How to Fail an Interview

Summary

In this video, TCM Security experts share wild interview stories and offer advice for job seekers. Andrew Prince emphasizes the importance of being prepared and professional, recounting a story of an interviewee who arrived late, affecting their chances. Joe Hudson discusses the consequences of dishonesty, while An Brown stresses the need for interviewees to research the role and company. Andrew Boloni shares his personal experience of interview anxiety and the importance of honesty. Tips include being punctual, honest, and well-researched to make a strong impression.

Takeaways

• 😀 Learn from others' mistakes as you won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.
• 🔐 Uncontrolled privileged accounts are a prime target for attackers, emphasizing the need for robust security measures.
• 🛡️ Trust Keeper's zero trust PAM solution offers a unified approach to password, Pass Key, secrets, and connections management for enhanced security.
• 🏃‍♂️ Being late to an interview can reflect poorly on your professionalism, even if you have a valid reason.
• 🗣️ It's important to balance being yourself with maintaining a professional demeanor during interviews.
• 🧩 Job postings often list numerous requirements, but it's crucial to highlight transferable skills even if you don't match every listed tool or technology.
• 🤝 Building rapport with interviewers through shared interests can be beneficial, but ensure it doesn't overshadow your professional qualifications.
• 💡 If you don't know an answer in an interview, it's better to admit it and show how you would find the solution rather than attempting to bluff.
• 📚 Researching the company, team, and role before an interview can help you ask insightful questions and align with the interviewer's interests.
• 🚫 Failing to prepare and understand the role you're interviewing for can lead to a quick end to the interview process.

Q & A

What is the main theme of the video?

The main theme of the video is to share interview experiences and provide advice for job seekers, particularly those preparing for security-related roles.

What is the importance of managing privileged access in an organization?

Managing privileged access is crucial as uncontrolled privileged accounts can be targeted by attackers, potentially granting them access to an entire network.

What does TCM's Trust Keeper offer that sets it apart from traditional PAM solutions?

TCM's Trust Keeper is distinguished by its zero trust privileged access management approach, which is fast and easy to deploy, agentless, clientless, and without implementation fees.

What is Andrew Prince's role at TCM Security and what course has he recently released?

Andrew Prince is an instructor and creator at TCM Security, and he has recently released the SOC 101 course.

Why did the interviewee in Andrew Prince's story fail to make a good impression?

The interviewee failed to make a good impression because they arrived late to the interview, appeared unprepared, and demonstrated a pattern of unprofessional behavior.

What advice does Andrew Prince give to those who are preparing for a security-related interview?

Andrew Prince advises interviewees to be honest about their skills, not to lie on their resume, and to connect their experiences with the job requirements even if they don't have exact tool experience.

What was the consequence of the interviewee lying to Joe Hudson in the script?

The consequence of lying was that the interviewee burned a bridge with Joe Hudson, lost credibility, and negatively impacted future opportunities for help with job searches.

What is the significance of the interviewee's search history incident shared by Andrew Boloni?

The incident highlights the importance of professionalism and privacy settings during technical interviews, as it can significantly affect the interviewer's perception and trust in the candidate.

What is the Practical Junior Pentester (PJ) exam mentioned by An Brown?

The Practical Junior Pentester (PJ) exam is a test created by An Brown to assess the skills of entry-level pentesters, aiming to provide a realistic evaluation of their abilities.

What advice does An Brown give for interview preparation?

An Brown advises interviewees to research the job description, the company, and the team they might be working with, and to come prepared with well-informed questions.

What is the key takeaway from the video regarding interview preparation?

The key takeaway is the importance of being well-prepared, honest about one's skills, and professional in conduct during interviews, as well as the value of research and understanding the role and company one is interviewing for.

Outlines

00:00

📢 Introduction to Interview Experiences and Security Advice

The video begins with a focus on learning from others' mistakes, emphasizing the importance of preparation for interviews. It introduces a discussion on privileged access security within organizations, highlighting the risks of uncontrolled privileged accounts. The speaker promotes Trust Keeper's zero trust privileged access management as a solution. Andrew Prince, an instructor and creator at TCM security, shares his experiences and advice for interviewees, stressing the balance between being genuine and maintaining professionalism. He recounts an interview story where a candidate's tardiness due to a basketball game affected the interview outcome, underscoring the significance of punctuality and preparation.

