TRU tips Volume 3: 2017–2018
INTRODUCTION TRU celebrates nine years in business at the end of 2018. In that span of nearly a decade, the organization has undoubtedly experienced its greatest evolution and growth over the last two years. In the preface to TRU Tips: Volume 2, which covered the years 2015 and 2016, we highlighted our pivot into being dualdisciplined in e-discovery and cybersecurity representation. Just two years later, we are proud to now represent the privacy community as well, making TRU a three-pronged one stop shop for staffing and career management in cybersecurity, e-discovery, and privacy! In this third volume of TRU Tips, which serves as a compendium for January 2017 to December 2018, the diversification and specialization of TRU’s expertise reflects a greater legal industry trend toward career expansionism. Ushered in by The Cambridge Analytica/Facebook scandal in America and cemented by the May 25, 2018 GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) legislation deadline in Europe, privacy has instantly gone from a niche area of discipline to a socially understood and valued commodity that is creating jobs, if not careers, for thousands of legal and legal technology professionals. TRU is committed to representing the careers of passionate, experienced, certified professionals in privacy as well as the opportunities in the market that seek them. Privacy is inseparably intertwined with security, and jobs in both sectors these last two years have been abundant. Many professionals in tertiary disciplines, whether they are practicing attorneys or programming technologists, have
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begun or are completing their professional pivot towards these more lucrative and voluminous job sectors, creating a greater saturation of talent in a once unfillable segment. This focus on interdisciplinary cross-pollination, specifically in security, privacy, and discovery, has led to an increased awareness and emphasis on education and certification. Over the last two years, TRU has become a beacon for clarity and exposure on certifications in our industries. Our CEO writes a monthly column in Legaltech News about industry accreditations, and TRU’s Scholarship Program, now in its eighth year, has given away over a hundred thousand dollars in free training and certification to date. Finally, TRU’s prediction in 2016 that e-discovery technology staffing would be shifting towards a contract-centric ecosystem has been undeniably accurate. Since 2016, TRU has seen a rapid increase in the amount of contract or contractto-hire opportunities available in the job market. In an effort to end employee burn-out, increase retention, scale instantly, and elevate service capabilities, law firms, corporations, consulting firms, and service providers are turning to “surge staffing” as a solution to solve their complex and ever-changing talent needs. This, along with the dynamic focus on new skills and certifications, is reflected throughout our TRU Tips for the years 2017 and 2018. We hope you enjoy this compilation of our weekly Tips and Top 3! As always, we aim to serve as a career inspiration and market intelligence resource for all the professionals and organizations we have the great honor to represent.
- Jared & Team TRU 5
January 6, 2017
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CSOonline.com reports that unfilled cybersecurity jobs will reach 1.5 million by 2019. In 2016, analysts and the media concluded there is a severe shortage of cybersecurity talent globally. There were 1 million cybersecurity job openings in 2016, and that is expected to reach 1.5 million by 2019. As a result, the cybersecurity unemployment rate has dropped to zero percent. Courtesy of Reports CSOonline.com
TOP 3 Reasons To Transition Your Career From e-Discovery To Cybersecurity in 2017 •
The highest paying jobs in the market right now are for people who have dual disciplines in both verticals, especially for in-house positions in the Fortune 1000 who focus on policy and strategic consultation.
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The highest demand and lowest supply of talent in the world right now, for any industry, is cybersecurity, leading to tremendous job security and financial incentives.
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There are unique overlaps between e-discovery and cybersecurity skills, particularly in Incident Response and Forensic collection, that make transitioning plausible and desirable to future employers.
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January 11, 2017
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Legaltech New York sets the tone and pace of growth for most service providers in the industry heading into 2017.
TOP 3 Areas Of Focus For Law Firm Litigation Support Departments In 2017 •
Improving service delivery, specifically customer service
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Deepening consultative capabilities, specifically in collections, security, and governance
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Reducing risk and driving compliance initiatives
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January 18, 2017
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LinkedIn’s CEO Jeff Weiner believes that the ideal employee should fit into the overlap of three areas: “dreaming big, knowing how to have fun, and getting s--- done.”
TOP 3 Ways To Prepare For Attending Legaltech New York •
Networking: Who are the people you must meet at the event? Have you scheduled meetings?
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Learning: What content do you want to absorb at the conference? Are you attending paid sessions? Have you explored the many free sessions available around the event?
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Demos: What new technology or offerings do you want to see demonstrated? Most vendors give demos all day long in suites at the Hilton and surrounding hotels. Reach out to your vendors today to request a demo!
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January 25, 2017
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According to a recent study, ACEDS found that more than one-third of their certified professionals have over ten years of e-discovery industry experience!
TOP 3 Things You Will Learn At Our State Of The Industry Event •
A full history of e-discovery staffing trends including hiring metrics for geography, remote hiring, relocations, contract versus direct hire ratios, base compensation ranges, variance in hiring levels, and more
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How you can (and should) begin to transition your career from e-discovery to cybersecurity
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Wild and compelling statistics about data breach accelerations, corporate thoughts about security, salaries for cybersecurity professionals, and the scope of data proliferation in the cloud
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February 8, 2017
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Cybersecurity providers would be wise to get into the legal market now, before e-discovery providers begin to build cybersecurity departments of their own.
TOP 3 Takeaways From LTNY 2017 •
Ghost Town: The extreme vendor consolidation was evident on the vendor floor with fewer booths than any of the last seven years since the recession. The reduced foot traffic on the vendor exhibit floor was eerily noticeable after the initial Tuesday morning rush, leading many to fear the future of what exhibiting means for driving revenue in the space. E-discovery vendors continued to dominate the floor, but there was a clear lack of energy from all exhibiting. The additional fee to enter the exhibit hall did not help matters.
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Cyber Who? Few if any cybersecurity exclusive service providers were in attendance at the conference despite the fact that cybersecurity was the most talked about topic in education sessions. As stated in this week’s tip, cyber vendors have a narrow window to overtake the legal market before legal specific vendors build practices to compete, namely in incident response and information governance.
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Suites are Sweet: The real deals and demonstrations at LTNY are being done in suites with greater intimacy and focus from the vendor community. LTNY seems to be turning towards more of an opportunity to have these kinds of meetings, regardless if you are buyer or seller. 15
February 16, 2017
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Sometimes bosses have to leave their jobs so that mentees can become bosses.
TOP 3 Skills That Will Be In High Demand In 2017 •
Office 365 skills: data import, export, migration, and collection
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Structured Data engineering
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Compliance frameworks and privacy statute policy creation and adherence
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February 22, 2017
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Stuxnet is the first known digital weapon used to physically destroy its targets. First identified in 2010, Stuxnet was responsible for causing damage to Iran’s Nuclear Program. The software erased itself in 2012.
TOP 3 Critical Infrastructure Cyber Terms To Know •
Zero day: This is a “hole” or vulnerability in your computer which allows someone to execute code on your computer without your knowledge. There is no fix for a zero day.
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SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) strings: SCADA is a technology that controls automation or robots seen often in critical infrastructure.
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PLC (programmable logic controllers): These are computer systems used for converting digital codes into physical commands used often in manufacturing, power grids, and centrifuges.
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March 2, 2017
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The base salary of Project Managers in e-discovery is quickly dropping.
TOP 3 Reasons Why Base Compensation For Project Managers In e-Discovery Is In Decline •
Vendor and law firm consolidation have created redundant roles.
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Supply is balanced with (if not exceeding) demand so salaries have declined, which is also why so many Project Managers are choosing the contract staffing career path.
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Industry price compression and commoditization have eaten away at vendor margins, thus talent must be hired at lower, more profitable rates.
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March 8, 2017
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Resistance to reinvent professionally with industry trends will only lead to disillusionment later in your career.
TOP 3 Areas Where An e-Discovery Professional Can Reinvent Themselves And Add Value To Their Career •
Information governance
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Incident response/data breach prevention and remediation
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Risk assessment and mitigation
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March 15, 2017
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If you are managing up to your boss, then your boss has time to mentor you. If your boss is managing you, they will likely have little time for mentorship.
