Inspiring colleagues and the opportunity to learn new things weigh heavily for Emilie. But the best part is still having an open culture, being able to go home proud every day, and having an absolute blast along the way.
With a PhD in IT security since 2004 and over 25 years of experience in the industry, Emilie is far from new to the game. However, when she first came into contact with Assured, she had an experience that stood out. Even before Emilie's official first day at work, she got to attend an internal conference with Assured. The memory of it stuck with her. It was the overall atmosphere, the enthusiasm in everything that was done, that made a very strong impression. I was so fascinated.
Are people really doing such fun things in groups and learning from each other?
And that wasn't all. At the conference, Assured participated as a team in a Capture the Flag competition, where they sat in small groups working on different challenges and collecting points. Are people really doing such fun things in groups and learning from each other?
Emilie laughs.
Since then, she has absolutely thrived at Assured. Emilie, who has been there for 5.5 years and attended many conferences, enjoys her role as Senior Security Specialist. There is one thing she particularly likes — and thus does mostly — so she prefers to call herself a pentester: It's specific, but still so varied. And it fits me perfectly,
she says.
It's new clients and projects every two or three weeks. New client environments, new projects, new code. You have to get into things. And security development is advancing fast, so you have to keep up!
says Emilie with a smile.
Everyone is a doer. Everyone solves problems without fuss.
She also highlights the professionalism at the company. She adds: Everyone is a doer. Everyone solves problems without fuss.
There is also very little bureaucracy, she says with relief. No whining either, unlike previous employers. Just a generally great attitude and freedom with responsibility, Emilie explains, adding: Sure, I've had that before, but here it's on another level. And I have more opportunity to influence things too.
There is very little management, she feels, and adds: But in a good way!
Since it's a small company, Emilie says that it feels like Assured is not primarily driven by financial goals. You feel involved in the whole thing — that's probably why many take responsibility,
she reflects.
Another factor contributing to Assured's unique culture is that few companies are as specialized as we are.
She continues: And those who are, are independent consultants or have 2-3 people in the company. Otherwise, penetration testing is just one part of several areas they offer.
Despite the clear focus on penetration testing, Emilie emphasizes that there is a lot of variation, so she never gets bored. Working in pairs on assignments is one contributing factor, as well as the combination of very different types of tasks: I get to work with what I want — different kinds of penetration testing. It can be anything from web applications to infrastructure and hardware.
Almost always, I deliver a report that I am proud of the result — and feel that I'm really doing good for the clients.
Unlike previous jobs, where it felt like there wasn't always room to do good work, the approach at Assured is clearly different, says Emilie: Almost always, I deliver a report that I am proud of the result — and feel that I'm really doing good for the clients. It's such a great feeling.
Emilie also strongly advocates the open and inclusive environment she believes exists at Assured. She mentions that they always try to provide good conditions for everyone, regardless of background. It's clear that this, combined with the family-like atmosphere, is important to Emilie. As is the constant learning: Now I am humble as a person, but I work with really great colleagues who constantly impress me.
If you then add everything else with amazing colleagues and constant job stimulation, then you have the dream workplace, I guess.
A big thing for Emilie is also the respect for private and family life: Never, ever has there been any trouble or raised eyebrows if someone has been sick, taking care of a sick child, or something like that.
She adds: Just that in itself is wonderful. And then, if you add everything else with amazing colleagues and constant job stimulation, then you have the dream workplace, I guess.