Scott McCollum, CIO, Sinclair Community College and Chair, Technology First Board of Directors

Every IT organization has their “table stakes” products for providing security over their infrastructure. These are the products such as anti-virus, firewalls, and mail scanning gateways that have become ubiquitous and a part of every IT department’s budget. Beyond these common products there are other, more capable products that are implemented in order to address other risks that the organization feels are in need of mitigation. In addition to this inventory of products that have been implemented, I don’t think I’d be going out on a limb to say that every organization, regardless of size or the number of products that are used, has a list of products that they feel would improve their security posture. If this truly is the case, then how do organizations ensure that the products on their “wish list” address their most important vulnerabilities, and how do they get approval for increasing their spend for yet another product to eliminate their remaining vulnerabilities?

Sorry if you thought I had the answer to this most important question. Unfortunately, the number of vulnerabilities in an organization’s infrastructure are numerous and caused by many different factors. Some are due to bugs in the particular software that the organization uses, some are caused by flawed operational procedures of departmental users, and some are due to misconfiguration of systems. My point is that these issues will always exist and we can’t expect our budgets to continually grow to add more security products. In addition to the vastness of areas where vulnerabilities exist, we are faced with ever-tightening budgets that were already hard to justify increases in prior to the world-wide pandemic that has increased technology support costs while decreasing revenues.

While we can’t eliminate all vulnerabilities, we must identify those vulnerabilities that pose the greatest risk for the organization and focus on these areas for process improvements and technology acquisition. In some cases this means repurposing of our resources, due to the lack of being able to justify additional funding. This repurposing can manifest itself in many ways. One way to repurpose resources is to eliminate products that don’t attack the greatest threats or to acquire a new product that provides these capabilities in addition to other unmet needs. Another strategy is to implement unused functionality in products that are already owned, but under-utilized. In addition to repurposing tools, there are also opportunities in many cases to repurpose personnel to focus on security functions and to work on improving processes and managing security products.

The first step to being able to repurpose your security assets is to take an inventory of your environment for all resources that relate to security. This can be hard to do because there are some products that provide security, which are not exclusively security products, such as Microsoft 365. Once you have a total picture of the security inventory you can understand the security spend for your organization and where you might have an opportunity to repurpose resources. Identifying the risk that each of your products addresses allows you to map your “wish list” of additional security capabilities and determine how you might be able to perform any necessary repurposing before you make that much more difficult attempt to justify new funding.

Upskill your workforce with TechCred.

No matter what industry you work in, technology is having an impact on the future of your business and the nature of your work. TechCred helps Ohioans learn new skills and helps employers build a stronger workforce with the skills needed in a tech-infused economy. Many of these trainings can be completed online!

The TechCred application opens on January 3, 2022 and will close on January 31, 2022 at 3:00 p.m.

Businesses applying for TechCred are required to list their Supplier ID Number on the TechCred application. To register as a new supplier or update an existing account with the State of Ohio, visit https://supplier.ohio.gov and follow the prompts until completed. Once this information has been approved, you will receive a ten-digit State of Ohio Supplier ID number.

Beginning with Round 12 (January 2022), the following changes have been incorporated into the TechCred program:

• Training for approved credentials must start on or after the Effective Date of the Grant Agreement and must be completed by the End Date of the Grant Agreement. The Effective Date of the Grant Agreement will be the first day of the month immediately following the last application period. Costs incurred by the Applicant prior to an award of eligibility and an executed Grant Agreement is done at the Applicant's risk.
• TechCed Grant Agreements will be incorporated as part of the TechCred application. Upon receiving an award announcement, awardees will be directed to log into their application to provide an electronic signature certifying and acknowledging the Grant Agreement, Terms and Conditions, and the Program Guidelines.

https://techcred.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/techcred/apply

Mardi Humphreys, Change Agent, Integration Edge

7. Not having to remember my passwords – Every year about this time I have to either remember (uh, no) or find (ditto) the username and password I created last year for my annual updates (e.g., insurance renewals) and trainings (i.e., don’t ask). Has this prompted me to keep them in a safe place where I can find them once a year? (Again, uh, no.) When I go through the process of changing them, they are so long and involved (e.g., minimum 14 characters, at least one capital letter, at least 16 numbers, at least 11 special characters, etc.) it’s no wonder I fail to remember them or write them down. Luckily in 2022, Passwordless Authentication will become more common.