05:01

🔍 Navigating Interview Challenges and Honesty

Andrew continues by advising on how to handle interviews, especially for roles in cybersecurity. He suggests that interviewees should be honest about their skills and experiences, and not claim expertise in areas they are unfamiliar with. The discussion touches on the importance of aligning one's skills with job requirements and being ready to demonstrate adaptability and learning potential. Honesty is stressed as a key virtue that can leave a positive impression, even if it means admitting to gaps in knowledge or experience.

10:02

🗣️ Interview Stories and the Impact of Truthfulness

Joe Hudson, the director of growth at TCM, shares his interview experiences, particularly focusing on the consequences of dishonesty during the interview process. He recounts a story where a candidate missed an interview after lying about a car accident, which later led to a loss of trust and opportunities. The narrative serves as a cautionary tale about the long-term effects of dishonesty and the importance of integrity in professional interactions.

15:03

🚨 The Consequences of Interview Missteps

An, a security researcher at TCM, discusses the importance of understanding the role one is interviewing for. He shares an experience where a candidate was unprepared and could not answer basic questions related to the job. This highlights the need for candidates to research and understand the job requirements beforehand. An emphasizes the importance of being truthful and prepared during interviews, as well as the potential negative impact of trying to fabricate answers.

20:04

🛠️ Overcoming Interview Anxiety and Preparing Effectively

Andrew Bolini, a content creator at TCM, recounts his personal experiences with interviews, both as a candidate and as part of the interviewing panel. He discusses the importance of not putting too much pressure on a single interview opportunity and advises candidates to remain calm and collected. Andrew also shares a humorous incident where a candidate's unprofessional search history was inadvertently revealed during a presentation, underscoring the need for candidates to be mindful of their digital footprint and preparation for technical interviews.

25:05

🌟 Wrapping Up with Final Interview Tips

The video concludes with a summary of the key points discussed by the various speakers. They emphasize the importance of preparation, honesty, and professionalism in interviews. The speakers also encourage viewers to engage with the content, participate in live streams, and seek further advice on interview techniques and cybersecurity careers. The video ends with a call to action for viewers to join the community and continue the conversation on related topics.

Keywords

💡Interview

An interview, as discussed in the video, is a formal meeting in which one or more people, typically a potential employer, assesses a candidate's suitability for a job. The video emphasizes the importance of preparation, honesty, and professionalism during interviews. For example, Andrew Prince shares a story about an interviewee who showed up late, illustrating the significance of punctuality and first impressions.

💡Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity refers to the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. The video's theme revolves around cybersecurity interviews, where candidates are expected to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in this field. Andrew Boloni's story about a technical interview in a pentesting company highlights the specific technical challenges faced by cybersecurity candidates.

💡Blue Team

In cybersecurity, the term 'Blue Team' refers to a group that focuses on defending an organization's information systems. The video mentions 'Blue Team' roles, suggesting that interviewees for such positions should be prepared to discuss their experience and strategies in network defense, as Andrew Prince advises on aligning one's skills with job requirements.

💡Zero Trust

Zero Trust is a security concept centered on the idea of 'never trust, always verify'. The video script mentions 'Trust Keeper's zero trust', indicating that the company featured in the video adopts this approach, emphasizing the importance of verifying every access request, whether from inside or outside the network, to enhance security.

💡Privileged Access Management (PAM)

Privileged Access Management is a security discipline focused on controlling and monitoring access to critical systems by privileged users. The video discusses 'privileged access' in the context of security risks, suggesting that interviewees should be knowledgeable about PAM solutions to mitigate such risks, as mentioned by the speaker discussing Trust Keeper.

💡Red Flags

Red flags in an interview context refer to warning signs that a job or candidate may not be a good fit. Joe Hudson's story about a candidate who lied about a car accident to avoid an interview exemplifies a red flag. The video advises candidates to be aware of such signs and to act with integrity to avoid burning bridges.

💡Honesty

Honesty is a core value emphasized in the video, particularly in the context of interviews. It is highlighted as crucial for building trust and maintaining professional relationships. Joe Hudson's anecdote about a candidate who lied and subsequently lost credibility underscores the importance of honesty in professional settings.

💡Preparation

Preparation is a recurring theme in the video, with multiple speakers stressing the need for thorough preparation before an interview. An Brown advises researching the company, team, and specific job role, which is exemplified by the interviewee who was unprepared for a role they had not researched, leading to a failed interview.

💡Technical Interview

A technical interview is a type of interview that assesses a candidate's technical skills and knowledge. The video provides several examples of technical interviews in cybersecurity, such as Andrew Boloni's experience with a pentesting company, where candidates must demonstrate practical skills in a timed environment.

