Seeking employment

Hello again,

I have been doing some minor evaluating and have come to the conclusion that it might be wise to do some extra courses or certifications on my own accord. The EnCE examination costs around £122, however at present I have no access to Encase apart from the demo which came with the EnCE study guide, which makes it rather difficult to take.

There is also 7 Safe's Certified Forensic Investigation Practitioner course. It costs £1498.50 which is a substantial sum on the back of University debt, although I am more than willing if it would add more credibility to my cv. I've been informed my cv is of a high standard, it's just there's no jobs available.

Are there any other courses which I could consider which don't cost the Earth? Maybe some relating to acquiring evidence as well?

Thank you in advance for any recommendations.

ClusterOne
I read your post and can see you have written to a number of companies. Absent (?) from that list and your comments is any mention of registering with employment agencies and online services.

Also you seek employment but tell nothing about who you are, a smattering of want you want to achieve short term, and nothing about your specialist area or what you can bring to a firm. People don't want your life history - save that for the interview - but you state you have been to Uni and then leave it open to wonder did you leave with a BSc, MSc or something else?

If you have an MSc
- what was your thesis about?
- did it identify a new way of developing forensic technique?
- could it help develop a new product?
- did it identify flaws in computer forensic system?

I'm not in your area (but there are plenty on here who are) but it did seem to me that I came away from reading your post with alot more questions than answers. For instance, you state in your post

"Preferably I would like to start by acquiring digital evidence…" So does that mean you don't have an Uni education in computer forensics? Do you see where I am coming from?

Don't be put off by what I am saying, they are only my observations, you can take them or leave them.

For the EnCE you will be sent a time-limited copy of EnCase, this is something like a couple of months if i remember right. If you have the books/study guide, and lots of free time as you're not in employment, i dont think it'll be a problem.
I'm not sure more and more courses will really help that much. Its just getting the foot in the door as you probably know. So getting in, on any any role (whether investigator or imaging technician) would be worth it, and then move on from there. Personally i'd save your money, and keep applying as you say. I'd say your biggest problem would probably be coming up against experienced people for any role, that the company could just 'drop in' with minimal training/'downtime'.
Rich

Well said Rich2005

ClusterOne

Also you seek employment but tell nothing about who you are, a smattering of want you want to achieve short term, and nothing about your specialist area or what you can bring to a firm. People don't want your life history - save that for the interview - but you state you have been to Uni and then leave it open to wonder did you leave with a BSc, MSc or something else?

Afternoon. Indeed I have left a lot of information out of my post. I will quote what is in my cv and cover letter below. The cover letter is the basic outline and I personalize each one specific to each company. Also registered on Monster.

I would very much like to work for your company and am writing to enquire if you have a vacancy in the field of Computer Forensics? This is subsequent to hearing about your company who partake in many aspects of private and criminal investigation. By having a serious interest in Computer Forensics I would play a beneficial role within your company, hoping to study further and become EnCE and CCE certified. At present I am seeking voluntary work with the local police force until I can secure employment, I have read the complete EnCE Official EnCase Study Guide and regularly read topics posted on the Forensic Focus forum as well as blogs.

The BSc Computer Forensic degree studied at Northumbria University has provided me with a wealth of skills and knowledge of forensic software and procedures. For instance I can utilize Encase and FTK to recover evidence, while following the ACPO guidelines to retain evidential integrity and continuity.

With regards to physical memory analysis I can employ tools including Winen, DD to perform acquisition, and analyse with Memoryze, Volatility and Encase to retrieve information including processes, network connections and web history. Analysis of physical memory is important, especially in regards to Trojan defence and network intrusion. With relation to mobile phones I have extracted data using MOBILedit! Forensic and DataPilot Secure View.