6. Virtually trying before buying – Warby Parker already does this to a degree with their virtual try-on app. In 2022, Augmented Reality will allow sellers to create realistic 3D models of their products. Since stores’ fitting rooms are still closed (thanks, COVID), I’m looking forward to finally being able to discern if the back pockets on a pair of trousers are deep enough to hold my phones before purchasing them.

5. Smaller mobile phone – 2022 will see 5G normalized. This means I can get a smaller (and cheaper) mobile because phone processors and graphics chips will become obsolete. My Spotify playlist will be streamed to my phone as if it’s a video feed. It also means I don’t have to be so quick to buy those trousers I mentioned in #6.

4. No more colonoscopies – Kohler, Toto, and Google are all working on technology around Smart Toilets. So far, they can monitor health indicators like sugar levels, body temperature, and blood pressure, to name a few. Fingers crossed colonoscopies will soon be extinct.

3. Becoming a permanent couch potato – by changing his company’s name to Meta and transitioning Facebook to one of its offerings, Mark Zuckerberg is declaring the advent of the metaverse. Defined by Zuckerberg as an embodied internet where you are in the content, not just viewing it, 2022 seems to be the beginning of a totally immersive environment. (Yes, like The Matrix. But hopefully, without all the dystopianism.) I look forward to visiting my friends’ Instagram accounts and eating the photos of the food they constantly post.

2. My own personal robot servant – While I’m integrating into the metaverse, someone (or something) will have to keep an eye on things back here in reality. Sure, a robot can clean my floors, but in 2022, I expect to be able to purchase a robot that will also keep an eye out for burglars, make out my grocery list, and give me the answer to Final Jeopardy.

1. Printing my own tiny house – In the interest of making my robot servant’s life easier, I’m willing to downsize to a tiny house. (Okay, maybe it doesn’t care, but I do. That’s what makes me so nice.) Given the current housing stock, I may have to 3D print one. The IEEE Computer Society thinks that 2022 will bring a revolution in fabrication for 3D printing. This will allow for the production of designs that, until now, would have been too expensive. Of course, it may take all of 2022 to 3D print my tiny house.

Kathy Vogler, Communications Manager, Expedient Technology Solutions

I’m a member of a fantastic Dayton area technology leads group. We are homegrown and somewhat modeled after the very successful BNI group methodology. We cover technology from A to Z with one person representing each type of technology touch.  We are all “in technology” these days and we cover a large swath of technology with much of it residing in Gray Areas. 

So exactly what is a Gray Area?

A gray area is an often-used analogy to the area of color that exists between black and white, complete opposites.  To an artist, gray areas result from ambiguity and rich variations that naturally occur in our environments.  It’s been said that the ability to see and think in gray areas is a basic element of intelligence. A price can be expensive or cheap, but the gray area will determine if it’s a reasonable price or a good value.  It’s hard to categorize gray areas because often they are unique.  I saw this and it is a perfect example: A boat is like a canoe and a kayak without technically conforming to either of those categories.  Complex systems, like technology, are literally too complex to model easily.

Are you a Boat or a Canoe?

Who says they are in technology?  Everyone.  Not picking on any particular industry, because most people I know are really awesome people, but unfortunately, there are people who believe they can sell anything to anyone.  Do they say “I am a seller of a specific business product or service”? Nope, these days it may sound something like “I work in business technology and help people manage and reduce costs.”  And, while this is probably true, it falls into the gray area of technology.  Competition is fierce in nearly every business.  COVID took a toll on our traditional methods of working.  Remote and hybrid working changed things immediately and for the future. Supply chain issues are mounting and making us rethink our strategies.  It’s wise for all companies to look deeper into technologies to add to their repertoire. Often, non-technical companies in the traditional sense will acquire a technology team that compliments their existing services and salespeople are compensated for promoting and selling these newly added technologies.  The logic is that it’s all technology since everything plugs into the network.  I believe it’s critical that we always reflect our actual services and resources to our clients to avoid potential failures on their networks.  Businesses completely depend on their technology.  There are experts in all areas of business technology, from one extreme to the other and including all of those gray areas. 

What exactly is business technology? 

Simply put, business technology is any form of technology that is integrated directly into the operation of a business.  Twenty years ago, when I took a job at a technology company, it was fairly straightforward with infrastructure/hardware at one side of the building and programming/software at the other.  Gray area at that time was if your company did both.  As our reliance on the internet grew, so did the complexities of technology.  Ironically, the dot-com bubble burst at about that same time, but progressive-thinking companies survived and flourished.  Voice over IP originated around 1995 and grew to become a business standard.  Video communications, fax sharing, integration of copiers and door alarms all made our work experience more efficient by using the internet.

