In Depth

Bob Moore Knows How to Get Hired

CSOs will find few security job openings and a wealth of candidates for them. Here's practical advice on landing the right position.

By Daintry Duffy

Investigate Your Prospects

In the close-knit security industry, there are tremendous opportunities to research the companies in which you're seeking a position. Steve Katz, former CISO with Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, advises CSO candidates to get the skinny before going in for an interview. "Do your homework first. It's a fairly small community, so somebody will always know somebody at the company that you're interviewing with," he says. If you can walk in with some basic background on the security organization, you can articulate more fully formed opinions and suggestions for what you can add to the organization.

Broaden Your Horizons

In many companies, physical and IT security are converging, and privacy may eventually fall under the security umbrella. So CSOs need to be prepared to expand and adapt their expertise to keep pace. "Companies are still defining what a CSO is to them," says Lee Kushner, CEO of L.J. Kushner & Associates, a security executive recruiter. "[They're still weighing] how much physical, how much information, how much risk management they see in the role. It's still broad and undefined, so the broader the skill set, the more areas that [a candidate] touches, the more attractive he'll be."

Surround Yourself with Smart People

Long term, CSOs and security executives will also be well-served by surrounding themselves with teams of smart people. When Moore made the leap from Amoco to Merck, he came as a package deal. He brought Jonathan Tetzlaff, Amoco's senior director of systems and programs, with him to get Merck's redesigned security function off the ground. "Any organization is only as good as the people in it," says Moore. "I think one of the pillars of a top-notch organization is outstanding recruiting. Whom you recruitand then how well they do the jobreflects directly on you."

Security executives who focus on team building and recognize the role that the people around them have in their success will always build strong organizations. And they will always be attractive to other companies for exactly that reason.

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