💡Career Growth

Career growth is a central theme in the video, with the speakers discussing various aspects of professional development. Joe Hudson, as the director of growth, emphasizes the importance of seizing opportunities for growth, such as attending interviews with the right mindset, which can potentially lead to significant career advancements.

💡Recruiting

Recruiting is the process of attracting, screening, and hiring new employees. The video includes insights from a recruiting perspective, as Joe Hudson shares his experience in cybersecurity recruiting and the impact of a candidate's actions on their future opportunities, highlighting the importance of professionalism and communication in the recruiting process.

Highlights

Emphasizing the importance of learning from others' mistakes due to limited time to make all mistakes personally.

Discussing the risks of uncontrolled privileged accounts and how they can be a target for attackers.

Introducing Trust Keeper's zero trust privileged access management as a solution for security concerns.

Advantages of Trust Keeper over legacy PAM solutions, such as speed, ease of deployment, and no implementation fees.

Andrew Prince's introduction as an instructor and creator at TCM security, and his recent course release.

Andrew's interview story about an applicant who arrived late due to a basketball game, highlighting the importance of punctuality.

The significance of balancing personal interests with professionalism during an interview.

Advice on how to handle questions about tools or skills you may not be familiar with in an interview.

The importance of honesty and not exaggerating skills or experiences on a resume.

Joe Hudson's background in cyber recruiting and his current role as Director of Growth at TCM.

A story about an interviewee who failed to show up for an interview, damaging their credibility.

The impact of burning bridges in the professional world and the importance of maintaining integrity.

Advice for interviewees to be fully committed and prepared, regardless of their current job situation.

The importance of treating every interview as a potential life-changing opportunity.

An's background in digital forensics and his experience with interviewing entry-level candidates.

An interview story where a candidate was unprepared and unaware of the role they were interviewing for.

Advice on researching the company, team, and role before an interview to be better prepared.

Andrew Boloni's experience as a content creator at TCM and his journey into cybersecurity.

Andrew's story of failing an interview due to nerves and the importance of staying calm during technical interviews.

The value of being honest when you don't know the answer to an interview question, rather than trying to make up a response.

A funny interview story about a candidate whose inappropriate search history was revealed during a presentation.

The importance of sanitizing your digital presence and being mindful of what you share during an interview.

Transcripts

welcome back to another video and

today's quote is learn from the mistakes

of others since you can't live long

enough to make them all yourself so I've

convinced a few of my colleagues to

share their wildest interview stories as

well as some advice for those of you who

are preparing for an upcoming interview

do you worry about privileged access

sprl within your organization

uncontrolled privileged accounts are a

prime target for attackers a single

compromised account can grant access to

your entire Network that's why at TCM We

Trust keeper Keeper's zero trust

privileged access management brings

together password Pass Key secrets and

connections management into one single

control plane for effortless security

and usability unlike Legacy Pam

Solutions keeper is fast and easy to

deploy agentless and clientless and has

no implementation fees so if you're

looking for a new solution to secure

every user on every device then check

out keeper. forward / TCM to schedule a

quick demo with that awesome team if you

like this kind of video then be sure to

let us know down in the comments below

and of course don't forget to like And

subscribe and let's just dive straight

in all right so we've got Andrew Prince

do you want to tell us who you are and

and what you're all about yeah uh I'm

Andrew Prince I'm a uh instructor and

Creator at TCM security um and I just

recently released the sock 101 course so

um trying to bring some some more blue

team stuff over to TCM yeah nice and

it's a epic course for sure so if you

haven't checked it out go and uh check

it out definitely um so give us your

crazy interview story sure yeah I have a

few um one one that really sticks out I

think kind of gives a lesson of the

balance between being yourself versus

being professional is one time we were

hiring for a sock analy role we had an

interviewee or um an applicant show up

like 10 minutes late to the interview

which you know some cases being a couple

minutes late it's not a big deal you

know things happen in this case yeah it

was like 10 minutes or 15 minutes late

and we were just like almost debating

calling the interview at that point but

he eventually showed up and uh he was

all out of breath and it looked like he'