And of course, the introduction of the indispensable grand champion of smartphones (thank you Steve Jobs) changed it all. Social media arrived, the cloud became a go-to resource, we no longer stored our data on portable files that someone took home, and disaster recovery become a must-have business plan. Additionally, we have artificial intelligence, commercial drones, driverless vehicles, virtual reality, the Industrial Internet of Things, cloud and collaborative robots, and digital everything. We must never forget that cybercriminals evolve along with these changes.

To quote Pink Floyd “It could be made into a monster if we all pull together as a team.”

I mentioned I was part of a technology networking group, and this is how we work together, as a team.  Yes, we have a ton of overlap, and I don’t want to use the term “cooperative competition,” but in our group we each fill predetermined roles and truly help each other.  By doing this, we are collectively helping our clients and the Greater Dayton region with skilled resources in every aspect of technology.

Here are our group’s categories:

• ·         Data integration
• ·         Office hardware/software
• ·         Managed IT services (this is my spot)
• ·         IT coaching
• ·         IT staffing
• ·         IT promotional video
• ·         Structured cabling
• ·         Website and digital marketing
• ·         Fiber optics telecommunications
• ·         Copier and managed print services
• ·         Telecom/phone systems
• ·         Trade association education (this is Technology First’s spot)
• ·         Training and coding
• ·         Cybersecurity
• ·         Hardware OEM
• ·         Robotics
• ·         Software testing
• ·         Virtual reality

It’s an interesting mix and we have a ton of overlap with lots of gray areas to cover. But the plan with this thought process is that by working together we provide transparency and the right resources for our collective clients.  I took a quick look at “cybersecurity” and that one category all by itself has nearly as much gray area as the rest of technology.  It seems we live and work in the Gray Zone.  

If you ask me what my company does, I will tell you “We’re a cybersecurity-focused managed IT services company.”  Sure, we do a lot of other things too, but I think this is a very black and white statement and hopefully easy to understand.  Technology First is the embodiment of this strategy with a mission to connect, strengthen and champion our IT community. Area businesses, and all their employees, will succeed and continue to grow if they are using the right technology resources for their needs. Let’s all be a part of that success as it ripples through our community.

Melissa Cutcher, Executive Director, Technology First

As this year ends, I have been reflecting on our mission to connect, strengthen and be a champion for our IT community. So much has happened this year!

• Technology First hosted almost fifty special interest group meetings to engage regional leadership, to learn and find inspiration in their field of interest. With over 1,000 IT professionals in attendance!
• We hosted our first ever virtual digital mixer in partnership with Jobs Ohio and SOCHE. We had over twenty-five employers and over two hundred students and adults register for the event. It was a tremendous success, and we look forward to hosting the next Digital Mixer on Wednesday, February 16^th, at WSU Student Union.
• In April we launched a new website! The new website is fantastic and allows for peer-to-peer communication through the forums. If you have not checked it out yet…https://www.technologyfirst.org/Peer-Forum
• We hosted a Girl Scout Cyber Challenge in partnership with Girl Scouts of Western Ohio to explore the world of Cybersecurity for a day filled with activities. Activities were led by over twenty cyber security professionals/volunteers. Volunteers tasked just under fifty plus girl scouts with stopping a cybersecurity breach and went through various stations to break through technological based challenges.
• Technology First awarded $5500 in Scholarships to IT students at University of Dayton, The Ohio State University, Wright State University, and Sinclair Community College. To date we have awarded over $95,000 to students across the region! And this year the golf outing raised over $3800 for the Technology First Scholarship Fund!
• We participated in Career Adventure Camp in partnership with Dayton Metro Library and hosted four stations with almost 20 IT professionals who volunteered their time and talents towards to share IT career pathways with over 950 7^th & 8^th grade students. Our volunteers shared their professional journeys and experiences with the students and inspired them to consider careers in IT.
• Taste of IT 2021 was in-person! Wow, what a momentous event and it was amazing to see everyone in 3-D. We had two keynotes, twenty-five breakout sessions, over thirty exhibitors and over 300 IT professionals in attendance. It was a major event full of learning, networking, and fun! We look forward to seeing you next year for the 16^th Annual Taste of IT on Wednesday, November 16, 2022!