TOP 3 Ways To Manage Up To Your Boss •
Organize reports of your activity and effort for your boss to review weekly. If your boss has to watch what you do daily they will likely be forced to micromanage.
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Use escalation as a “teachable moment” for your boss to mentor you in a high stakes incident. Escalation does not mean you exit the equation. Ride sidecar with your boss and get exposed to how they handle escalated situations.
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Set achievable quarterly goals for yourself, share them with your boss, and elicit feedback from your boss on whether you have achieved those goals. Then examine together how and why you did or did not meet your goals.
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March 22, 2017
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Forming good habits requires dedication and diligence, especially in the beginning.
TOP 3 Trends For Q1 Hiring In e-Discovery & Cybersecurity •
Clients are hiring faster and more frequently than they were in January and February and “pulling the trigger” on many jobs in the interview process from as early as November.
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Consulting firms continue to put a premium on federal employees with the technical and consultative skills to build and grow cybersecurity practices throughout the country.
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Law firms are showing particular interest in hiring contract e-discovery professionals to augment their staff for big projects, especially at the analyst level.
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March 29, 2017
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If you are on an interview and you want the employer to know you have done your homework on the company, your specificity indicates your sincerity.
TOP 3 Ways To Do Your Homework On A Company •
Online research
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Conversations with trusted confidantes
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Research stock/IPO status
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April 5, 2017
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The budget for the U.S. cybersecurity and counter intelligence efforts is separate and distinct from the U.S. defense budget, despite Cybersecurity being one of the top threats to U.S. defense.
TOP 3 Fun Facts You May Not Know About The FBI’s 2017 Budget Request • The FBI’s 2017 budget request proposes a total of $9.5 billion in direct budget authority to carry out the FBI’s national security, criminal law enforcement, and criminal justice services missions. • The request includes a total of $8.7 billion for salaries and expenses, which will support 34,768 positions (12,892 special agents, 2,999 intelligence analysts, and 18,877 professional staff ). • The request also includes $783.5 million for construction.
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April 14, 2017
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If you have voluntarily left your current position or have been let go during an active job search, it is critical that you update your resume and be transparent that you are no longer employed. Failure to do so may put your honesty into question and cost you the job.
TOP 3 Differences Between Private Equity and Venture Capital Investments •
Private Equity usually owns 100 percent of a company while Venture Capital usually owns pieces.
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Private Equity usually buys mature companies then streamlines efficiency and operations to be more profitable. Venture Capital usually invests in new emerging companies where founders are still involved in operations and growth.
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Private Equity firms use both cash and debt in their investment, but Venture Capital firms deal with equity only.
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April 19, 2017
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When asking a question at an interview, always start with a statement first. For example, “I am very much looking for a place where I can spend the next ten years. Can you tell me a little bit about the growth potential in this role and what other professionals hired at this level have done to accelerate their growth within the company over time?”
TOP 3 Takeaways From A Recent Trip To San Francisco •
The Bay Area is full of talent but not full of opportunity. Much of the hiring in the Bay Area is insular and relationship-based; other times it is on contract. Large corporate employers have an easier time bringing on temporary talent than full-time hires.
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Local ESI vendors have become big shops. Much of the local vendorship in e-discovery in the Bay Area has consolidated, with Inventus and Fronteo leading the charge. Discovia remains a ripe and wellknown local player. Consulting firms all have a presence in this area, but none really seem to have a dominance.
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Still the land of engineers. The roles that remain in abundance in Silicon Valley are for engineers. Many e-discovery, data analytics, and cybersecurity software companies call this area home. They are constantly cycling talent in and out at the development level. 35
April 26, 2017
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More and more, clients are requesting phone interviews before an inperson interview on most job searches.
TOP 3 Qualities That Make A Great Consultant •
Being a relationship builder who is able to ask for and get business
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Staying on the cutting edge of innovation and technology; knowing what all the options could be
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Ability to influence the decisions of others
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May 3, 2017
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The yearning of sales talent to sell services and offerings beyond the highly commoditized ESI play coupled with the rapid consolidation of vendors has caused the beginning of an exodus of business development talent from the e-discovery industry.
TOP 3 Things Motivating ESI Sales Professionals To Move Companies •
A client-focused culture where deals are made by solving clients’ issues, not forcing a packaged solution
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Breadth of services (beyond pure ESI) that sales reps can rely on and really believe in
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The right monetary incentives, both in base and variable compensation
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May 11, 2017
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There has been a significant uptick in law firms adding e-discovery staff this month.
TOP 3 Hottest Markets For ESI Work Right Now •
California: When it’s hot—it’s hot! When it’s not—it’s not. But right now, there is a surge of project management and analyst level work in LA and SF. This won’t last long if history repeats itself, so those curious about making a move professionally in California would be wise to explore the market when it’s hot.
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Chicago: Chicago remains a hotbed of opportunity with more vendors growing their operations there than anywhere else in the last three years.
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Europe: London and Germany are hiring at 22 percent growth rate for ESI talent right now and supplies are limited! If you have dual EU/ US citizenship—you are a hot commodity for relocation!
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May 17, 2017
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If you are in the cybersecurity vertical, having active security clearances in place gives you a leg-up on your competition as government contracts expand and begin to engulf the attention of the private sector.
TOP 3 Hottest Markets For ESI Work •
Cybersecurity Engineers: There is such a dearth of engineers compared to the demand that companies are offering relocation, sign-on, equity, and more for talent that fits their culture and skill needs.
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Incident Responders: There is such a shortage of this talent that some clients are training graduates of law school on technology to make them adept at IR.
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CISOs: While demand has waned in recent years, leadership is still in high demand both in corporations and service providers/ consultancies; law firms, not so much.
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May 25, 2017
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According to the Wall Street Journal: All IT Jobs Are Cybersecurity Jobs Now.
TOP 3 Hottest Markets For ESI Work Right Now •
ENCE: EnCase Certified Forensic Examiner
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EnCEP: EnCase Certified eDiscovery Practitioner
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CFSR: Certified Forensic Security Responder
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June 2, 2017
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Gartner has eliminated their review of the e-discovery industry for their magic quadrant annual survey, signaling the massive consolidation of tools and lack of competitive availability in the community.
TOP 3 Takeaways From The 2017 Enfuse Conference •
Guidance’s EnCase and kCura’s RelativityOne are creating a mutual connector that will ultimately “eliminate the creation of loadfiles, [allow for] stealth collection and enable mapping and transfer of native files and metadata seamlessly into Relativity workspaces.” This partnership will give professionals with dual EnCE and RCA a significant advantage if adopted widely in the e-discovery community.
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Guidance is pivoting aggressively towards security. The mantra of the Keynote delivered by Guidance CEO Patrick Dennis was simple: “Don’t fear the breach!” In addition to the EnCe and EnCEP, Guidance now offers a CFSR certification. The Certified Forensic Security Responder (CFSR™) will equip talent with the breadth and depth of knowledge needed to become a highly sought-after cybersecurity forensics expert.
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Security talent is bleeding into e-discovery and vice versa. While experts in both disciplines show signs of trepidation about reinvention, there is no question that security and discovery are colliding in talent, education, certification, and software. Those who cross-pollinate will dominate professionally in the future. 47
June 7, 2017
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The unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent in May, its lowest level since 2001.
TOP 3 “Truths” Behind The Unemployment Rate’s “Impressive” Drop To 4.3 Percent •
The decrease was mostly because Americans are giving up their job searches; the number of people with a job also fell.
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The number of jobs gained for the month was less than expected at 138,000.
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Only 601,000 private sector jobs have been added since January.
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June 15, 2017
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Relocation is on the rise with more employers looking outside their local talent pool for e-discovery talent compared to last year.