just run like a 5k or something and so

at least he addressed it he said he was

playing a pickup game of basketball

earlier and I guess it was really

intense and it went into overtime and so

he couldn't leave when he wanted to and

so that's why he was late yeah needless

to say the Optics weren't great at that

point and also with this individual

there was I guess a holistic pattern of

this person being unprepared and so this

was just one of the ways that it showed

and so I think the takeaway for me was

like it's really cool to hear about your

hobbies and I want to hear about you

know stuff you do outside of work and

your interests I think that's always

really cool especially you know

something I'll ask in especially like a

more technical interview is to sort of

balance it out and ask you about you

know what you do outside of work and you

know how you you know stay sane in the

industry because it's it's tough just

getting bombarded by technical questions

for you know an hour so in many ways

like telling me that you love to play

basketball or go rock climbing or you

know if you play in a band or you play

music or something that's that's really

cool and if you can find a common ground

or a you know a common hobby or

something in common with an interview

that can go a long way into building you

know more relationships with them and um

you know having stuff to talk about and

stuff so so it can go a long way but

again if you don't have the skills for

the job to back it up or uh if you allow

it to affect your performance like for

example showing up late to an interview

or missing a project deadline or

something like um it's kind of these

patterns that uh if they're already

showing during the interview then um

it's kind of a a red flag because

especially you know your interview is

like the one hour you have to make a a

good impact and so if you're you know

making mistakes early on like that or

just not showing respect to to show up

on time you know as the person

interviewing it's like you have a choice

to make between you know hundreds if not

you know of of applicants and so you you

have to make those quick decisions based

off of stuff like that unfortunately

yeah you've got to make it count as well

given your your time I think I probably

would have gone for I missed the bus and

I ran the whole way and then been like

I'm So Dedicated I ran 20 miles or

something yeah something heroic or like

there was a dog in the road or yeah I

mean I I respect them for being honest

so what advice would you give to those

who are preparing for an interview uh

for example their first sock roll or you

know maybe if they're going for more of

a general Blue Team interview what what

pieces of advice would you give them

yeah um I think a lot of especially sock

related roles and blue team related

roles a lot of the job postings that

you'll see are just more of like a

checklist in in the sense that like

you're going to see a bunch of things

that maybe you don't align to everything

there and you're going to see a bunch of

tools listed it's more so just like you

know organizations looking for a unicorn

kind of applicant and it's again more so

just a checklist and so there might be

questions come up in an interview about

like have you you know used this

specific tool or have you used like Syra

cotta or something and you know it's up

to you to be able to say if you haven't

if you have if you don't have that

experience to say like no but I've done

this kind of thing and so if you can

sort of break down the objective of

whatever tool that they're referring to

and if you have experience using

something else that's never an incorrect

answer to say right it's um just because

you don't have exactly what they're

looking for if you've done something

similar or if you have you know similar

experience with a different tool it's

really important to bring that up and

and say like hey no but I've used this

and so it's going to you know take me 5

minutes to to get a hang of you know

whatever tool you're looking for so I

think people get hung up on I need to

learn this tool and this tool before the

interview and it's like I think you just

need to like do a you know take a step

back and and sort of do an inventory of

your current skills and um often you'll

find a lot of what you've done probably

aligns with what they're looking for

it's just not you know a onetoone

matching a lot of job postings that have

all of those things on it also force

people to list like everything on their

CV so if you've written five lines of

python you're going to put python on

your on your resume and things like that

so yeah kind of avoiding that I think is

also don't fall into that trap because

when it comes to the interview and

they're like ah okay so you're you're

super you've got this skill and you're

super experienced in it um it's going to

kind of make you look bad as well so

just yeah like you say ignore the facts

that it's on the posting and just show

what you have and I think that's the

exactly yeah just just don't lie because

you know it's never terrible to to

respond saying you don't know something

and you can figure it out way to connect

back with the interviewer after the

interview and say Hey you know I I

researched what we were talking about

and this is you know what you're looking

for this is the answer or whatever so

that's that's always an option if you

just if you haven't come across

something before that they're talking

about if you're not sure um it's better

than trying to improvise on the spot in

my opinion yeah perfect that makes sense

awesome thanks very much for your time

all right so uh good to have you here

Joe do you want to give us a quick self-

inroduction yeah man I appreciate you

having me join I love talking about this

stuff I'm Joe Hudson I have been your

teammate for I guess about 16 months now

something like that 15 months uh

currently the director of growth here my

favorite part of my job is I'm I'm

really responsible for talking to

everybody that we work with globally so

I get to meet with people all over the

all over the world whether it's through

our customer base and clients on the