AND, oh so much more! We would not be able to accomplish all these remarkable things, and more, if it were not for the amazing leadership and volunteers that make up Technology First. Thank you so much for your support. Volunteers change the world, and we are forever grateful! Thank you for joining us and we look forward to seeing you in 2022!

Cheers!

BY JOHNNY HATCH, AHEAD

Historically, monitoring has been something that could be manually deployed to a set of physical or virtual infrastructures, and once in place, you were good to go. Alerts and events would occur if something went wrong, and the monitoring tool would simply notify you with details about the incident. IT operations teams would nurse their infrastructure back to health, and all was good and right in the world again.

Fast-forward to today, however, and you’ll find a much different situation – one where enterprises are increasingly embracing a culture of DevOps and the world of monitoring is reckoning with the need to evolve and adapt. Production environments are no longer static or perpetual where monitoring is a one-and-done activity. Rather, concepts like observability—where teams are taking a holistic approach to measuring and understanding digital experiences—are being baked into the release management pipeline to ensure every application and every bit of infrastructure being deployed has monitoring attached to it. But how do you get there? What tools and technologies are ushering in this new age of monitoring and observability? The not-so-surprising answer: An intelligent combination of automation and data.

A Call to Automation

As the velocity of software release cycles increases, the manual approach to deploying monitoring agents or instrumenting everything in the release for proper observability becomes impractical and counterproductive. Can you imagine a developer checking in code to a source code management repository, creating a ticket in an ITSM system, and requiring someone within IT operations to manually deploy monitoring to that release? That flies in the face of speed, agility, and what a culture of DevOps is trying to accomplish (releasing better software, faster).

Leveraging automation tools, such as Ansible, Puppet, or Chef, is a great first step toward making monitoring pervasive with every release. This may involve the automated deployment and installation of a monitoring agent, the customization of a configuration file to define what gets monitored, or API calls to the control plane of a monitoring system to register new systems for observation. Fortunately, many continuous integration (CI) tools either have these automation capabilities out-of-the-box or stitch well with third-party automation tools.

Another growing trend we’re seeing in the quest toward making monitoring pervasive is ‘observability as code.’ In the same way that infrastructure as code seeks to codify infrastructure components as configuration files using JSON or YAML for consistent and repeatable use, we can leverage a similar capability with monitoring and observability. Increasingly, we’re seeing observability vendors develop terraform providers to do just that.  Head over to the Terraform Registry and search for your favorite observability vendor to see if they have something listed.

A Data-Driven Approach

Once a repeatable structure has been established to deploy observability in an automated fashion, we can take things a step further in the use and maturity of observability data. If the goal of DevOps is to release better software more quickly, the question of how we do that begs to be asked. Observability provides one answer: by leveraging data about the health, performance, and availability of the application while running in a pre-production, lower-tier environment. You might be asking yourself, “does that mean monitoring and observability should be deployed outside of just production?” The short answer is yes. There are a host of benefits to having the telemetry data to make better-informed decisions about whether or not to promote code from a pre-production environment to a production environment. Many in the marketplace have begun to call this process ‘release verification.’

Among the largest data sources to drive this automated decision-making process are the metrics, logs, and traces from our observability stack. If there is too much latency being identified by our APM tool, too many errors in the logs, or anomalous metrics coming from our applications or infrastructure, then our tooling should be integrated or stitched into our delivery pipelines to throw up a red flag and say, “Stop! Don’t release or promote this code.” In addition to taking automated action, it would also facilitate a quick feedback loop to the development team, providing insight into why it failed so developers can spend more time on value-add activities and less time troubleshooting.

Conclusion

Monitoring maturity has come a long way in a short period of time – especially as the ways infrastructure and applications are architected and released to market have evolved. Learning to become proactive in the use of monitoring and observability data as part of a CI/CD pipeline can be new to a lot of traditional operations teams (particularly for those who have historically focused on incident response activities). However, employing an automated and data-driven approach to the use of observability will result in better software, differentiated products and services, happier customers, and outpaced competition.

Sichi brings more than 20 years of experience growing innovative teams at international technology consultancies. Magnetic co-founders Beck and Barry Besecker will remain active board members.

The pandemic has driven more retail activity to the digital space. This increased demand for standout online and in-app experiences has helped Magnetic Mobile grow new and existing client partnerships. Having recently increased revenue by 85% and nearly doubled its workforce, the company looks to continue that expansion into 2022 and beyond.