I am deeply conversant in network security thus remain up to date with technology news to maintain a well informed, ethical understanding of the subject. This led to the securing of Windows XP using Nmap and Nessus in Backtrack. The process involved scanning the operating system to enumerate information leaks which in turn cause system vulnerabilities. Having an understanding of packet sniffing and injection allowed me to perform an ARP attack using VMware. Insight into network protocols enabled the development of a program which performed an FTP Brute Force Attack using C.

Since a very young age I have custom built PC’s therefore consequently have an innate ability with technology, associated software and hardware. My Current PC consists of 3.0GB AMD CPU, over clocked to 3.2GB, 2GB RAM and a 500GB Western Digital Hard Drive for reliability. I am happy working in a team or alone and consider myself to be extremely focussed and self-motivated. My enthusiastic approach combined with a positive mental attitude would enable me to make a positive contribution to your company.

CV

Personal Statement
An enthusiastic Computer Forensic undergraduate from Northumbria University, with a diverse set of skills and knowledge essential to digital investigations and computer security. Enjoys computer programming in Java and C together with experience in the use of Windows 98, XP, Vista and Ubuntu.

Education
Northumbria University BSc (Hons) Multimedia Computing 2005 – 2006
Northumbria University BSc (Hons) Computer Forensics 2006 – 2009

Through University and self study I have gained knowledge of

• File Systems
• First Response – Planning / Warrants
• Acquiring Digital Evidence – Drive to Drive / Network
RAID, HPA, DCO, Linen, Fastbloc LE + FE
• CRC, MD5 and .EO1 File Structure
• Searching and Bookmarking Data
• Binary, Hex, ASCII and Unicode
• GREP Keywords
• EnScripts and Filters
• File Signature and Hash Analysis
• Creating Paperless Reports

• System Boot Process
• VBS and FAT
• MBR, VBR, MFT and Deleted Partitions
• File Slack and Unallocated Clusters
• Steganography
• Physical Memory
• Mounting Files

Windows
• Dates and Times/User Assist/Registry
• Recycle Bin
• Link Files
• Recent Folder
• Temp Folder
• Cookies Folder
• History Folder
• Temp Internet Files Folder
• Swap and Hibernation File
• Print Spooling
• System Restore
• Index and INFO2 Files
• Live and Mounted Registry Keys + Values
• Prefetch Files

Vista
• Low Folders
• Event Logs
• Volume Shadow Copy

Final year dissertation was research into software which can detect DVD and Blu-ray piracy using information from discs file system and lead-in area. This involved sending SCSI commands to the optical drive to return information held on the disc.

Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College 2003 - 2005
AVCE ICT
AS Politics
GCSE Modern History

Staindrop Comprehensive School 1998 – 2003
7 GCSE’s including Science, Maths, English, Geography and Food Technology
GNVQ Intermediate ICT

Work Experience
July 2008 to September 2008 Pantheon Homes Ltd
July 2007 to September 2007 Pantheon Homes Ltd
July 2006 to September 2006 Pantheon Homes Ltd
July 2005 to September 2005 Pantheon Homes Ltd
• A Northern based Construction Company.
• Team-based culture.
• Given use of a vehicle.
• Collecting and delivering materials to sites as required, and liaising with the office.
• General labouring at all other times.
2003 Harrison & Johnson, Surveyors, Office Work

Computer Forensic
• Encase
• Forensic Toolkit
• Password Recovery Toolkit
• Forensic Toolkit Imager
• Registry Viewer
• WinHex
• CD/DVD Inspector
• NetAnalysis
• Windows File Analyzer

• Mandiant Memoryze
• Volatility
• Winen
• DD
• Helix 3
• Mount Image Pro
• Scalpel File Carver
• The Sleuth Kit + Autopsy

• DataPilot Secure View
• MOBILedit! Forensic
• Stegdetect
• S-Tools
• Mandiant Fire Response
• Mandiant Red Curtion
• Mandiant Web Historian
• Mandiant Pro Discover
• Mandiant Restore Point Analyser

Network Security
• Wireshark
• Backtrack 3
• Nmap
• Nessus
• VMware

• Cisco Firewall
• Comodo and ZoneAlarm Firewall
• Norton, AVG, Avira and Avast Anti-Virus

VMware taken advantage of to gain knowledge of network and operating system security.

