Interviewing in Houston for a Information Security position

o mzafar125,

I was also asked to appear for an interview for the same position. Where are you currenlty located? I am in Canada and will be travelling for the interview. I am not sure how many positions are available but I was told there will be 3 days for interviews so there must be a good number of applicants they will interview.

I have previously worked in Saudi Arabia and also worked in Saudi Aramco in the same department that they are hiring for now. IT Security market in Saudi Arabia is in great demand especially in larger orgnizations like the banks, industries and government. The only problem is that it is difficult to get a job because of government regulations about replacing local saudis in place of expats. To be honest, this is one espect that scares me off about this position, that we might work their for short time and then be replaced by locals. Other than that, working for Saudi Aramco is a great experience, with great life style and componsations that are very hard to get here at home. I have a very good experience in IT Security and have been working in this field for many years and not really worried too much about the technical side of the interview. I am not sure what to expect for salary but usually what aramco offers is better that what you are currenlty getting. Adding to this a tax free salary and a month additional salary and many other benefits makes the offer attractive.

Let's keep this thread alive and let's see how it turns out.

Good luck

-Dan

Dan,

I appreciate your reply. When I spoke to the ARAMCO recruiter who had contacted me he indicated there were multiple position they were trying to fill. If you check the Aramco jobs website you will see that there are numerous INFOSEC positions pending. I feel that ARAMCO will likely have a hard time filling these positions as there are simply not enough folks to go around. I am from the DC area, and I know of companies that have had positions open for a couple of months and still not found the right people.

Dan, since you have worked in the INFOSEC department at ARAMCO can you possibly share your experiences?
What is the reporting structure?
How is the work environment?
What is the relationship with IT? Usually there is a adversarial relationship between IT & INFOSEC.

Just trying to get a better sense of what to expect. If these are simply temporary positions then it may not make sense to move an entire family half way around the world. When will you be in Houston for the interview? I appreciate your help. Cheers!

o mzafar125,

The job description I am being interviewed for is on below link
krb-sjobs.brassring.com/1033/ASP/TG/cim_jobdetail.asp?partnerid=25270&siteid=5398&AReq=4427BR&Codes=ASC-W-HomePage

This is for the Information Protection and Technology planning department, responsible for all IT security aspects for all Aramco systems. This department reports directly to VP Information Technology. There will be multiple groups working on different areas of security like Security policies, Security technologies, auditing... etc. This department is the IT law maker for all IT operations and has full support from highest levels of management.

The workload is really demanding. Usually you will be working on multiple projects with deadlines and high expectation from management. in my 5 year of work their, I've always been involved in at least couple of projects at a time in any given day.

I am asked to appear for the Feb. 15th interview. I never had an interview in Houston so I am not sure what to expect. When I was interviewed the first time several years ago, I was working in Saudi and was hired as a Supplemental Man Power (SMP) also known as a contractor employee. The interview back then was not that intensely technical, mostly they asked about my previous experience and what projects I have done. I think one hour of interview should be enough. My advise is to rehe talking about your previous work and about yourself. I think the most critical thing is to have your records straight by giving the correct references because they will call them and ask about what you put in your resume and what you said in your interview.


When is your interview? Good luck.

o mzafar125, Dan,

I wish you both the best! Recruiter wanted me to go down this coming week, but I had a previous business trip. I hope that I'm not totally out of the pool! But good luck to the two of you!

Yes, this is normal. Please do search Timeline in the forum and you can read all the different timelines for each stage of the interview/hiring process.

So I've had my interview in Houston however I'm not entirely sure how to rate it. They sat me down with a chemical engineer ( mind you this was for a infosec position) he clearly said he didn't know how go steer the conversation ... I guess I'll wait to see if they wish to follow up some notes below

If they book you for the westin galleria for a hotel:

1 be prepared for a 70-80 usd cab ride I noticed some people were from out of the country and may not carry usd

2. They may leave you a voucher for a taxi from the hotel to the office ... However it's for yellow cab only make sure that you or the hotel call for a yellow cab they may tell you they are always downstairs ( in my case they were not ) have them call anyway as nobody else will take the voucher and its 20 usd from the hotel to the office.

3 check your appointments vs your flight time it's about a 45 min drive from the office to iah airport if your not going to get to the airport on time they will call you a cab ( vs a shuttle bus)

The hotel is in the middle of a very large mall the food court is vastly less expensive then the restraunt


Sorry I didn't have any advise regarding interview questions as I said they sat me down with a chemical engineer who actually said " if you design the system correctly it will be hack proof"
I get the impression they he wasn't a tech type

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