Editor’s note: This is part two of a three-part series from Patrick Trierweiler on the ISACA Now blog focused on what early-career professionals and newcomers to IT audit can do until they have the required experience to obtain the CISA certification. See part one of the series here, and part three will be published next week.
This blog series is focused on teaching early-career professionals and those who recently transitioned to IT audit, assurance and compliance how to set themselves up for success when it comes to planning, studying for and passing the CISA—a milestone certification for several disciplines within the compliance space. I will include tips and tricks learned personally as well as from other professionals with 0-5 years in the IT compliance space on what worked for us and what we could have done better. In this second post, we will go over what you can and should be doing now in preparation for the CISA and other credentials that are on your radar.
What to Do Immediately
These are a few simple steps you should take immediately, as early in your career as possible. I am very frugal in nature, and I pride myself on these being very cost-effective recommendations.
Join ISACA and your local chapter. I tell this to every new hire class, every college class, potential recruit and student who talks to me and is interested in working in IT audit: join ISACA. ISACA provides free webinars and resources, discounted certification tests and events, and more. Your local chapter will vary but many chapters provide the same resources but are more personalized and cost-effective. Many chapters provide cram courses for all the major certifications each year during the spring and summer, and even free networking events and free/discounted rates at conferences. For beginners who do not yet have the required years of experience to obtain the CISA, one recommended discounted/foundational ISACA credential is the IT Audit Fundamentals Certificate, which works a lot like many audit firms’ new hire boot camps.
Going back to cost, ISACA and your local chapters are discounted and even potentially free for students and recent graduates, so the amount of resources you gain is a huge value. Many companies reimburse you for annual dues, so if you can, pass those savings on to your company as a thank you for paying the bills.
Find a mentor and support system. Finding a mentor is great advice for anyone at any time but especially in the field of IT audit. IT audit is a niche space, and you will bump into the same people for your entire career, which is why it is important to identify a mentor and create a support system of peers at your job. These people will grow with and around you, and one day they might work for a client, be your boss, or simply be an advocate for your success as you both grow.
Find at least one person that is where you want to be in 2-5 years and learn what you can from them. You can have just one that teaches you everything, or you can have several for different topics – what is important is you identify them and keep in touch.
A mentor is a key part of your support system, but you should also identify two or three coworkers at the same stage in their career and keep in contact. This is vital, especially early in your career. Often companies or hiring classes will make one large chat but that often becomes underutilized a month or two after onboarding or is mainly used for company-wide questions. Your support system are people you can ask complex questions to and might talk to on a daily basis, depending on the difficulty of your workload and where you are in your career.
Make time for you and your growth: Burnout has become a popular topic since the pandemic but in this field it is more common than most. Audit in general has large amounts of turnover and while burnout is only part of that problem, it can be what causes you to leave the industry if you don’t put yourself first.
Make space for yourself and work within your means. This can be very hard, especially early in your career. You need to work when you are supposed to work, define a buffer, and allocate time to your own growth. This can look very different in IT audit as we have a “slow season” and “busy season,” but your support network and mentor can help you learn the ebb and flow of your company.
Once that is understood, make a threshold of how much more than projected you will work each day and week. You may have to break these for emergencies, but you need to set up these buffers to give yourself the needed time to sleep, enjoy your free time, and grow in your career. There are a lot of resources and tips for how to do this, but what is important is that you identify time to study for certifications, watch webinars and improve. It will take you time to find what works for you and get it working, but once you find a rhythm, it will get much easier.
What’s Next?
Once you have these things set up, continue to build this foundation and make sure that it sticks. I am a true believer in the claim that it takes over two months to create new habits, and it’s even harder in a new environment. I would recommend not making any major new plans until you feel confident in your foundation.
In our next part of this blog series, we will discuss what to do once you feel settled, which I would expect to take several months. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful day and find this information helpful.