Information Security
An understanding of information security having used GnuPG to implement asymmetric encryption using DSA and ElGemal. Algorithms of knowledge include DES, 3DES, Rijndael, RSA, DSA and Diffie-Hellman key exchange. PGP and X.509 digital certificates, message digests, SSL, TLS and IPSec.

Interests
Enjoy photography, fell walking and music which introduced me to playing guitar and drums at various venues round the Newcastle area. I listen to music such as Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Portishead, and Johnny Cash. Over the past few years I have become an enthusiastic snowboarder achieving an intermediate level certificate, in addition to enjoying the thrill of being a competent wakeboard and mono-skier. At present I am taking pleasure in reading Stephen Kings the Dark Tower, and Stephen Hawkins A Brief History of Time. Historical areas of interest include medieval and modern, along with remaining in touch with politics and current affairs through daily news. I run several miles every morning, recently completing the Darlington 10K for charity.

Driving
• Endorsement free driving licence held since 2005.

For the EnCE you will be sent a time-limited copy of EnCase, this is something like a couple of months if i remember right. If you have the books/study guide, and lots of free time as you're not in employment, i dont think it'll be a problem.
I'm not sure more and more courses will really help that much. Its just getting the foot in the door as you probably know. So getting in, on any any role (whether investigator or imaging technician) would be worth it, and then move on from there. Personally i'd save your money, and keep applying as you say. I'd say your biggest problem would probably be coming up against experienced people for any role, that the company could just 'drop in' with minimal training/'downtime'.
Rich

Just to clarify that is a full working copy of Encase which can search and includes EnScripts? That would be excellent! The EnCE test would probably be a more realistic investment so I think I'll go with that. I may do a public speaking course too. It would probably look good on a cv in relation to speaking in court.

Started working this week doing Labouring on building sites. Fills in the time and employers like it!

Thank you for the responses.

Started working this week doing Labouring on building sites.

I like the cut of your jib.

I also think you've approached this topic well; presentation, grammar, spelling, politeness… it all bodes well. The number of people on here asking for jobs who can't even be bothered to put together a half-decent sentence never fails to surprise me. They're the last people I would want to represent my company.

Regards your CV details it seems impressive but it looks like it is too long. Precising is a very useful skill; for the positions you are going for I'd suggest 2 sides of A4 maximum for your CV and make sure it is uncluttered and well laid out.

Good luck.

I probably should have mentioned something about the CV bullet points. On the word document the CV spans two sides of A4. The bullet points are spread across the page horizontally for various sections instead of a long list.

)

As Rich2005 has already said another course/cert is probably not what you are lacking from your CV - it is most likely just some kind of experience. That old catch22 no-one will give you experience because you don't have any.
I'm sure persistence will pay off in the end. In the mean time why not widen the net and look at general IT roles, 6/12 months could definitely help and start giving u an edge over other graduates in a similar position.

Can I also ask

Northumbria University BSc (Hons) Multimedia Computing 2005 – 2006
Northumbria University BSc (Hons) Computer Forensics 2006 – 2009

Do you also hold 2 degrees ? Im guessing these courses share some core subjects and you maybe transfered to Computer Forensics in 2006. But 4 years and 2 Honours degrees seems like good value for money on Northumbria Uni's part.

Do you also hold 2 degrees ? Im guessing these courses share some core subjects and you maybe transfered to Computer Forensics in 2006. But 4 years and 2 Honours degrees seems like good value for money on Northumbria Uni's part.

Hello,

No just the one. I transferred during 2006 as multimedia computing wasn't meant to be. I think it was someone from Kroll Ontrack who pointed out that mentioning that years study could be useful to a forensic position.