TOP 3 “Need To Know” Dynamics Between Cybersecurity And Cybersecurity Insurance •
Cyber liability is generally executed from property and general liability insurance.
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Cyber insurance does not eliminate the need to invest in cybersecurity.
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Cyber standards must be achieved to merit the insurance policy.
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June 21, 2017
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TRU Staffing statistics show that over the past five years, clients who extend offers directly and negotiate directly with candidates have a 92.6 percent aggregate failure rate of candidates accepting said offers.
TOP 3 Reasons Clients Should Never Negotiate Or Make Offers Directly To Talent When Using An Agency •
Candidates do not want to negotiate themselves (even sales talent!). Some candidates feel that negotiating salary is the only thing they need an agent for. When an agent is circumvented on this, candidates may decline an offer because they don’t want to or are not comfortable negotiating directly with their future employers. They are also unlikely to share their true concerns or other competing offers with a prospective employer directly. Often clients want to “feel connected” to a candidate at the point of negotiation, seeing it as their first mutual “win” or compromise together. This is counterintuitive as there will be plenty of time to “feel a win” together once they engage as employer and employee.
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Negotiating directly devalues the agency. By skipping over an agent who has managed the entire process from solicitation to negotiation (at least from the candidate’s perspective), you as a client are devaluing the agency by not letting them be the broker. Since they were not included in negotiations, why should the candidate feel any of their previous advice or guidance up to the point of receiving an offer has any bearing or validity?
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Expectations are not managed correctly. Money is funny, and people have wildly different feelings around their worth, value, or desired compensation regardless of market conditions. Talking through money should be a daily occurrence for an agent representing an active candidate (something most clients do not do at every point of contact with a prospective hire). Setting expectations with both client and candidate is impossible to do if the client feels an agent’s only value is sourcing the talent.
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June 28, 2017
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Resumes that do not list experiences chronologically under work experience tend to get passed on by clients. Clients need to know when you did what you did.
TOP 3 Reasons Clients Pass On Candidates Purely From A Resume •
Dates of employment inaccurate, overlapping, or listed by year and not month.
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“Copy/paste” of skills and experiences from one job to another with no differentiation.
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A list of employment with dates but no skills and experiences listed under; skills instead clumped together under “leadership” or “project management.”
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July 6, 2017
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You should be smiling in your professional headshot.
TOP 3 Mistakes Made On Professional Profile Photos •
The photo has an odd background. Instead, take your photo in front of a clear nondescript background or office setting. “Environmental shots” are very popular for executive photos.
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The photo is from a wedding. Shots in a tux or gown are overkill! Keep it business professional.
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The photo has bad resolution. In technology, bad resolution is just inexcusable. Care enough to post a quality image.
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July 12, 2017
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Prediction: Large ESI companies will begin to acquire cybersecurity companies and/or software to expand their reach into client data solutions earlier in the information lifecycle.
TOP 3 Key Findings From A Recent LOGICFORCE Survey On Law Firm Data Breaches •
An average of 10,000 intrusions occur every day at law firms.
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Ninety-five percent of assessed law firms were not compliant with their own data security policies and one hundred percent were not compliant with those of their clients.
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Forty percent of firms were breached without knowing it in 2016.
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July 19, 2017
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Proofreading your “thank you” email can be the most critical part of the interview process—especially if you proofread poorly.
TOP 3 Proofreading Mistakes Commonly Found In Thank You Emails •
Misspelling of simple words not caught in spell check: “in” instead of “on;” “if” instead of “of”
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Misspelling of the interviewer’s name or company
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Run-on sentences (if you are not sure, err on the side of caution and make it two sentences)
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July 26, 2017
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FedRAMP = The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. https://www.fedramp.gov/
TOP 3 Acronyms You May Hear But Not Know •
ARR/NRR = annual recurring revenue/non-recurring revenue
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OTE/TC = On target earnings/total compensation
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PE/VC = Private Equity/Venture Capital
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August 2, 2017
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Negotiate pre-planned vacation prior to accepting an offer at your new employer. Often employers will make exceptions to their standard PTO accrual at the time of hire, but not after you have started.
TOP 3 Things Candidates Forget To Negotiate At Offer Acceptance •
Pre-planned vacation
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Indemnification or support regarding a non-compete
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Flexibility around a start date
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August 9, 2017
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Future employers who ask to see your non-compete need the entire contract—not excerpts. Any document you have signed, especially if you are a sales professional, is typically required by a future employer’s legal division, and not piecemeal.
TOP 3 Takeaways From TRU’s Atlanta Thought Leadership Round Table •
Atlanta is full of talent! But it is not equally full of opportunity. Both Am Law and corporate decision makers, however, yearn for a more sophisticated pool of local project management talent.
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Corporate decision makers in Atlanta are seeing a convergence of cybersecurity and e-discovery disciplines and talent. However, ESI talent is eager to get involved in cyber. Cyber talent is reluctantly being pulled into ESI issues.
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Corporate decision makers are very open and interested in hiring contract ESI talent for a variety of roles.
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August 17, 2017
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When asked “why are you interested in this position?” during an interview, do not answer with “the growth potential within the company.” Employers want to know you want the job at hand first, not what your job could become over time.
TOP 3 Employee Workplace Trends In America This Quarter •
One-fifth of Americans find their workplace hostile.
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Telecommuting is still rare: 78 percent say they are required to be present in their workplace during working hours.
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Only 38 percent say their jobs offer good prospects for advancement.
Top 3 courtesy of Bloomberg’s “One-Fifth of Americans Find Workplace Hostile or Threatening”
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August 24, 2017
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Hiring managers: Time kills all deals. Anything more than a week between final interview and written offer is simply too long in cyber or ESI, especially for sales talent. Let too much time pass and you will lose the talent.
TOP 3 Takeaways From ILTACON 2017 •
ESI is yesterday’s news, but still legal technology’s biggest money maker: The vendor floor remained flooded with discovery vendors, fewer than ever, but individually bigger than ever. The war for ESI supremacy is less about what makes a company different, and more about what a company is missing compared to its competitors. Those without global service capability, international review centers, dual Relativity and proprietary technology, audio/ video search functionality, and strong project management will struggle to compete in today’s climate.
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Legal blockchain will be driven by in-house counsel at corporations: If you are looking for the next big thing in legal that has yet to be commoditized (or in this case barely tapped), look to blockchain. This simple term has deeply complex implications too dense to summarize here. Best way to get involved? Join CLOC or the Legal Blockchain Consortium. Both are in their inception phase of growth.
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Legal technologists want to move into cybersecurity: The demand from talent to find pathways towards a career in cybersecurity is overwhelming. Few have made the transition successfully and only handfuls of people will do so in the coming years. Why? The transition will take time, patience, significant investment of time and money into additional training and education, and, perhaps most important, a willingness from employers to hire or promote talent with “learned skills” into roles where cyber/IG education can be put into practice, some for the first time.
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August 30, 2017
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Duration of experience does not determine the impact of experience. Sometimes a simple ten minute meeting can last a lifetime. Sometimes the longer the experience, the more forgettable.
TOP 3 Professional Must-Do’s For The Fall Of 2017 •
Attend an industry conference. There are a lot of great conferences coming up: Relativity Fest, CyberSecure, TIP, and more.
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Update your resume. The fall is typically the busiest and fastest hiring season; be prepared for the unexpected by dusting off your resume and making it a current reflection of who you are.
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Learn something new. Certifications are the talk of the town and there are tons of new and legacy certifications to pursue to give you professional advantages for 2018.
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September 7, 2017
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Cybersecurity professionals generally see e-discovery as a step down and few are interested in moving their careers in that direction. Conversely, ESI professionals are clamoring to move into cybersecurity.
TOP 3 FAQs From Candidates This Summer •
Which certifications or additional education should I be pursuing professionally?
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How do I transition my career to cybersecurity or information protection?
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What are the opportunities available for remote work-from-home in e-discovery and cybersecurity?