“Magnetic has a proven track record of delivering superior customer engagement for our partners and that reputation allows us to take advantage of new opportunities in the current landscape,” said Beck Besecker. “Brian’s vast experience leading collaborative teams at some of the world’s best enterprise-level tech firms will help us capitalize on that momentum, building on our strengths and growing Magnetic’s portfolio.”

Previously the Retail Loyalty Division of sister company Marxent before spinning out in 2016, Magnetic Mobile has partnered with Speedway (now part of the 7-Eleven family) for nearly a decade to support the digital components of its industry-leading Speedy Rewards program.

Magnetic Mobile combines data-driven design strategy with the latest technology to create digital experiences that keep customers coming back for more. With expertise in UX design, content strategy, front-end and back-end web development, mobile applications, and digital promotions management, Magnetic supports every step of the customer journey.

With headquarters in the heart of the Cincinnati-Dayton technology corridor, Magnetic is proud to be rooted in the Midwest. Rapid growth during the pandemic has enabled expansion of its remote workforce, adding top talent from across the country.

Magnetic has developed mobile applications and responsive websites for many of the nation’s top manufacturing and retail brands including Champion Windows & Home Exteriors, La-Z-Boy, and Bob’s Discount Furniture.

“Having been a client of Magnetic’s sister company, Marxent, I experienced first hand the customer focus and innovation that Beck and Barry bring to organizations. I look forward to working with them in their continued roles on the Magnetic board,” said Brian Sichi. “I couldn’t be more excited to join the leadership team at Magnetic and to expand on that legacy as we bring Magnetic’s capabilities to a broader client base while continuing to innovate.”

Sichi brings to Magnetic more than two decades of experience driving innovation at some of the largest technology consultancies in the world. Most recently, he worked as Director of U-Collaborate Innovation & Digital solutions for KPMG Australia.

His previous roles include Exponentials & Analytics Lead for Deloitte’s Leadership Center for Clients and Strategy, Innovation, & Transformation Practice Lead for Capgemini Government Solutions. Sichi is also a Marine Corps veteran, having served in the United States, Somalia, and Korea.

“Magnetic is a high-performing organization positioned to take our success even higher,” said Sichi. “We are a company built for a tech-savvy world and have a great opportunity to help existing and new clients improve their digital brand.”

Chris Kuhl, CISO/CTO, Dayton Children's Hospital

Is your greatest cybersecurity asset that shiny new tool your organization just purchased?  What about the integration between tool A & tool B into a unified dashboard? This is the great conundrum for cybersecurity teams, and I would like to convince you, that your greatest cybersecurity asset is your users.

According to Gartner, an IT research and advisory company, the worldwide cybersecurity market spending is forecasted to reach $170.4 billion in by 2022.  Yet, in 2020, organizations still suffered from a global loss of $945 billion.  I believe it is safe to say that we need a more comprehensive cyber strategy, that includes addressing the human risk along with the technology risk. 

According to the 2021 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), over 85% of all breaches involved human interaction.  Human interaction includes phishing attacks, human error, misuse of privileges or having easily guessed passwords.  To focus in even more, phishing and passwords are the top two risks to any organization for a third year in a row.  Luckily, you can address all these topics with a security awareness program.

Creating a comprehensive security awareness program isn’t difficult.  It takes the three most challenging resources to acquire: time, leadership support, and an understanding of your organization’s culture. 

The first thing we need to do is replace the old mantra “users are the weakest link in your cyber defense” with “people are the primary attack vector.”  In healthcare, we are talking about people with advanced degrees, years of experience in their respective fields and valuable insight.  None of which is geared towards cybersecurity.

Secondly, we need to survey our users to gain a better understanding of the cybersecurity culture in our organizations.  Once you understand the current culture around cybersecurity, you can begin to develop the four focus areas for your awareness program.

Two important categories were mentioned above, phishing and passwords.  Easy ways to identify/report a phishing email and the use of passphrases instead of passwords should be included in your security training.  That just leaves two additional categories unique to your organization.  If you have a lot of remote workers, you might want to cover how to work remote safely and securely.  If you are doing manufacturing, you may want to cover what to look for with physical security and tailgating into the controlled rooms.

The importance of cybersecurity awareness training has become more front and center in the last 20 months.  Traditional network perimeters are dissolving from a combination of cloud platforms, smart devices and employees working from home more.  Protecting the user’s identity and PC become that much more important.

