Lesley Carhart May 28, 2023

So... I feel like a total dick for saying this, but 5 out of 7 of my last mentorship sessions have no-showed or cancelled within 10 minutes of their appointments in the past week. Only one person out of those has provided any reasonable reason. I'm really sorry - if this keeps up much longer I am not going to be able to continue the service.

If you aren't respectful of my time, please, please be respectful of the time of others who help you along your career journey. I miss every single Sunday afternoon I could spend with my family for nothing but occasional tips. Some folks wait months for these appointments.

Show threadLesley Carhart May 28, 2023
I genuinely want to help people get into cybersecurity! I love helping solve career problems and get people on the right track! But I'm repeatedly left sitting at my desk unable to do anything productive waiting to see if people show up. I'm really shocked at the number of people who are doing this and not even sending an email or a cancellation. It's so dang disrespectful of anyone, whether that be a service worker at a restaurant or a CEO.
Show threadg-clefMay 28, 2023
@hacks4pancakes I’ve even seen it happen with paid internships - a few years ago my company ran a paid summer intern program for infosec-interested college kids. One of the two folks we selected was amazing. The other never showed up to their first day and ghosted us entirely.
Show threadSimon BitdiddleMay 28, 2023

@gclef @hacks4pancakes

That's the thing that always confuses me; you /know/ someone else is investing time, why would you not make it as easy an experience for them as they would for you?

Show threadCaseyDunhamMay 28, 2023
@simon_bitdiddle @gclef @hacks4pancakes It’s somewhat mind boggling. My company runs a paid internship every summer (and then some) and it’s crazy how little effort I’ve seen some put in or even not show up. We hire a lot of people out of it which is the whole reason we started it. I get maybe it’s not your cup of tea after all, but still.
Show threadSimon Bitdiddle

@CaseyDunham @gclef @hacks4pancakes

Even if it isn't your cup of tea, that's a foot in the door to do something potentially neat or at least discover what sort of career you /don't/ want.

Heck, there's even lateral movement in a company if you can solve a problem or fill a niche the company didn't know it had.

I don't think the 'I ain't going to pay to train an employee that's going to jump jobs' sentiment is a thing anymore in management, is it?

May 28, 2023 at 8:37pmWeb
Show threadCaseyDunhamMay 30, 2023
@simon_bitdiddle @gclef @hacks4pancakes Not where I am now but I’ve come across this a lot in my career but mostly at non-infosec places. Very few jobs I’ve had would ever pay for anything.
Show threadCaseyDunhamMay 30, 2023
@simon_bitdiddle @gclef @hacks4pancakes Absolutely. We even have a period of time where they can explore many aspects of the security field depending on what they’re interested in.