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September 13, 2017
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People with LinkedIn accounts look to see who is viewing their profile (and you should, too). Sometimes simply looking at someone’s LinkedIn profile can be the catalyst for that person to decide to reach out to you directly, without you having to ask. It is important to see and be seen in social media, the same way you would steal glances at a networking event or business cocktail party.
TOP 3 Most Common Vendor Staffing Issues In ESI •
Coverage for nights and weekends in processing and project management
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Sales and business development
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“Affordable” project managers
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September 20, 2017
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For the truly organized, the most satisfying but unattainable feeling is having no to-do list. The fight against that is the fun.
TOP 3 Takeaways From Recent Boston NELTP Meeting •
There are a lot of talented e-discovery pros in Boston, but not a lot of e-discovery jobs.
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The Boston e-discovery community is interested and eager to figure out how to transition to cybersecurity.
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Most ESI pros in Boston have been in their jobs longer than the national average.
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September 28, 2017
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Sales executives who cannot remember or clearly recall their numbers will struggle to get the jobs they want at the companies they desire.
TOP 3 Figures Every Sales Representative Must Have Instant Recall On (Going Back Three Years) •
Quota
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Base and total compensation (W2)
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Revenue sold
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October 4, 2017
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Real ransomware is generally not in an email. If you get a ransomware email, it’s likely just a phishing expedition spam email trying to scare you into sending payment.
TOP 3 Things To Do If You Get A Ransomware Email •
Use another computer and Google all the text you see; likely others will have already reported it and you will be able to learn more about the reality of the threat.
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Transfer all docs and pics to a blank thumb drive.
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Run an anti-virus scan. Don’t panic and don’t pay!
Top 3 courtesy of Eric Chuang, BDO Consulting
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October 11, 2017
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CARTA stands for continuous adaptive risk and trust assessment. CARTA is used to describe the new way of addressing security risk.
TOP 3 Hints For Successful LinkedIn Networking •
Keep it complimentary. Using LinkedIn to be combative with others only paints you in a negative light with everyone you or your connections are connected to.
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Keep it fresh. Viewers of your profile can see the last three things you liked, posted, or commented on. Keep a fresh rotation of content and commentary to keep people coming back.
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Keep it professional. Mixing your political or religious beliefs with your online business networking can be unappealing to some people and cause them not to explore you further professionally.
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October 18, 2017
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If you are in forensics or cybersecurity, you would give yourself great competitive advantage to get your government security clearance and/ or top secret clearance.
TOP 3 Most Frequently Hired Contract Roles For ESI In 2017 •
Contract Relativity Project Managers
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Contract EnCase Forensic Examiners
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Contract LAW/Nuix Processing Analysts
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October 26, 2017
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The purpose of a Red Team is to find ways to improve the Blue Team, so Purple Teams should not be needed in organizations where the Red Team / Blue Team interaction is functioning properly.
TOP 3 Differences Between Red, Blue, And Purple Teams •
Red Teams are external entities brought in to test the effectiveness of a security program. This is accomplished by emulating the behaviors and techniques of likely attackers in the most realistic way possible. The practice is similar, but not identical to, penetration testing and involves the pursuit of one or more objectives.
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Blue Teams refer to the internal security team that defends against both real attackers and Red Teams. Blue Teams should be distinguished from standard security teams in most organizations, as most security operations teams do not have a mentality of constant vigilance against attack, which is the mission and perspective of a true Blue Team.
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Purple Teams are ideally superfluous groups that exist to ensure and maximize the effectiveness of the Red and Blue teams. They do this by integrating the defensive tactics and controls from the Blue Team with the threats and vulnerabilities found by the Red Team into a single narrative that ensures the efforts of each are utilized to their maximum. 89
November 1, 2017
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Relativity is giving 30 percent discounts on their Processing, Infrastructure, and Project Management certifications between now and the new year.
TOP 3 Takeaways From Relativity Fest 2017 •
Certification is more important than ever and an RCA undeniably increases your value as an individual or as a vendor (if you have many on staff ). Soon, saturation of RCAs in the market will shift the power to those who hold Expert (RCA plus two other Relativity certifications) and/or Master (RCA plus five other Relativity certifications) certification status.
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Relativity will be retiring their legacy UI. There was a palpable gasp in the crowd of over 2000 at the keynote when this information was dropped.
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Attendance at Fest was huge. Fest now competes on size with Legalweek and ILTA, two of the traditionally largest annual inindustry conferences.
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November 8, 2017
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The U.S. added 261,000 jobs last month, rebounding from a hurricane-driven slowdown in September. The jobless rate fell to 4.1 percent.
TOP 3 Behaviors Anyone Can Utilize To Ensure Basic Business Success •
Always look people in the eyes.
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Have a confident handshake.
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Always be on time.
Top 3 courtesy of Tom Gimbel, Lasalle Network, from Inc. 5000 Conference 2017
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November 15, 2017
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A company’s biggest asset and competitive advantage is the aggregation and analysis of the data they collect.
TOP 3 Takeaways From The TIP (Technology In Practice) Conference In Toronto, Ontario, Canada •
The Canadian e-Discovery and Information Governance market is growing and maturing quickly. Talent is hungry for professional development, job title and compensation realignment, and opportunity to make an impact within a firm, corporation, or service provider.
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Canadians may be socially liberal, but they tend to be fiscally conservative—especially when it comes to e-discovery spend, whether for talent or technology.
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Relativity does not yet dominate the Canadian market in the same way that it does the U.S. There is still widespread use of tools like Summation, Ipro, Ringtail, Venio, and more. Relativity is gaining adoption quickly, though, largely due to the vendor growth in Toronto with new players entering the market to compete with Commonwealth Legal’s undeniable dominance in the area.
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November 22, 2017
96
For hiring managers looking for hackers, the OSCP certification holds more credibility than all others for true offensive cybersecurity and penetration testing employment.
TOP 3 Things You Should Do To Better Your Career Over Thanksgiving Break •
Catch up on industry reading! All those trade articles you have bookmarked and whitepapers you have sitting in your inbox—find the time to digest that content along with your turkey!
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Take time to give thanks to the peers and colleagues who have impacted you professionally this year. It is never too early or too late to say thanks!
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Start plotting your growth for 2018. Use these precious few days off to actually take the time to reflect on your goals for the future and what you can do to achieve them!
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November 29, 2017
98
Compensation for Privacy Professionals, often individuals who spent much of the early 2000s specializing in ESI, has increased notably and consistently over the last three years.
TOP 3 Compensation Takeaways From The IAPP 2017 Salary Survey •
In 2017, the median salary for privacy professionals globally is $115,000, an increase of more than $4,000 from 2015. The mean salary is higher, $123,000, reflecting an overall trend of increasing pay over the last decade.
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In the European Union, the median salary is $95,800, a healthy climb from the median salary of $89,739 in 2015.
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Another consistent trend is that privacy professionals holding at least one IAPP certification earn markedly higher salaries than those without one. In the U.S., those with at least one IAPP certification earn on average an additional $25,000 in annual salary ($135,000 vs. $109,400), and those with multiple certifications average more than $35,000 per year over the salary of their non-certified peers ($145,100 vs. $109,400).
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December 6, 2017
100
Security protocols don’t yet have an industry-wide standard that companies can rely upon. This may mean that there will be first-mover advantages, or it could mean that the market is so fragmented that there will be many players. This can be good for investors because it creates plenty of consolidation opportunities.
TOP 3 Cybersecurity Investment Stats For 2017 •
Venture capital firms invested $3.1 billion in nearly 300 cybersecurity start-ups in 2016.
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Individual investors have few publicly traded opportunities to gain diversified exposure to the sector.
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Knowledgeable and experienced investors bet on firms with particular technologies, such as blockchain, which will be revolutionary or have a specific focus.
101
December 13, 2017
102
On an interview, rather than ask what will make “me” successful in this role, instead ask what has made others successful in this role in the past. Take the interview out of the hypothetical and into the historical.
