Trustwave’s Open Arms Approach to Recruiting

At Trustwave, we understand that people and times change. What may have appeared to be a dream job a decade ago may no longer hold the same luster, or perhaps the field a person has chosen is now struggling to survive so a new path should be chosen.

Trustwave knows talent is not limited by age, previous employment background or experience level, so as a company we are always open to accepting those who have either just obtained their degree or who found their way into the cybersecurity community in a more roundabout fashion.

Trustwave is recruiting across all is regions globally, but it’s important to know that in each area, the America, EMEA and in the Pacific region, each have their own personality. For example, in the Australia/New Zealand region, even though it is part of a global company with a mature portfolio, it operates more like a start-up. It has a flat structure without a lot of hierarchy, and its leaders are open, accessible, and want to hear new ideas.

This streamlined structure also means we can make decisions and put those ideas into action quickly.

Brendan Angelo, Security Advisor Graduate, Trustwave SpiderLabs based in Melbourne, Australia, is a perfect example of how Trustwave took him on after he retrained in cybersecurity and set him on a new career path. Brendan is in his 30s and reskilled in cybersecurity during COVID after spending 15 years in various industries, including telecommunications, events, education, health and the funeral industry. While he had an IT qualification, Brendan had never done any hacking until last year.

"I joined Trustwave in February 2022 as a penetration testing intern after several interviews, including a technical aptitude test that required skills that I still apply in my day-to-day job today. I was converted to full-time after three months and am thoroughly enjoying being in Trustwave and in this industry," he said.

Trustwave prides itself on offering Trustees the autonomy to solve challenges, relying on their unique expertise and perspective. At Trustwave, you have the freedom to be more creative, strategic, and proactive than you have before. Here, initiative is invaluable: We love people who take action and offer solutions, regardless of their role or location In fact, many of our staff in Australia are working on projects with clients across the Pacific region, and globally.

"I enjoy that I am surrounded by like-minded folk who are very friendly, supportive and knowledgeable, and who are their own flavour of nerd. You will find many varied types of people in cybersecurity, and we all have our niche interests and ways of looking at the world. You'll more than likely find more people than you expect to be your kind of person within Trustwave," he said.

Brendan noted that cyber warriors are in demand and says it is never too late to retrain for a career in cybersecurity. 

"Past experience in other modalities can lend themselves to cybersecurity. Been a web developer or coder? You may be well suited for web application penetration testing and/or exploit development. Good at asking questions, understanding company needs and are detail-oriented? Global Risk and Compliance may be your niche. Are you technically adept and fantastic with people, persuasion and putting others at ease? You might be well suited for sales or Red Teaming – a valid form of penetration testing where you have to infiltrate an office building masquerading as one of the target staffers," he noted

While technical aptitude is necessary for many roles, if you've arrived in cybersecurity from a non-linear path, your past life experiences are very valid here.

Grads and Interns

For those studying Cybersecurity either at TAFE, University, or self-education Trustwave has a well-established track record of bringing on student interns and then hiring them upon graduation. In 2021 the Australia/New Zealand region had 10 interns working in Trustwave’s Consulting and Professional Services (CPS) area on staff with almost all of them being converted to full time graduate positions.  And the plan is for another 10 interns to be brought on this year with recruiting starting in November.

What exactly is an intern getting themself into if they apply and are accepted? CPS is very straightforward and is looking for people interested in a challenge. Here is an excerpt of one internship Trustwave recently listed.

Everyone's voice matters here. We aren’t looking for passengers, we’re looking for those interested in an opportunity to develop their skills and experience in information security and make a real difference. 

For example, Trustwave is seeking a Security Advisor Intern (SpiderLabs) who we can train/mentor/coach to provide a broad range of advisory services, covering security strategy, governance, risk, audit and compliance topics, as well as possessing enough of a technical background to be able to confidently work within high-complexity environments.

Your day-to-day tasks will vary considerably – from helping deliver client projects, working with clients / prospective clients and identifying their security needs and more. Typical delivery tasks might include:

• Undertaking security threat and risk assessments
• Developing security strategies and roadmaps
• Developing and reviewing solution / capability design artefacts
• Developing and refining policies, standards, principles, and strategies, and assessing their effectiveness
• Assisting in the evaluation of emerging technologies, service providers, tools, platforms and applications that are best suited to the specific needs of a given organisation
• Delivering security architecture advice (particularly surrounding cloud services).

The final important point to make is Trustwave is quite broad minded when it comes to a candidate’s background.

At Trustwave, everyone's experience is valued. We advocate Diversity of Thought, using diversity of experiences and perspectives to innovate and solve real world problems. Our people have studied at different universities, are self-taught, have worked in different companies in Australia, and around the world. Whoever you are, be comfortable, be different, be you, with us. Join Trustwave and together we’ll solve the cybersecurity challenges of today and into the future.