Because of the current economic climate our publication has started a series of discussions with professional individuals meant to engage our readers with relevant companies and their representatives in order to discuss about their involvement, what challenges they have had in the past and what they are looking forward to in the future. This sequence aims to present a series of experiences, recent developments, changes and downsides in terms of their business areas, as well as their goals, values, career history, the high-impact success outcomes and achievements.
Eve Featherstone is a Senior Cybersecurity Recruitment Consultant at Woodrow Mercer’s Technology which is a hive of niche, focussed and technical savvy consultants who have embedded themselves in their respective markets. Whether that be software specific or developer relative, all of our consultants work with businesses and candidates alike.
More about Woodrow Mercer Technology and Eve’s experience can be found below:
Tell us more about your role in Woodrow Mercer Technology?
My role is a senior recruitment consultant, I joined in 2019 to grow Woodrow Mercer Technology – Cybersecurity division across North America. I focus my time on developing partnerships with Cybersecurity vendors and support job seekers within this field find their next adventure.
I cover all areas of Cybersecurity including; Cloud, Network, Endpoint, Security Ops & Incident Response, and a whole lot more. My specialist role is Sales (Enterprise, Mid-Market, New business, Account Management, Channel, Partner, Pre-sales, Customer Success), however I also recruit for Marketing, Technical and Leadership.
What is the most difficult part of your job? But the most rewarding one?
I love my job, I am filled with satisfaction helping my clients hire great people that enables them to grow their business, and candidates develop their careers. I like the thought of making a difference in the world, one job at a time. Woodrow Mercer is a great place to work, you feel empowered to be a true specialist in your area, supported by the best recruiters and leadership I have had the pleasure of working with.
I am also the Founder of Security social – a regular podcast and video series aimed at all professionals working within the Cybersecurity industry, whether you are just starting your career, or an experienced CISO, our community is for you. I bring the brightest minds from the industry together to discuss the latest news and trends, offer valuable insights, and have a few laughs along the way too. I have been very fortunate to work with the most amazing people within the Cybersecurity industry from Heads of Talent through to Chiefs and board members.
The most difficult part of my role is that my product (people) can choose not to be sold, so there can be a lot of unpredictability and often feels like a roller-coaster, with huge highs and some lows. The biggest challenge I faced was this year, when there was so much uncertainty at the beginning of the pandemic, a lot of businesses made choices to reduce workforce, put hires on hold, which resulted in many being left without work and not many options to find new employment. I found myself speaking with many people who through no fault of their own were unemployed, and I couldn’t help everyone. With this being said, the rewards outweigh any of the struggles and I definitely see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Is there anything that you would change about your professional path?
I actually studied Accountancy and finance at University and soon realised when stepping into the working world it was not for me – mostly boring!
I somewhat fell into Technology recruitment, however it was the best career decision to date. Technology enables the world to go round, without realising it technology is everywhere. In particular, Cybersecurity has enabled us to fight the virtual war with cybercriminals and keep us safe.
If I could do my career again, I would like to have studied computer science and started in technology a lot sooner, however I am very grateful for the path I have taken and I look forward to the next 10 years.
What’s your key strategy for the development of your company?
We understand that is only through the quality of our relationships with people that we’ll continue to be successful. So, we’re motivated by maintaining these close bonds and offering a service that makes a genuine difference to their lives. If we can be considered as full recruitment partners, then it will uphold the value of our service and ultimately make it easier for us to sell to more customers in the future.
Anyone who expects to be successful without taking the time to properly listen and learn from their customers will never reached the heights that they were hoping for. So, we use a lot of these key principles to grow our company.
What do you think about the next period of time, keeping in mind the pandemic and the new business climate? How will your industry be affected?
COVID-19 has presented many challenges to businesses, forcing a shift from office-based working to remote/home-based working.
Criminals are using this time to take advantage and exploit individuals who are in front of their screens more than ever before. Utilizing email, text messaging, and orchestrating even more advanced attacks, whilst people reside at home. For example, Cybercrime is the Mafia’s current main route to market and according to a recent study by Proofpoint, 4/5 of all scam emails are using COVID-19 related lures. There are dozens of new email scams launching each day. Further to this, Phishing attacks have risen over 600% since the end of February 2020.
Evidence that remote working will lead to new ways of doing business is already being seen with the increased usage of platforms like Zoom Call and Microsoft Teams. Alongside this uptick in usage and innovation. There are new cybersecurity issues and challenges. As a consequence, our CISO’s are re-thinking their risk assessment plan and ensuring their organizations are adequately protected for these new challenges.
Now we are adjusting to our “new normal”, I have already seen 70% of my clients who supply cybersecurity software solutions have an increase in demand, which in turn has resulted in them needed to hire more employees. I am just as busy, if not busier than I was before the pandemic, and I suspect it will not be slowing down as we move into 2021.
What books do you have on your nightstand?
I am more of an audible listener than a reader, I recently listened to The Talent War: How Special Operations and Great Organizations Win on Talent by George Randle and Mike Sarraille and instantly ordered the paperback. It really is the bible for any leader/talent professional looking to build elite teams!
I also listen to ‘Nothing much happens’ by Kathryn Nicolai – a great set of short stories to listen to before bed to help me switch off from my very busy worklife, working Globally means I never turn my emails/phone off, so this is great way to unwind for the day and think about something other than work.