TOP 3 Takeaways From CyberSecure 2017 •
Companies, no matter the type or size, need to be thinking about cyber attacks; 50 percent of cyber breaches are inside threat actors.
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Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds the largest percentage of “cloud” market share at 42 percent with the second largest being Azure, holding 14 percent of the market. Although these entities control the market, there is still a shared responsibilities model, meaning they sell the services to allow you to secure yourselves, but don’t necessarily monitor your networks or notify when you’ve been hacked.
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With the lack of federal regulations in place, large corporations housing sensitive data, such as Amazon, can label something an “outage.” Doing so keeps them from having to notify authorities/ agencies otherwise required. By classifying the incident as something other than a hack, there is less negative impact, press, etc.
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December 20, 2017
104
On your resume, if a bullet point of content is not a complete sentence it does not require a period. Example: Maintained customer service relations (no period)
TOP 3 Rules When Phone Interview Scheduling Goes Awry •
If the interviewer was supposed to call/Skype/GoogleChat you and more than seven minutes have elapsed from the designated start time, say something to your recruiter or the HR representative at the company. No more than seven minutes should elapse before you send up a flare.
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If you keep a digital calendar (does anyone not anymore?), ask to be sent an invite by the company or your recruiter so you can confirm all the logistics. (A good agency will do this for you automatically.)
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When bad reception causes an uncomfortable conversation, it is okay to ask the interviewer if you can call them right back from a different location. It’s better to recalibrate reception than suffer through an unintelligible conversation.
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December 27, 2017
106
The year 2018 will be the year of “e-discovery AND...” What is your “and?”
TOP 3 Things e-Discovery Pros Need To Learn In 2018 •
Privacy/GDPR
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Cybersecurity
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Legal blockchain uses
107
January 3, 2018
108
Practice patience in the new year; just because you aren’t where you want to be right now doesn’t mean you’re not well on your way to getting there.
TOP 3 Resolutions For ESI And Cyber Professionals In 2018 •
Embrace each other’s disciplines; cybersecurity and e-discovery professionals are on a collision course and will continue to be more intertwined in the coming year.
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Learn new skills; the skills that helped you get you to where you are today may not be the same skills that elevate your growth potential in the year ahead.
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Get out more; visibility is credibility and being seen within your community at shows, conferences, and training events is critical to accelerated growth potential.
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January 10, 2018
110
The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) breach list is a compilation of data breaches confirmed by various media sources and/or notification lists from state governmental agencies. A total of 1,339 breaches and 174,402,528 records were exposed from January 1, 2017 through December 27, 2017.
TOP 3 Resolutions For Protecting Your Identity In 2018 •
Secure your accounts with a strong password that includes a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, a number or two, and a symbol; then make sure you only use that password on one account.
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Update your accounts using “forgot my password” links the first time you use them in 2018 to block hackers from using old login credentials they purchased online or stole.
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Protect your accounts with two factor authentication whenever you can. It can be a pain to have to provide two forms of login information, but for sensitive accounts it is worth it.
Tip and Top 3 courtesy of “New Year, New Data Security” from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) 111
January 17, 2018
112
LinkedIn profiles that have a picture are 11 times more likely to be viewed. Make sure you use a professional photograph as hiring managers may judge your polish and professionalism from your LinkedIn picture.
TOP 3 Tips For Using Your Activity Feature On LinkedIn •
Everything you “like” gets seen on your LinkedIn home page. When someone visits your profile, they can see what you have liked or commented on and may judge you based on that activity in the same way they judge you on your credentials.
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Everyone in your network gets your likes and comments defaulted into their LinkedIn feed, unless they choose otherwise. Often, if you form habits of liking things that are not relevant or are more personal than professional, people may unfollow you, so these posts no longer appear (or clutter) their feed.
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Mixing personal and professional visibility on LinkedIn can be powerful for getting lots of attention but is potentially damaging in establishing your personal brand. If you are looking to have lots of people comment on or like your post, that’s fine, but remember that quantity doesn’t mean quality and some people take the unspoken covenant that LinkedIn should be for professional use only very seriously. 113
January 24, 2018
114
A cyber range is a virtual environment that is used for cyberwarfare training and cyber technology development—like a shooting range. Cyber ranges are controlled virtual environments where operational conditions and defense performance results may be replicated to reduce failures and errors.
TOP 3 Practical Tips For Lunch Or Dinner Interviews •
Avoid ordering food you eat with your hands. Sometimes eating can be messy. Avoid that awkward moment of spillage or taking too big a bite and order something you can eat with a fork and knife.
•
Stick to a two-drink maximum. If the client orders a drink, you may want to as well, but do not feel pressure to do so. Nurse a beer or a cocktail if you must, but don’t have more than two drinks. You are there to do business, not party.
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Request a table in the back. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to hear the person across the table from you or not being able to speak candidly over a meal because it is too loud or too public a table space. Always ask for a table in a quiet place, likely near the back against a wall.
115
January 31, 2018
116
Sales staffing in ESI is all about timing—not the client’s timing, but the candidate’s timing. Smart ESI companies are always looking for sales talent and ready to move on that talent when and if they become available.
TOP 3 Observations On Legalweek Advertising •
DISCO, a growing cloud hosted review platform software provider, has purchased almost all of the Hilton lobby advertising real estate with large and clever posters at every entrance and on every structural column at Legalweek.
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Epiq/DTI (now notably Epiq Global), the most powerful and dominant player in the ESI industry, was not a core sponsor this year and had minimal advertising throughout the show. The change in ad space visibility seems indicative of changes in Legalweek’s power over buyers as a venue for making new deals happen.
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ACEDS has a strong presence this year, including a circulating vendor bingo card that promotes their brand as well as their strategic partners, which include Compliance DS, Relativity, Cloud9, TRU, and others. 117
February 7, 2018
118
For many, Legalweek is an exercise in rekindling and maintaining existing relationships, not making new ones. For buyers of software and services, the desire to find out of the box new solutions is a key driver for attendance.
TOP 3 Takeaways From Legalweek New York 2018 •
AI and security remain the hot topics for legal technology in 2018 with GDPR and Information Governance also garnering significant attention with EU privacy deadlines.
•
There was tremendous buzz around cloud e-discovery software providers raising large amounts of venture capital, specifically Logikcull and DISCO, as well as curiosity around how much market share they actually have captured away from the dominant player in the space, Relativity, whose RelativityOne offering continues to gain subscribers.
•
The vendor floor was at its thinnest in years with notable absences from household brand names in e-discovery, a lack of meaningful participation from the cybersecurity vendors, and less foot traffic from attendees. Many vendors had events off-site from the show to capitalize on the swarms of potential clients congregating in New York for the conference. 119
February 14, 2018
120
The TRU Staffing Partners Scholarship Program is a merit-based program, and applications are considered independent of your financial need. This makes the essay component the key factor in your application, so take the time to be thoughtful in your essay.
TOP 3 Tips For Writing Your TRU Scholarship Essay •
Your writing skills are being evaluated, so you must doublecheck your grammar and spelling. Compose your email in Word where you can run a spellcheck before pasting it into the application.
•
The reviewers want to know how additional education or certification from the scholarship will help advance your career, so be sure to connect these dots explicitly.
•
Make it personal. Include an anecdote or some background information that shows your personality so that your application stands out from the crowd and becomes memorable.
121
February 21, 2018
122
Historically, when industry-specific verticals become dominated by a single technology or educational institution, certifications from those providers become the standard means of employer measurement and validation for skills and experience needed to quickly hire in a contract capacity.
TOP 3 Reasons To Apply For TRU’s Scholarship Program •
Possessing the certifications in our program has proven to increase the compensation potential of individuals who hold them.
•
Taking the time to self-reflect and evaluate yourself and your goals is a critical exercise and our application process demands that of each individual. Take the time to reflect and apply!
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Free is free! It costs nothing to apply and nothing once you win. If cost is your barrier to gaining certification and training, there is no excuse not to apply!
