Where did you grow up? Important stages of your life (school, education, experience abroad, jobs etc.)
I have lived on the Central Coast of New South Wales for most of my life, where I attended both primary and secondary schooling. I attended university in Sydney and extended my social network by getting involved in an array of extracurricular activities and clubs, including the Security and Criminology Society and Macquarie University Football Club. I was engaged in Macquarie University's People and Community Engagement program, where I got to work with the Department of Defence in creating a cultural analysis framework for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
In my final year of my bachelor’s degree, I was awarded a scholarship to attend King's College in London, where I studied a diploma in Criminal Profiling and the Psychology of Terrorism. Throughout my university experience, I developed a fascination with both criminological theory and cybersecurity, and I was able to combine my two interests by specialising in cybercrime. This area of interest led me to obtain a graduate-level job with McGrathNicol.
How did you get to your current job position? For how long have you had it?
Whilst still completing my master’s degrees I applied to McGrathNicol for an Analyst role whilst I finished my final semester. I have now been at McGrathNicol for 1 year and 9 months and was promoted to Senior Analyst in mid-2021.
How did you choose your specialisation (compared to others)? / Were you weighing up any other alternatives before choosing this specialisation?
I have always been fascinated by national security and foreign policy, so the area of security studies seemed to be the most natural fit for me. This degree covered everything from national defence and the history of intelligence to global politics and cyber security, so I knew I would find at least one area of interest. Turns out, I found multiple. I fell in love with the areas of criminology and cybersecurity, and as a result, I began to delve deeper into learning about cybercrime. Through references to both public and private sector organisations, I explored the motives and perpetrators of cybercrime, and how individuals and organisations face specific threats through the use of technology and highlighted the biggest challenges to information security today.
What was your interview process like? What kind of questions were you asked?
As I did not initially apply for a graduate role, I experienced a more standard interview process. Initially, I was engaged by a recruiter from McGrathNicol's HR team. They asked me a series of introductory questions (particularly around my background and experience) to determine if I was a good fit for the role. The recruiter then scheduled an interview with two members of McGrathNicol's Technology and Cyber team.
They asked me what I enjoyed about the topic of cybersecurity and what interested me in a role in Technology and Cyber. I was able to use real life cases I had studied throughout my degree to show my knowledge of the world of cyber. I was also asked about my knowledge and understanding of key technical concepts and practical experience. I had much greater theoretical experience, however, was assured that I would learn all the practical aspects along the way. Once I got through this round, I attended another interview with two more people from the Technology and Cyber team. This was more of a relaxed chat, where they delved more into my background and what capabilities I could bring to the team. Once I got through the two interviews, background and reference checks were done, and I was offered a role as an Analyst as part of the Graduate Program.
What does your employer do?
McGrathNicol is a Restructuring and Advisory firm. Whilst initially focussed on restructuring and insolvency solutions, they have expanded to include Advisory Services, with pillars consisting of Forensics, Governance, Risk & Compliance, Transactions, Strategy & Business Improvement, and Technology & Cyber. My area of Technology and Cyber is responsible for providing knowledge and experience to help organisations navigate technology and cyber risks.
What are your areas of responsibility?
My area of responsibility is Governance, Risk & Compliance, with a particular focus on incident response.
Can you describe a typical workday? What was the last thing you worked on?
Currently, I am gaining experience across all the pillars within the cyber team, for example, eDiscovery, incident response and digital forensics, so the work varies a lot day to day. Recently, I have been engaged by a large global organisation proceeding with a data breach to undertake an independent assessment of their data retention and destruction policy, information security program and incident response plan to determine if these policies and programs comply with the relevant privacy principles. This involved conducting workshops with the relevant stakeholders and document requests in order to design a report to contain the findings of the independent assessment.
What are the career prospects with your job? / Where could you or others in your position go from here?
There is a very clear avenue for career progression within the firm. I recently got promoted to Senior Analyst and hopefully will continue this progression into a managerial role. I am currently figuring out what area of the Technology and Cyber team I want to specialise in, whether that's incident response, digital forensics or eDiscovery.
What would your career be if you weren’t doing what you’re doing now?
If I wasn’t in the world of Technology and Cyber, I would probably be using my knowledge of criminology as a Criminal Intelligence Analyst.
What do you love the most about your job? Which kind of task do you enjoy the most?
What’s the biggest limitation of your job? Do you bear a lot of responsibility? Do you have to work on weekends? Are the stress levels high?
Personally, I don't see any limitations to my job. I feel like I am always given the support I need from senior staff members and am always provided with the right tools to perform tasks at the highest level possible. We are expected to deliver work with a high standard, so that can carry a lot of responsibility. There is always a high standard, however, I am never short of help. I am constantly learning about professional conduct. After all, we all need to start somewhere!
With some client jobs having strict deadlines, there may be instances where extra work may be needed, but I have never felt any added stress as a result. When you are interested in the work entailed, you'll find putting the extra work in so much easier!
A word to the wise...
Which three pieces of advice would you give to a current university student? They don’t necessarily have to be related to your role or even be career-focused.