Just a thought...mayyybe not everything needs to be "smart" and "connected". Crazy, I know. techcrunch.com/2025/12/03/en…

How's everyone feel about being interviewed by an AI bot versus a human? Saw a company called Lizzy AI just raised a Seed round. Here's a snippet of what they do: "LizzyAI an AI-native interviewing platform provider that helps companies evaluate candidates through dynamic, structured, and human-like conversations. Its core feature is an adaptive, conversational AI that conducts role-specific interviews in real time."

Hey @LinkedIn @LinkedInHelp - you sell a business premium plan that unequivocally states "Unlimited People Browsing". My team I pay for these plans and have been getting automatically kicked out for *unlimited people browsing*. Below is a screenshot of the response from support which clearly conflicts with the "Unlimited People Browsing" feature we pay for. To be abundantly clear, the browsing we are doing is manual! So, since it's impossible to get help from someone that isn't restricted to reading off a script, this post is my last resort.

Cybersecurity vendors raised $1.3 BILLION over 41 rounds in November. >$1B raised three months running. Some comparative data below. 🔹 The $1.3 Billion raised in November 2025 represents an 82% increase in funding raised when compared to November 2024. 🔹 41 funding rounds were tracked in November ’25 compared to 22 in November, ’24. 🔹 Early-stage funding (Seed, Series-A) represents 63% of all November 2025 funding rounds recorded. 🔹 One round of funding >$100 Million was recorded accounting for 33% of all November funding dollars. 🔹 YTD vendors raised $12 Billion, a 30% increase over the same period in 2024.

Do people really think bypassing a recruiter - after receiving outreach on an opportunity by said recruiter - is a good look? Spoiler Alert: It's not. Hiring managers engage recruiters for a reason. There is a process. That process helps them with their hiring efforts. Don't be that person.

Why's this guy so upset? He's pointing out that people are exchanging currency for goods and services. That's a good thing, it keeps the economy rolling. If they're earning income legally, and paying taxes, who cares where they work and when they conduct their transactions?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been commenting on increased cybersecurity funding which is leading to an uptick in hiring demand. An educated guess on why, is that AI innovation is driving the need for updated solutions creating a new opportunity for competition. If that’s indeed true, what happens when we feel the negative consequences of the FOMO effect? Where investors “irrationally” pour money into innovation? Jamie Dimon alluded to this a while back, and now Sundar Pichai chimed in on the subject, specifically saying: “…while the growth of AI investment had been an ‘extraordinary moment’, there was some ‘irrationality’ in the current AI boom.” What are everyone’s thoughts? Cybersecurity leaders and investors: Is this something being considered right now?

When does deliberate decision making turn into paralysis by analysis?

Cybersecurity leaders, do you feel like hiring’s gotten tougher lately? It’s not just you. I just logged a $75M *SEED* round for a new cyber vendor backed by serious VCs 😐 Big picture: cyber funding YTD is already 20% higher than all of 2024 📈 That means more funded vendors. More GTM pressure.  More hiring competition. 2026 isn’t going to get easier. What’s your plan to stand out when competing for talent?

Cybersecurity hiring is shifting again. Hiring Managers, take note. Demand signals for GTM talent are climbing, and recruiting is about to get harder! Since 2023, it’s been an employer-driven market, meaning demand for talent was relatively weak, and hiring companies held the leverage. That coincided with a steep (and justified) drop in VC funding across the cybersecurity vendor landscape. While we’re nowhere near the record investment levels of 2021–2022, things are looking up: 🔹 YTD cybersecurity investment has already surpassed all of FY2024. 🔹 Top-tier GTM professionals are now being courted by multiple vendors. 🔹 We’re seeing a clear uptick in demand for recruitment support. This doesn’t mean you need to settle. It does mean you’ll need to plan to compete because all indicators point to a shift back towards a candidate-driven market.

Cybersecurity vendors raised $439 MILLION over 14 rounds in August. Some comparative data below. ◾ The $439 Million raised in August 2025 represents a 51% decrease in funding raised when compared to August 2024. ◾ 14 funding rounds were tracked in August ’25 compared to 14 in August, ’24. ◾ Early-stage funding (Seed, Series-A) represents 60% of all August 2025 funding rounds recorded. ◾ One $230M round of funding was recorded accounting for 52% of all August funding dollars. ◾ YTD vendors raised $8 Billion, a 10% increase over the same period in 2024.

Two headlines, two different publications, one week apart 🤪 ➡️ "Cybersecurity Budget Growth Hits Five-Year Low..." (Aug 13) ➡️ "Global Cybersecurity Spending to Hit $213 Billion in 2025—What’s Fueling the Surge" (Aug 21) What are you all seeing?

If only the founders at Wiz heard this advice before launching the company...

Cybersecurity vendors raised $1.17 BILLION over 41 rounds in July. Some comparative data below. ◾ The $1.17 Billion raised in July 2025 represents a 58% increase in funding raised when compared to July 2024. ◾ 41 funding rounds were tracked in July ’25 compared to 25 in July, ’24. ◾ Early-stage funding (Seed, Series-A) represents 68% of all July 2025 funding rounds recorded. ◾ Three rounds of funding over $100M were recorded accounting for 32% of all July funding dollars. ◾ TD vendors raised $7.6 Billion, an 18% increase over the same period in 2024.

Lots of funding action in the runup to BlackHat. But I suspect the talk of the industry will be dominated by Palo Alto's monster acquisition of CyberArk for $25,000,000,000 🤯

Some in my profession - recruitment - might look at these stats and feel alarmed 😱 But I see opportunity. Behind the scenes, recruiters will vent that clients are chasing quantity over quality (stacking multiple firms on a single search). And yes, that’s frustrating. But with trends like these, quality becomes non-negotiable. The best (and most fun!) engagements aren’t when you’re buried in resumes. They’re when the right person is hard to find, and the hiring manager knows exactly what they need. That’s when high-quality search shines: fewer candidates, more alignment, less wasted time, and better outcomes.

Sure, just throw a job post out there and hope for the best. It’s like dumping water on a field and wondering why nothing grows. Hiring tech talent takes more than vibes. We actually know what we’re doing. Want help?

Cybersecurity vendors raised $994 MILLION in June. Some comparative data below. ◾ The $994 Million raised in June 2025 represents a 13% increase in funding raised when compared to June 2024. ◾ 29 funding rounds were tracked in June ’25 compared to 27 in May, ’24. ◾ Early-stage funding (Seed, Series-A) represents 59% of all June 2025 funding rounds recorded. ◾ One round of funding over $300M was recorded accounting for 36% of all June funding dollars. ◾ YTD vendors raised $6.4 Billion, a 13% increase over the same period in 2024.

What's farming have in common with technology recruitment?? See for yourself 👇

Cybersecurity vendors raised $1.1 BILLION over 25 rounds in May. Some comparative data below. ◾ The $1.1 Billion raised in May 2025 represents a 24% decrease in funding raised when compared to May 2024. ◾ 25 funding rounds were tracked in May ’25 compared to 33 in May, ’24. ◾ Early-stage funding (Seed, Series-A) represents 48% of all May 2025 funding rounds recorded. ◾ Notably, Seed and Series-A have, on average, represented 60% of all funding rounds since the beginning of 2024. ◾ Two rounds of funding over $200M were recorded accounting for 62% of all May funding dollars. ◾ YTD vendors raised $5.4Billion, a 13% increase over the same period in 2024.