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February 28, 2018
124
Studies have shown that most people prefer autonomy to authority and prestige.
TOP 3 Statistics For Freelance Work In The United States •
Almost half the American workforce will be freelance by 2020—the growing number of such studies reinforces the point that what was once speculation is now a near-certain trend.
•
Ninety-seven percent of independent workers (up ten percent from 2016) report no desire to return to traditional work.
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The number of Americans working for themselves looks to triple— to 42 million people—by 2020.
Tip and Top 3 courtesy of Quartz at Work: “The number of Americans working for themselves could triple by 2020
125
March 8, 2018
126
Are you thinking of moving to a virtual staffing model? According to a study by INRIX, the cost of commuter traffic is about $1000 per person annually and over $461 billion in lost revenue for the U.S., UK, and Germany.
TOP 3 Ways To Build Instant Trust On Day One Of A New Job •
Be responsive. Being quickly responsive to the needs of a new manager, employers, or clients shows them you are at the ready and are watching closely for requests.
•
Be empathetic. Showing an emotional understanding for the needs of your supervisors or clients helps build instant trust.
•
Create documentation. Taking the time to make yourself visibly accountable in a routine way helps build trust; for example, send end-of-day emails that summarize work received, delivered, and pending.
127
March 14, 2018
128
CNN Money reported that the U.S. economy added 313,000 jobs in February—a much stronger increase than economists expected.
TOP 3 Things To Know About The U.S. February Jobs Report •
The increase in jobs in February was the biggest gain since July 2016.
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The unemployment rate stayed at 4.1 percent—the lowest in 17 years.
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Wages grew 2.6 percent compared with a year earlier.
Tip and Top 3 courtesy of CNN Money’s February Jobs Report
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March 21, 2018
130
It is best to disclose something you know will come up on your background check to your potential future employer; the surprise of finding something unfavorable is typically more damaging than complete transparency about the past when you know a check will expose details to a prospective employer.
TOP 3 Conferences Not To Miss In The Next 30 Days •
IAPP Global Privacy Summit, March 27-28, Washington, D.C.
•
RSA Conference, April 16-20, San Francisco, CA
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CLOC Annual Corporate Legal Operations Institute, April 22-25, Las Vegas, NV
131
March 28, 2018
132
Most offers are contingent on passing a background check. You know better than your potential employer whether any issues will arise.
TOP 3 Things That Cause Offers To Be Rescinded During A Background Check •
Inaccurate dates of employment: Don’t fudge the numbers—be specific to the month if not the day on when you started and exited a job. Inaccuracies often imply deceit costing people a potential offer.
•
Negative News Coverage: This is a new and rapidly developing cause of offers being rescinded. Employers are more regularly checking the internet and media archive outlets for negative contextual headlines and stories about potential new hires.
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Undisclosed criminal activity: If you know something will come up in your criminal background check, let your potential employer know in advance—the surprise of finding something unfavorable is typically more damaging than complete transparency and many applications require disclosure of certain criminal liabilities.
133
April 4, 2018
134
There are 38,000 data privacy professionals across the globe but the scope of the GDPR will require 75,000 or more.
TOP 3 Ways To Fill The Privacy Gap •
As of this past February, the ABA is now recognizing Privacy as a specialty law practice—the ABA has only recognized 15 in history. This is a big win for the IAPP and shows how serious people are about the growth of the industry.
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Privacy professionals need to be created rather than found as there are not enough professionals to fill the gap. Peter Lefkowitz, Director of the IAPP and Chief Privacy & Digital Risk Officer at Citrix, made the suggestion to search laterally within compliance, legal, and security divisions for candidates to train internally and through the IAPP.
•
The IAPP is launching privacy engineering workshops for hands-on technical information security engineers.
135
April 11, 2018
136
There is a difference between a controller and a processor in data privacy. A controller is the person (or business) who determines the purpose for which the personal data is processed; the processor is anyone that processes the personal data on behalf of the data controller.
TOP 3 Takeaways From The IAPP Global Summit 2018, Part Two •
Federal agencies are adding privacy programs into their information system development lifecycle using the Risk Management Framework, which is basically a data map of system information flows and information security protocols tied in with privacy risk analysis.
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Companies must view the replacement of the 1995 standards with the new GDPR standards as an opportunity to develop and implement data governance, protection and privacy within the companies’ and consumers’ expectations. There are four big points: segment (initial screening), controls assessments (documentation), ongoing monitoring (audits and risk-based monitoring), and remediation (restricted limitations, scheduled improvements, and geographic limitations).
•
Bank CPOs are constantly met with new challenges and must work within legal/regulatory compliance, risk management, etc. It’s crucial for CPOs to have an open line of communication with CISOs during data decisions, rather than enter the picture when there is already a major incident response. 137
April 18, 2018
138
Issues of privacy are not new—they are simply in focus now that they affect us all. This year’s IAPP Summit Keynote speaker was Monica Lewinsky, someone whose privacy exposure dates back to the 90s.
TOP 3 Takeaways From Monica Lewinsky’s Keynote At The IAPP Global Summit 2018 • Your personal reputation can be compromised on a global scale because of the internet, social media, entertainment news, etc. when your private pictures, words, and actions are made public without context, compassion, or your consent. • Online technology-enhanced shaming is amplified, uncontained and permanently accessible. • Cyber bullying has humiliated people to the point of suicide or murder. For many, it is time for an intervention on internet privacy and cyber bullying.
139
April 25, 2018
140
Understanding how a company has changed over the years is a key indicator of individual professional growth potential when considering joining the company.
TOP 3 Signs Of A Maturing Company With Growth Potential •
Reinvention—if an organization goes through reinvention it is a sign of maturity. Doing the same thing time and time again will likely mean growth is limited in that industry or company.
•
Surrounded by Promotions—if others you interview with are in their current positions as the product of promotion, it is a sign of maturity. This is also a sign you can get promoted one day too!
•
Add2Staff—if the positions around you are add-to-staff hires, as opposed to replacements, it is a sign of maturity—and a great thing to know going into an interview for a job!
141
May 2, 2018
142
People rarely quit jobs, but often quit their bosses.
TOP 3 Ways You Can Be A Better Boss •
Empathy: When things get personal, be empathetic and go out of your way to accommodate for life’s unexpected moments.
•
Honesty: Employees want to feel they are getting candid and transparent feedback.
•
Mentorship: Teach employees things they don’t know; give them experience and exposure they would not otherwise have access to (which means you can’t always hire a nine out of ten).
143
May 9, 2018
144
The ability to lead others comes from the experience of having been led by someone excellent at leading. Using examples of this to describe the foundations of your leadership principles and values on an interview can be useful.
TOP 3 Ways To Breed Employee Loyalty •
Making mistakes is ok! (Just not the same mistake twice.)
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Visibly defend; privately reprimand.
•
Give someone an opportunity no one else will.
145
May 16, 2018
146
Most hiring managers spend 90 percent of their time looking at the first page of your resume and 10 percent on the rest.
TOP 3 Mistakes To Avoid On Your Resume •
Don’t list tenure at the same employer as different dates—breaking up the dates based on the positions you held at the same company will make it appear at first glance as though you have moved around more than you have.
•
Don’t have an objective—your objective is to get that job. Try changing to a thoughtful summary.
•
Don’t list irrelevant details about your personal interests—keep your potential employer focused on why you’re a good fit for the job you are applying for. Wine clubs and yoga might be good conversation starters, but they also distract from the focus of the interview.
147
May 23, 2018
148
The cultural mindset of employees in America is that they should not have to share paystubs to verify compensation. They find the request invasive and feel it is used for determining their compensation unfairly.
TOP 3 Geographies That Have Passed Laws Banning Salary History Requests •
New York City
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California
•
Vermont
149
May 30, 2018
150
Great leaders balance confidence and humility.
TOP 3 Comey-isms From Former FBI Director James Comey’s Keynote at EnfuseCon 2018 •
Avoid the “imposter complex;” it is not helpful to think “if people really knew me, they would not find me as credible.”