Consulting side or it's in the

Partnerships that we work with or it's

our program uh focusing on Career

Improvement so really get a chance to do

that a lot but uh previous to this I

spent about eight years in cyber and it

recruiting and before that I spent N9

years in Elementary School teaching and

before that I was just a dumb young guy

guy so uh a lot of growing up here over

the last 10 years no this is this is

perfect because you've met so many

people and you have like your

backgrounds in in recruiting so I

suspect you have a ton of crazy

interview stories so let's let's give us

your your craziest how to fail an

interview story oh well you know I would

say I probably have thousands of

interviews that could go back through in

the Rolodex you know there was one that

is not so crazy to believe that it would

happen it's very very normal I think

actually but it involved not telling the

truth and Burning Bridges I had a guy

for example who I worked with he wasn't

even in my field that I was usually

helping like I was focused more on cyber

security at the time and he was kind of

a more of an IT focused person he really

hadn't crossed over the line but he was

really looking to get into cyber

security and I had a local executive

leader that I knew I was willing to ask

for a favor and I wouldn't normally do

that but this guy I really believed in

him I had helped him for about 4 years

at this point on my own just going

through his resumes always keeping it

updated every interview we ever had I

was helping him get prepped I mean I was

meeting with him I was going above and

beyond for this guy and I stood no

opportunity to really make anything from

it and I got him an interview just

created out of thin air he needed to

just show up to a local lunch it was

about 5 minutes away and he didn't get

back to me a couple times and I was like

oh man what's going on you know and then

the day of uh the guy you know the

executives at lunch and he hits me up

and he says hey this guy's a noow and so

I hit the guy up never heard from him he

was like I'm really sorry man I was in a

car accident and I went oh my gosh you

know of course are you okay you know I

just believed him because I've been

building this relationship for four

years with this guy and turns out um he

was just lying you know and the reason I

bring that up is because he's reached

out to me probably three or four times

since and he needed help for whatever

reason he cowered in that moment he lost

his nerve he lost uh you know he lost

all his credibility with me and he

burned a bridge but he also still has

not gotten into cyber security and I

really think that that was a phenomenal

opportunity for him cuz I built up his

character to the next level and it kind

of goes to show that I even you know

even after all that time and building

all that trust you know I was naive and

I was taken advantage of by someone it

made me look bad definitely made the

executive mad you've helped them so much

and then that impacts you so that's also

like yeah ripple effect man lost the

client uh lost the trust of him he was

someone that you know needed some help

and he lost a really great asset Set uh

I think to have in his corner someone

that was trying to go to bat for him it

was over he took a contract job and he

just didn't want to tell me and he was

nervous of how I would react I've

completely ignored him at this point if

he listens to this he probably knows who

he is I root for the guy to do well but

the point is you know in an interview

you have an opportunity to to really go

to the next level of yourself you you

know not not just challenging yourself

but really bringing in people with you

to the experience you know if people

have have invested their time to help

you get prepped or to set it up or are

planning on showing up I mean that is a

opportunity that could change your life

forever and to just kind of throw it all

away and throw four years of

relationship building up with me away

over a simple little lie because he was

nervous to say he took another contract

I know it's not that crazy of a story

but it's very normal it's a very normal

thing to happen something like that has

happened many times to many of my

recruiter friends in the past and I

don't think people quite understand the

Ripple affected ads and I certainly

spread the word about that guy to other

people who I've said hey I know that

they you guys reached out to me about

him I couldn't put my name on him

anymore he's not an honest person so I

feel like it's quite an easy thing to

justify to yourself like ghosting a

recruiter you're like ah they're just a

recruiter they're not that bad because I

mean in this case it's different cuz

you'd built up the relationship in the

end it's going to bite you like you know

it always comes back around so um you

know just treat regardless of who it is

like a human and and be like hey you

know I can't make it tomorrow or

whatever you know I've taken this

contract they'll be happy for you and

then and then you've still got that

relation ship going forward so generally

speaking what advice would you give for

those who are preparing for an interview

and they're committed they're definitely

going to turn up what would you say the

top few things that you think they

should do on I'll go through and maybe

give a different scenario briefly for

different types of people where they are

in their interview kind of mindset or

their stages so we'll talk about someone

who's desperate for a job right and they

think I got to get this job well the

first thing is to not be blinded by that

feeling in my opinion you know you still

need to look out for red flat if you

need to pay your bills and that's all

that matters and you're willing to take

a pretty terrible job for it by all

means you know no one's going to tell

you that or judge you differently but

there's a lot of people out there that I

can tell have been blinded by their sort

of self-created desperation and they

have walked into bad situations because

they're not asking the questions they're

not looking for the red flags and they

are just trying to get the job because

their current situation is so bad so

