Recruiter Advice: The Perks of (Not) Being A Wallflower: 4 Networking Tips

I decided to write this article after a number of people had mentioned they would find it interesting.

If you find it interesting then let me know and I’ll write more like this – you can reach out to me on LinkedIn via https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-riley-7380875a/ or Twitter via @JayR_ARMCyber.

As a recruiter, I choose to go to a lot of events and meetups.

I love meeting people I talk with on LinkedIn and I think with the ease of technology it can be so easy to never actually meet anyone you're working with - so it’s good to maintain that human element.

I also bloody love talking to people who are equally as passionate as I am.

But I have a confession - If you've met me, you probably haven't realised, but I'm actually quite a shy and reserved person deep down.

I'm just as happy sitting on my own quietly all day as I am going out for a night out for drinks. My hobbies out of work are things like reading, creative writing, playing guitar...not massively social activities.

The technical term for me is Extroverted Introvert apparently!

Something a lot of people asked me about when I first started this blog was about networking tips – and I wasn’t really sure what advice I could give at first.

Despite being relatively shy, I found a lot of things about networking come naturally to me - I'm friendly and like to think I'm approachable.

But there's still things I had to learn – I vividly recall my very first networking event about 7 years ago. It was a networking event for young professionals and I went there to represent the business I was working for at the time. We were all given different colour badges and put into groups, we then got forced to talk to only people that had the same colour badge.

Yes, it was as painful as it sounds.

I ended up speaking to an accountant and a graphic designer, neither of which were relevant to the business I was representing - but I found that I had some decent conversations and it took me out of my comfort zone.

At that time I vowed that in future I would make sure I was totally prepared and make the most of any networking opportunities.

I think the power of networking can never be underestimated especially in this industry and especially when you’re trying to get your foot in the door. One conversation with the right person could literally change your career/life!

One time, I invited a chap with me to BSides London.. He had a good IT background and was studying his OSCP and looking to break into pentesting. We walked around together and went to a few talks. We parted ways at this point and unfortunately didn’t get to see him for the rest of the day. I figured maybe he had gone home – but he did text me saying he’d had a great time and there was something he wanted to tell me.

I called him the next day and he told me he had been sitting in the breakout area having a drink, when he’d overheard a conversation between two people which had piqued his interest.

He’d gotten talking to them and turned out ran a company – suffice to say he’d impressed them so much they offered him an interview. Several weeks later he’d been successful and had begun his pentesting career!

So as I say – you never know what can happen. As a shy person I have to psyche myself up sometimes as social events can be overwhelming but with preparation and a positive mindset it’s become a lot easier over time.

So here's some tips I picked up which I wanted to share - I hope you find them useful;

1. Choose Your Event Wisely & Let People Know You Will Be There

When you’re starting out you might notice a lot of IT related meetups – especially in London and Manchester - so depending on what you are interested in it can be a bit overwhelming.

If you make the wrong choice you might end up at a Cryptocurrency event for example 😉

There’s a ton of great meetups that take place monthly that are free to attend, so you may want to start at these smaller more intimate events before heading out to the bigger paid events.

There’s loads of great meetups I could name, but a good one (I am probably biased as it’s pentesting focused) would be DC4420.

It’s a monthly pentesting gathering in the Phoenix Pub in Cavendish Square, where a couple of talks are given and folks get the chance to interact with all kinds of security professionals in a casual environment.

It’s very much a 'leave your certifications and seniority at the door' and I've found it to be a welcoming and vibrant environment where you can have conversations with people that have been in the cyber industry for a long time – as well as newcomers that you can exchange ideas with.

Once you’ve been to a few local events you might want to get a ticket to something like BSides which I’ve found to be one of the best Pentesting meetups.

There’s lots more that are equally as good, don’t get me wrong (SteelCon in Sheffield is my current fave), but BSides events take place throughout the year and are geographic, ranging from London to Cheltenham to Edinburgh to Newcastle, and many more.

These events aren’t your typical conference/trade show where everyone is trying to sell you something – they act as a chance for Security professionals to gather and give interesting and insightful talks around their research, as well as newcomers taking to the stage for the first time on the Rookie Tracks.

Going to an event like this gives you the chance to have meaningful conversations with people who actually work for some big players in the pentesting world and get some honest advice on how to progress/begin your career.

2. Make sure you research any speakers

I think this is something that goes a little overlooked, but it’s something I always like to do – if there’s someone interesting speaking then I like to send them a LinkedIn connection and give them a heads-up that I’ll be there.

Hopefully that means I might be able to grab 5 minutes with them after the talk and pick their brains a little bit for further knowledge. Not everyone will be up for this but sometimes – especially at smaller events – it can be a good opportunity to learn something new or ask a burning question.

Additionally, if there’s an opportunity for Q&A at the event, by looking up the speakers previous works/history, then it gives you the chance to ask an informed question and get a good response.

3. Take A Friend Or Colleague

I once read about a group for music festival goers who were going solo that could meet up with other people so they weren’t alone.

InfoSec Hoppers up in Manchester are a similar community where you can attend meetups/events as a group and I’ve toyed with doing something similar down South, as I think it’s a fantastic idea.

Going to events on your own can be daunting (speaking from experience as I do it a lot).

If you can't find a friend/colleague to go sometimes, it can take a simple LinkedIn post saying “Hey I’m going to be at X event – if anyone in my network is about be great to chat”, and you could very quickly find out that someone else in your network could also be attending

You just got yourself a buddy!

I do this quite a lot and I’ve met some really great folks whom I would consider friends through this. It’s especially helpful if you’re not the type of person that likes trying to insert themselves into conversations during the networking portion of an event, so it can be good to reach out to a few people before hand and then arrange to say hi to them there.

4. Follow Up

If there was anyone you met that you found interesting then make sure to send them a LinkedIn connection after the event and stay in touch – you may have found yourself a future 'event buddy' or that person might know of other events they can later invite you to later.

As you progress you’ll very likely encounter the same people – especially at a BSides event – so the more people you keep in touch with, the more confidence you will get to attend meetups in the future.

And hey, you never know, one of those people may remember you and introduce you to your future employer!

I hope you enjoyed reading this – if you ever see me at an event/meet-up/conference then feel free to say hi!