Our main goal, as cybersecurity professionals, is to secure our organization.  To quote Gabe Bassett, one of the authors of the DBIR, “Your job is not to secure your computers but your organization. And if you’re not securing your people, you’re not securing your organization.”

Cadre Information Security

Alleviating cybersecurity risks comes in many shapes and sizes—and so do organizations. Large enterprises with deep pockets and full-fledged SOC teams adopt the latest technologies and processes to fight back against adversaries. But for mid-size organizations, reducing risk is often constrained to a pick-and-choose approach. With limited funds, headcount, and internal knowledge, those responsible for keeping data secure are left wrangling the tough decisions of what matters most.

Here at Cadre, we firmly believe that there is no “one size fits all” approach. We’ve had decades of experience with a variety of companies—some probably resembling yours. But even still, there isn’t a carbon copy of a security prescription to dole out. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t best practices that everyone can follow to avoid common mistakes. And that’s the guidance you’re here for after all, so let’s jump in:

1. Don’t discount your value. Many mid-size organizations think that just because they are smaller, they aren’t a target. On the contrary, adversaries often perceive smaller companies as easy targets—and without the proper protections, they can linger undetected for lengthy periods of time.
2. Know where your security gaps are. We all get caught up in the day-to-day work. Especially when there’s new malware at every turn. But it’s critical to carve out time to analyze security risks as the business and world changes.
3. Establish a baseline. If you don’t know what is “normal,” how will you know what activity is “abnormal” on your network and devices? Businesses should have some form of monitoring and logging in place to flag any activity or incident that should be investigated.
4. Inventory your assets, and do it regularly. People and devices come and go. Be sure to complete quarterly asset inventory assessments so you know who and what is connected to your network.
5. Train users on security more often. There is never enough security training. Even the most vigilant users fall for phishing attempts. By creating more training opportunities, companies can move towards a culture of security where users understand strong cybersecurity isn’t only important for the company, but for them personally, too.
6. Evaluate supply chain threats. If recent high-profile breaches have taught us anything, it’s that the supply chain is more vulnerable than ever. We will begin to see it being regulated more, which can impact business function and revenue.
7. Put a business continuity plan into place. The old saying goes, “it’s not a matter of if you will be breached, but when.” Be sure your organization has continuity plans in place covering impacts from basic cybersecurity to core business functions for everything from targeted disruptions to a worst-case scenario.
8. Segment your network. What’s worse than a malicious actor that gets into your network? One that can move freely within it. To prevent this, be sure to segment your network.
9. Patch. Need we say more? Okay yes, patch in a timely manner and in a deliberate fashion. Audit your patching.
10. Accept help. Cybersecurity changes every day. Keeping up with vendors and their technologies, sifting through acronyms, and steadying a finger on the pulse of your company’s security is often an impossible task. Be sure you have a lifeline when something goes wrong or you need an outside perspective from a trusted source.

Of course, this list isn’t comprehensive, but it’s a good place to start. Even if you’re heard many of these best practices before, it can be a gentle reminder that some need renewed attention.

Still struggling with these 10? Need more help getting your cybersecurity in order? Read our blog, 10 Reasons a vCISO May be a Good Choice for Your Company.

SOCHE Announces Virtual Sessions with Employers on Careers in Information Technology

Purpose: To expose High School teachers and Career Guidance Champions to the different career opportunities in Information Technology to better direct students in career paths

When: Tuesdays from 3 PM - 4 PM (19 Oct - 7 Dec 2021)

How: Live 1-hour virtual sessions that will be recorded to share across all schools in Ohio for greater impact

Audience:  High school teachers, career champions,  guidance counselors

Presenter: Employers who have experts in the listed topics >> This could be you!!

Format: 25-minute information session on each topic below (e.g. Computer Programmer) given by Presenter with 5-minute Q&A. Suggested talking points for the presenter are offered below. The presenter can create a PowerPoint presentation or a demo that explains their job.

Presenter Talking Points:

• What is your job and how does it relate to your company’s success?
• What is a typical day like for you?
• How many hours a day do you spend in meetings or working in groups?
• Do you mainly sit at a desk doing work individually or do you have an opportunity to work in different environments?
• Are you expected to be oncall? If yes, how often?
• What education or other experience helped you to get your current job?
• When hiring a new employee in your department, what education does a candidate need?
• What skill do you most value in hiring a new employee?
• What advice would you give a student considering a career in your field?

Contact Information: Please email your timeslot preferences >> Patty Buddelmeyer (patty.buddelmeyer@soche.org)