they don't necessarily prep like they

normally would they don't prep with the

mindset of I have to sift through this

and a lot of times being able to

challenge a job in an interview is how

you set yourself apart it is how you

stand out as someone who is not just

sort of receiving questions answering

and regurgitating information it's like

no I want to pick this apart because

this really matters to me and I think

when you go in with that mentality of I

need to determine if this is a good fit

for me you're much more likely to

actually perform better in the interview

and have General conversations uh so

that's something that I would recommend

if you're a passive looker however I

think one of the biggest problems that

people have with interviews is not going

all in for That interview and being of

the mindset of like no no no it's this

or bust you know like it's do or die I

got to get this in this job like if you

can get in the right mentality of every

interview is the potential to completely

uproot everything you know and make it

better in your life but you got to

figure out if this is a good fit and I

just hear way too many people like yeah

I'll just I'll see how it goes you know

I'll show up and I'll just have a

conversation and I think that they miss

out on a lot of people miss out on

really great opportunities because of

that so I think it's the mentality that

you know you prep yourself for that

really teas up a good conversation or

one that is just it's not going to move

the needle or you're not going to get

what you need or you're just not going

to make the right impression because

your intensity level isn't at the right

fit so that's a couple tips that's a

great one actually because I know a lot

of people who go to interviews to see

how it will go and if that's an

opportunity of a lifetime they're

probably going to miss it because they

didn't take it seriously so as a as a

good tip as well awesome well thanks

very much for your time and uh yeah

we'll catch you next time you bet man

thanks for having me all right so we've

got an here and do you want to give us a

a quick uh tldr on who you are and what

you're all about hey everyone my name is

an Brown I am a pin tester here at TCM

security um and I'm the creator of the

PJ which is the Practical Junior ENT

researcher exam and uh got my career

started about five or six years ago in

in cyber security actually went from

college to internship to a role in

digital forensics and incident response

and ended up leading a team there so

I've got a little bit of experience uh

both interviewing for roles and also

interviewing people to to hire them onto

a team so do you want to share your

crazy or interesting interview story for

us sure uh so the the role that I had in

forensics uh my team I only hired people

that were first coming into the industry

uh we were doing Cloud forensics and

email forens forensics and so uh I think

one of the craziest interviews that I've

I've LED is actually uh with an

interviewer who although you know they

had ample time to actually research this

role they they had no idea what they

were interviewing for so this person

came on and um as we were asking them

specific questions about email or

Microsoft which is one of the major

platforms that we did forensics on they

weren't able to answer any of the basics

just just even the basics stuff uh so I

think one of the biggest suggestions

that I have for individuals is you know

as you're interviewing for roles and as

you're looking at these roles if you

don't know what these job descriptions

are calling for if it's an entry rooll

for sure at least go out and do some

research before the role to try to

figure out what you're going to be

answering um so we it was supposed to be

an hourong interview and I think we cut

it in about 10 minutes just because it

was we just knew kind of immediately

yeah that's a big red red flag were they

just kind of stumbling trying to make up

answers on the spot when it was kind of

clear that you know they weren't really

sure they were they were trying to make

up answers on the spot which me to you

all is also a big no no if you don't

know an answer um just you know tell

your interviewer but yeah I mean it it

was pretty obvious after about the

second question that you know it just

wasn't a fit what advice would you give

to people who are preparing for an

interview or maybe have got an interview

coming up I don't know like tomorrow

night or something what would you say I

mean there's some obvious stuff here

right so like get get really good sleep

you know don't go overboard you know

make sure that you eat in the morning

make sure that you kind of keep your

habits that's maybe the the obvious

stuff right but because I'm big on ENT

you know I would definitely go out there

and do some pre oent not just on the job

description itself but the company and

the team if you can you know look and

see who your teammates might be look

into their backgrounds the person

interviewing you I don't think that it's

weird or anything like that to actually

go and check them out on social media

and see if there's anything that they're

particularly passionate about there's

always a moment in an interiew where

they ask you if you've got questions uh

so making sure that you have a really

great researched question um is one of

the big things that I always wanted to

see when I was interviewing people I

think about Sean Evans who does uh hot

ones um and how how great his interview

skills are right you know I want like a

sha Evans style interview question from

the person that I'm interviewing I think

that that just makes it so much more

interesting yeah yeah that's that's

great advice and I think especially if

you're in multi-round interviews um even

if you don't know who you're interview

who's going to interview you the first

time the second time around there's

really no excuse for you to find out

about the people who who you did meet so

um we um we actually just had a an

interview on the team for the pinest

team and um I I went out and looked

looked this individual up and found out

that they're a coffee lover um and so I