•
Ethics is not about the result; ethics is about process.
•
Doubt is wisdom; always know you can be wrong and avoid the seduction of certainty.
151
June 6, 2018
152
Cherish the things you love about your current job, but be careful about clinging to them. Too often job seekers ask their potential future employers to match and mirror comforts of their current job, which brings up the question: Why are you looking to leave and are you willing to make the sacrifices to do so?
TOP 3 Takeaways From Enfuse 2018 •
For the first time in history, cybersecurity is considered as high of a risk as weather is for the world as it pertains to “disasters.”
•
OpenText is “all in” when it comes to e-discovery and security. The marriage of Guidance’s EnCase and Recommind’s Axcellerate are maturing the market positioning for OpenText as a meaningful alternative to other “all-in-one” providers.
•
TRU’s booth at Enfuse 2018 was flocked by people intrigued by our contract staffing capabilities in e-discovery and cybersecurity. Many did not know that the market had matured enough to offer talenton-demand—but it has!
153
June 13, 2018
154
Many Americans want jobs overseas, but in today’s global job market it is unlikely that foreign countries will sponsor visas for U.S. talent in privacy, e-discovery, or cybersecurity unless the need is extreme.
TOP 3 Jobs Most Frequently Requested Overseas •
Privacy Consultants with experience in GDPR
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ESI Project Managers with deep hands-on Relativity skills
•
Business Development Professionals
155
June 20, 2018
156
”Trying to be good at everything is the best way to be mediocre at everything.” — Paul Allen, Ancestry.com and Strengths, Inc. founder
TOP 3 Ways To Unlock Success In Your Team Through A Strengths-Based Culture •
Value people. Treat people as assets to help achieve your vision, not as liabilities to protect against.
•
Manage weaknesses. Understand the weak spots in your employees and help them build up those skills or work around them.
•
Focus on strengths. Acknowledging natural talents and assigning work accordingly leads to increased employee confidence and better outcomes for the business.
Courtesy of Strengths, Inc. and Ancestry.com founder Paul Allen’s Keynote at Engage 2018 157
June 27, 2018
158
“Whether in your professional life or your personal life, a mentor-mentee relationship is one of the most important relationships you will have. No matter how successful you become, you can always learn more.” — Robert Herjavec, Founder of Herjavec Group, Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank, Bestselling Author
TOP 3 Myths About Mentorship •
Myth #1: You should formally request a mentor relationship. Instead, take a keen interest in the mentor and validate that individual. Ask questions, listen, engage.
•
Myth #2: Your mentor should be outside your current organization or above you on the pay scale. The truth is, if you’re leveraging the relationship for guidance and learning, a difference in pay scale does not matter.
•
Myth #3: You’re going to have one mentor—forever! On the contrary, as you progress in your career, you will learn from different people in your life.
Courtesy of Robert Herjavec, Founder of Herjavec Group, Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank, and Bestselling Author.
159
July 5, 2018
160
A recruiter cannot control human behavior, but a good one will do everything they can to shape it.
TOP 3 Questions TRU CEO Jared Coseglia Asks Potential New TRU Hires •
What is your understanding of the job and why would you excel in it?
•
Why do you want the job?
•
What questions do you have for me?
161
July 11, 2018
162
There is a process to exiting one job and starting another. Shortcutting that process often leads to unexpected issues arising and unexpected consequences.
TOP 3 Steps (In Order) To Follow When Receiving A Job Offer •
Read, negotiate (if necessary), accept verbally and sign the written offer, and set a tentative start date.
•
Consent to and pass a background, reference, and possibly drug check.
•
Confirm a start date and then give notice.
163
July 18, 2018
164
Contract staffing is no longer just for the unemployed. Talent is choosing the contract lifestyle to gain broader experience, develop diverse relationships, get paid for working overtime, travel and see the world, and much more!
TOP 3 Most Common Contract Job Requests •
Relativity Project Managers
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Incident Responders/Forensic Examiners
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Data Processing Analysts
165
July 25, 2018
166
The Wall Street Journal reports that Americans are leaving their jobs at the highest rate since the internet boom.
TOP 3 Takeaways From Recent WSJ Jobs Report •
Almost one in seven currently unemployed workers left a job voluntarily to look for another.
•
In April, twice as many Americans quit their jobs than were laid off.
•
After a long-running decline in worker mobility, the number of Americans quitting their jobs each month is approaching the 2001 peak.
167
August 1, 2018
168
Thank you letters are about the words, not the card stock.
TOP 3 Things To Include In A Thank You Letter •
Demonstrate genuine gratitude, both for the interviewer’s time and for the opportunity to present yourself.
•
Make a specific reference to a salient moment from the interview. This shows that you were fully engaged and understand the unique challenges and opportunities of the position.
•
Share enthusiasm for the next steps in the interview process. This demonstrates that you can visualize a future for the relationship you’ve begun building with the interviewer and the company they represent.
169
August 8, 2018
170
The biggest trend in 2018 to impact the legal technology and information security job markets is privacy.
TOP 3 Indicators That Privacy Is The Next Big Thing In Legal •
The predicted growth is huge: The GDPR services market was valued at USD 765.8 million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD 2,659.4 million by 2023, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 24 percent during the forecast period.
•
The U.S. is starting to follow in Europe’s footsteps: On June 28, California passed the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, increasing online privacy protections that will go into effect in 2020.
•
Industry leaders are making preparations to ride the growth wave: The IAPP and TRU Staffing Partners’ certification partnership will ready those with foresight to pounce on new opportunities as they continue to evolve.
171
August 15, 2018
172
Never talk to a future employer about what you are running from; focus instead on what you are running towards.
TOP 3 Things Document Review Attorneys Looking To Up-Level To ESI Project Managers Should Be Prepared To Answer In An Interview •
What differentiates and distinguishes you from your many peer Document Review Attorneys?
•
What ongoing education are you investing in to facilitate the transition from Document Review to ESI Project Managing?
•
Give examples of hands-on technical projects you have participated in.
173
August 22, 2018
174
The technology sector boasted the highest-paying jobs in the U.S. for the fourth consecutive year, according to an annual report from Glassdoor, as reported in Bloomberg.
TOP 3 Financial Reasons To Join The Technology Industry •
Thirteen of the top twenty-five highest-paid jobs are in tech.
•
Among those thirteen jobs, four boast higher than $100,000 average base salaries.
•
High demand meeting short supply is continuing to drive up salaries.
175
August 29, 2018
176
Demand for contract penetration testers is surging throughout the cyber service provider community.
TOP 3 Ways To Leverage An Age-Diversified Human Infrastructure •
Different generations possess different skill sets that can complement one another! A Millennial’s comfort with social media can be combined with a Baby Boomer’s intimate knowledge of embedded technology at a company.
•
Mentor/mentee relationships can aid in the development of young talent. Someone in their 60s who is comfortable in their position can help slingshot a younger employee to greater heights by speeding the acquisition of company knowledge.
•
Older, more tenured workers can help implement and cement a company’s culture when they are put in a position to work side by side with fresh young talent
177
September 6, 2018
178
Finding ways to engage with your agent is just as critical as your agent finding ways to engage with you!
TOP 3 Ways To Stay Close To Your TRU Agent With Little Effort •
Tell us what conferences and events you are attending! We attend many ourselves and always want to meet you. You can also often find members of our team speaking on panels and presenting our thoughts about current trends within our industry!
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Engage with our original content! Read the articles and interviews from TRU CEO Jared Coseglia, comment online, and participate in our social media conversations.
•
Always read Hot Jobs (even if you aren’t looking actively to make a change)! It keeps you current with what’s happening in the job market and gives you good reason to check in with TRU to ask questions about training, trending, and open requisitions.
179
September 12, 2018
180
Job growth in August was strong. The U.S. economy added 201,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate stayed at 3.9 percent.