was able to even kind of you know align

with the person make them feel a little

bit more comfortable hopefully um in

this interview um and also get to meet a

potential teammate on a different level

you know talk talk about hobbies and

stuff so uh I don't think any of that is

like unrealistic in in the world of

interviewing nowadays it's you know you

want to like the people that you work

with well thanks very much for your time

and uh yeah hopefully we'll have a a

live stream or something about

interviews coming up soon so uh yeah

we'll see you on that awesome cheers

Alex all right so we've got Andrew here

and uh what's up Andrew do you want to

give us a quick self- introduction hey

yeah thanks Alex so my name is Andrew

bolini I go by digital true on most of

the social medias though and I am a

content creator here at TCM security so

I'm the author of our iot hacking course

and working on some other cool courses

like a help Des course right now so do

you want to give us your crazy or

interesting interview story to uh to

kick us off yeah absolutely I've got a

couple of them so the first one is I'll

just share one that I actually had a a

very bad interviewer or one that that I

kind of failed and flunked on and I'll

share my experience with that and then

I've got a funny one for you afterwards

as well for when I was interviewing

someone about 5 years ago or so actually

I've told this story before so I won't

go too in depth into it but I initially

got into cyber security from um Heath

Adams that the the Cyber mentors pH

course back before there really was TCM

company or anything it was just on new

to me and someone recommended it to me

and I kind of fell in love with the idea

of pen testing and cyber security

through that course so I decided I'm

going to try and land a pentest job and

just through some networking and people

I knew I ended up chatting with someone

that worked at a pentesting company in

the city I live in and they were like

hey I could I could probably get you an

interview if you want we're hiring right

now and and so like all I had heard

though was like pentesting jobs are like

super hard to get and like everyone has

a hard time and like it's really hard to

break into and I was like oh man this is

crazy that I'm getting this interview

and like I I taken Heath's course like

but I'd only you know taken it over a

month and in my mind I was like this is

such a crazy break that getting this

this interview like you know I put it on

such a pedestal that like this was going

to be like my one shot at getting um

like a pentest job or breaking into

cyber security because I I had this

connection through the network and so

phone interview like initial phone

screening interview went well but then

the next step was a technical interview

where they actually had a setup and um

you know now that I remember back to it

like it wasn't all too different from

like something you had experience in

like the PNP or PJP where they had like

a active directory environment um and

they gave me this long list of things

they wanted me to do in the environment

a lot of it was like really Recon stuff

they were more concerned with that a few

basic things to exploit and everything

was like scored already so it's like

really intimidating and like it was on

there was like you need to score 70% or

else like no questions asked you just

can't move on and I was just like so

intimidated by like the pedestal that I

had put this scenario on and that it was

going to be like my only shot that I was

like so nervous I'm usually not like

this but I was like shaking hands on the

keyboard and it didn't go well cuz I was

so nervous and like there's only an hour

and that's not a lot of time and like if

you're really like second guessing

yourself and kind of nervous then like

you there's no way you could score the

points they wanted um in an hour cuz you

basically just need to sit down run all

the commands you need let them run

through like write up your little report

and be done yeah so I ended up not doing

great on that interview and it really

bugged me because like I had the

document afterwards like still like they

emailed it to me and like I had in my

mind like a you know my mental notes

about like the network layout and the

devices and stuff and like after had

calmed down and like just kind of

thought about it even for 5 minutes I

was like oh man like I could have I

could have done that and like there was

so much stuff like I remember I did run

responder and like I got back playing

Tex creds but I was just so busy like I

didn't even think to like try them

anywhere and it was like a learning

experience to like just be like calm

down and like there'll be other

opportunities and I I ended up I still

work in cyber security I ended up making

the transition it wasn't like it was the

only opportunity but just something in

my head put that on such a pedestal that

I yeah experience with coding interviews

so I'm reasonably good at the

programming challenges that some jobs

give you but sometimes you just like if

you don't get it within like 10 or 15

minutes and then you start looking at

the timer and it starts to tick down you

get more and more stressed yes I could

remember like I was on speaker like the

other thing too is like the director was

like this was not like um like a

take-home exam or anything like I was on

speaker phone with them and I could hear

her in the background like remember I

typed like one command and she was like

like mhm oh and I was like oh no I don't

know like I'm just trying to run like

the end map that Heath says is good like

maybe they have like a different switch

or something they want to run on it I'm

I'm just over there running like uh the

heath atam special and map you had an

audience giving you like reactions yeah

yeah like she didn't the person didn't

say too much but uh from then on I could

like hear them like kind of like you

know every they they were taking notes

and things like that or for all I know

could have been Al T like like a Al Tab

and responded to emails but like every

time I heard them typing too I was just

like oh God what are they writing about

me anyway and it's funny now I actually

um that company I I had some some people

from their company come to one of my

trainings once like that I did a few

months back so was kind of an

interesting Circle all around so that's

my that's my my flunking one I have a

funny one though as well this is a short

story you know throughout my career I

have actually done some interviewing

when I've been uh you know not the

hiring manager but like in a high high

senior position in a team or part of the

um hiring process and we were doing on

one of my teams that I worked on

somewhat of a techical interview that

required doing a presentation and uh one

tip I always like to do if I'm doing a

presentation or something especially to

a customer just recording uh is I think

it's important and you know this Alex to

sanitize your desktop and maybe either

use a VM or if you're going to use a

browser like just put it in incognito

mode it's just a good tip to have and we

had someone do a presentation and they

needed to use their browser to look

something up uh and they were not in in

on Cognito mode and they were just on

their personal browser and there was

quite a few uh I I won't go over the

specifics of them but not suitable for

work things in their in their search

history when they started typing things

that um everyone noticed I think they

kind of noticed it too live and uh

honestly other than that like a lot of

their stuff was pretty good but we just

couldn't really move forward because

role involved like a lot of presenting

and being in front of you know public

audience or sometimes customers and like

that mistake was just like too grave to

be like oh could we trust them to be in

front of a customer cuz really the job

interview is like um almost like you

testing out for the job itself right and

that would be like such a bad mistake to

makeing the job I suppose you could be

caught out if you didn't know you had to

share and then and then suddenly you're

like scrambling to share screen and you

share something accidentally I've

definitely in the past had like um

emails with like screenshots and stuff

and then like they've screenshotted both

monitors and then there's been like an

Excel file full of passwords and and

things like that sent to me and yeah in

an interview definitely got to be uh got

to be on the ball got to be careful what

advice would you give to those um who

are preparing for anv well if you take

from my first story like one of the

things that I learned is you know

there's going to be lots of

opportunities um for interviews and you

know it is tough to do to not like put

it up on that pedestal especially if

it's something like cyber security where

people are very passionate about it and

this might be like their opportunity or

shot to break into it as people say but

if you can just keep that in mind that

you know there's going to be more

opportunities and if you if you're

working hard and you know doing all the

right things then eventually you land in

the opportunity that's right for you and

you'll probably have a lot more success

in your interviews if you kind of go in

with that strategy this is one tip that

I give a lot of people because I've seen

this happen in interviews that I've been

the interviewer or part of like the Hing

panel and that is if you do not know the

answer to a question I I would much much

rather someone give me the answer of

like you know what I don't actually know

about that but here's how I would learn

about it or if you know this came up on

the job and I wasn't sure about it then

these are the steps that I would take

that gives so much more weight in my

opinion than trying to BS an answer or

just come up with something on the spot

because like a lot of times that's

that's honestly what you're looking for

like I mean if you're asking like I

don't I don't think it's a good

interview practice to ask like very

specific questions where they should

know like you know what is this specific

port or like tell me what this acronym

means but if you do come across things

that you don't know yeah it's much

better to just say you don't know it and

give a explanation of how you'd find the

answer because when you start bsing it

really comes across like everyone knows

I've been interviews in the past where

they've been like um how do you exploit

this and if I recall off the top of my

head it was like um how do you get code

execution from MySQL using SQL injection

I was like oh yeah you can use like in

MySQL exact but you don't really see it

these days because it's not a default

config and they're like no no no give us

the exact command and I'm like are you

serious I should have been like no you

give it to me tell me but yeah you do

run into those situations and I think

you're right it's better just to say I I

don't know but I would you know check my

notes or this is how I would I've had a

few interviews where we asked something

like just to get an idea of and

sometimes it like it's honestly not

always even just for to be like you know

this specific thing but like you know

could you tell us what you know about

this topic and they'll go down like this

long story and it's like 10 minutes

later which you're kind of like wasting

your interview time as well CU

realistically that time is like kind of

yours yeah and you're you're being

Guided by the a good interviewer will

guide you to help you basically showcase

your skills and your strengths that's

kind of what the whole purpose of the

interview is it's not like about acing

every question right um at least in my

opinion for a good interviewer and if

you go on these long

like you know where you don't actually

go anywhere or you're just you're

wasting you know 10 minutes or 15

minutes or whatever of like your time

that you could be showcasing yourself to

a prospective employer yeah exactly yeah

I totally agree all right well thanks

very much for your time you're welcome

and that's it for this video once again

if you enjoyed this format then let us

know down in the comments below and I'll

be sure to make more videos like this

and of course don't forget that you can

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