TOP 3 Statistics From CNN’s August Labor Report •
Average hourly earnings grew 2.9 percent compared with a year ago, the best rate since 2009.
•
The economy has now added jobs for 95 consecutive months.
•
Across all sectors (besides management occupations, installation, maintenance and repair workers) the unemployment rate was at an all-time low at 2.5 percent.
181
September 19, 2018
182
Details and specificity are the difference between someone who may know what they are talking about and someone who can talk about what they know.
TOP 3 Ways To Talk About What You Know •
Tell a story. Talk about what you have done, not what you know.
•
Get in the weeds (with everyone). Sometimes talking in such specificity that you go over someone’s head is a good thing. Articulate the nuance.
•
Rehearse. Practice makes perfect and if you think you are always best impromptu, think again. Repetition leads to ritual which leads to recitation.
183
September 26, 2018
184
Informational security analysis hiring is set to increase by 28 percent by 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “Occupational Outlook Handbook.”
TOP 3 Skills Most Frequently Requested In September •
Data analytics skills
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Computer ethics and a knowledge of security/privacy-related policy and law
•
Commitment to lifelong learning to keep pace with rapid technological advancement
185
October 3, 2018
186
Salary history disclosure law is changing throughout the U.S., notably in New York, Massachusetts, and California. If you’re an employer, be careful not to overstep your boundaries; if you’re an employee, know your rights!
TOP 3 Myths And Misunderstandings For Recent Laws About Salary Disclosure In New York, Massachusetts, California, And Other States •
MYTH: Salary history bans prohibit asking a potential business development employee about their revenue goals, achievements, and quota. TRUTH: Recruiters and employers can ask these questions, as long as they are not able to directly and clearly discern salary information.
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MYTH: In states with salary history bans, it is illegal for anyone to ask about salary history. TRUTH: Only potential employers are prohibited from asking about salary history. For example, surveying organizations can ask these questions.
•
MYTH: It is acceptable for potential employers to ask about salary history if you are living outside of states with salary history bans but relocating or interviewing for a job in these states. TRUTH: If the role is located in states with salary history bans, regardless of the candidate’s current physical location, interviewers cannot ask about salary history. 187
October 10, 2018
188
If you’ve paid to go to Fest, take one of the specialty certifications. It’s free with your admission to Fest. Even if you haven’t studied, the act of taking the test is a useful learning experience and will help you pass in the future.
TOP 3 Takeaways From Relativity Fest 2018 •
Relativity Fest is no longer just a user conference; it is a trade show. It is now the trade show for e-discovery focused legal technologists and attorneys, with over 2100 attendees this year. There was not an empty seat in the house for the keynote—standing room only.
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In 2017 there were only 40 Relativity Masters; in 2018 that doubled to 80+ Masters. Of the 148 who hold Relativity Expert status, 147 were only one certification away from Master status. Expect a surge of Relativity Master talent into the market in 2019. This will make a wealth of new people much more marketable and appealing for employers. The value of Expert and Master status is beginning to matter in the market for both companies who employ and the individual who holds the certification.
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Re-invent yourself. Legal and technology is not just e-discovery anymore, it is privacy and cybersecurity as well. Continue to learn more disciplines and keep re-inventing yourself. There was a ton of security and privacy related content in the Fest session agenda 189
October 17, 2018
190
A record-breaking surplus of job openings makes the current U.S. job market a seller’s (i.e. candidate’s) market.
TOP 3 U.S. Job Trends For 2018 So Far… •
The U.S. has more than seven million job openings—the most since records began in 2000.
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Available jobs outnumber jobless workers who are actively seeking work by almost 100,000—the most ever.
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Unfilled jobs never exceeded unemployed workers before March of this year, underscoring the tightness of the American labor market.
191
October 24, 2018
192
Indeed.com reported an increase of 829 percent in job postings for data security officers since May 2016.
TOP 3 Cities For Cybersecurity Jobs By Volume •
Washington, D.C.
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New York, NY
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Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
193
October 31, 2018
194
The opportunity to enter into the advisory firm ecosystem at a Director level or higher without an expectation of driving revenue is rare (and should be cherished).
TOP 3 Most Frequent Obstacles For Candidates Looking To Break Into An Advisory/Consulting Firm •
No previous experience at consulting firms
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No track record of success selling and/or desire to sell
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Lack of executive-level presence and promise toward developing meaningful, trusted relationships with other executives
195
November 7, 2018
196
Signups for 2019 health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act—better known as Obamacare—began last week.
TOP 3 Things To Know About This Season Of The Affordable Care Act •
The enrollment season is the sixth for the program and the second under President Trump.
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The individual mandate that penalized people for not having health insurance no longer exists.
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Don’t miss the December 15, 2018 deadline!
197
November 14, 2018
198
Statistics breed confidence.
TOP 3 Questions Asked On A First Interview •
Why do you want this role?
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Why are you interested in this company?
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What questions do you have for me (the interviewer)?
199
November 21, 2018
200
Taking time to reflect on your career is just as important as living in it.
TOP 3 Ways To Use Holiday Reflection To Your Advantage •
You’ve got some down time—update and retool your resume!
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Your boss’s potential good mood may make this a good time to consider negotiating compensation or other job benefits.
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Your interview icebreaker is built in: “What are your plans for the holidays?”
201
November 28, 2018
202
Clients in e-discovery and cybersecurity are more frequently asking candidates to take Relativity or pentesting practical exams to demonstrate skill set as part of the interview process.
TOP 3 Skills Often Tested With Hands-On Interview Exams •
Ability to accurately identify vulnerabilities in a web application, including delimitation of false positives
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Ability to troubleshoot specific Relativity functionalities related to data load, search, and export errors
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Ability to write a pentest report within 24 hours of examination
203
December 6, 2018
204
Your LinkedIn profile picture speaks a thousand words about your business maturity.
TOP 3 LinkedIn Profile Photo Turn-Offs •
Wearing sunglasses
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Frowning, squinting, or making any face other than a smile
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Cropping into focus from a much larger shot
205
December 12, 2018
206
The current market climate has top-tier peer law firms fighting over the same pool of talent in data security and privacy associate hiring.
TOP 3 Things Am Law Firms Want In Privacy Associates •
Strong certification portfolio in privacy or security
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Pedigreed experience from other large law firms doing breach-related work
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A conglomeration of transactional/contract and regulatory experience
207
December 19, 2018
208
Good retention starts with hiring the right people and anticipating employee demands.
TOP 3 Questions To Ask When Examining Approach To Retention Through Better Hiring •
Is there a technical/practical exam as part of your hiring process?
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Is the hiring process something your staff has been through repeatedly and do you know how they will perform as interviewers?
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How do you test for culture and personality fit?
209
December 26, 2018
210
2018 is coming to a close and the e-discovery job market is going to look much different in 2019.
TOP 3 Employee Demands For 2019 In Cybersecurity, e-Discovery, And Privacy •
Training, education, certification support and opportunities
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Work-from-home opportunity (partial or full)
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A balance between work and non-work hours
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ABOUT TRU STAFFING PARTNERS TRU Staffing Partners is a nationally recognized, award-winning contract staffing and executive placement search firm representing talent and opportunities in three core industry verticals: cybersecurity, e-discovery, and privacy. TRU’s vast global network of relationships and unprecedented access to temporary talent in litigation support and information protection have earned TRU extensive accolades, most notably as an Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Company 2016 (#1043) and 2017 (#1189) and first place for National Law Journal’s 2018 Legal Outplacement/Career Transition Coaching and 2016 Best National Legal Recruiter. TRU represents thousands of active and passive job seekers and has successfully placed hundreds of professionals in permanent positions in the Am Law 200, Fortune 1000, and global consulting firm and service provider communities. TRU also maintains an exclusive global roster of contract cybersecurity, e-discovery, and privacy talent ready to deploy on premise or remotely within 24 hours. Being represented by TRU means inclusion in an elite family of exceptional companies and professionals.