Erica Low

Bachelor of Science in IT

Associate Analyst

My name is Erica and I started my CrowdStrike journey initially as an IT System Admin Graduate in February 2023. I'm currently an Associate Analyst within Falcon Complete. I completed my Bachelor of Science in IT degree at the University of Technology Sydney in late 2022.

Why did you choose to work for CrowdStrike?

The short answer, as always, is to stop breaches. Being at the forefront of cyber warfare means that you're actively "saving the world". It might sound cringe but it's true. By protecting critical infrastructures of our customers, we ensure that everything runs smoothly without disruption.

How do the core values of CrowdStrike manifest in your daily work?

As a Falcon Complete analyst, we are often in close contact with our customers in order to relay details of how we stopped bad guys from infiltrating their environment and provide appropriate recommendations on how to prevent further attacks. My daily work as an analyst reflects our commitment of being fanatical about the customer by truly understanding the customer's perspective and always going the extra mile to assist them. Furthermore, there's never a dull day at Falcon Complete, I'm learning something new everyday which constantly fuels my passion in cybersecurity. On top of that, being on the frontline means that I always have to innovate in order to defend against the latest tactics and techniques that threat actors are cooking up.

What advice would you give to incoming interns and graduates on how to make a tangible impact during their early days at CrowdStrike?

My one piece of advice would be to never be afraid to voice your opinion, especially when it comes to your ideas or feedback. CrowdStrike understands that continuous improvement heavily relies on listening to every voice in the room regardless of position and tenure. CrowdStrikers thrive in team collaboration environments where open and transparent communication empowers us to drive innovation within the cybersecurity industry.

How do you manage work-life balance in a high-energy environment like CrowdStrike? What support does the company offer in this regard?

Working from home has its perks but it can be difficult to switch off when you're off shift as you would likely still hangout in your "office" after work. When I'm off shift, my notifications would be paused and work laptop secured in a backpack. This helps me create a sense of separation from "work mode" and "personal mode" without the typical work commute to wind down. Additionally, CrowdStrike offers a generous amount of time off including volunteering time where you can take a day off to give back to your community.

What's something you know now that you wish you knew when you started at CrowdStrike? What insider knowledge could be beneficial for new hires?

CrowdStrikers don't bite and don't be afraid to ask questions - no matter how simple they may seem. No CrowdStriker would think less of you for seeking clarity. No one knows everything on the top of their heads. In fact, our google-fu skills are getting trained everyday. There's a high chance that your question might even help a senior in learning something new.

George Dhanoa

Bachelor of Commerce

Sales Development Representative & Team Lead

My name is George and I work in CrowdStrike’s Sales Development Team as a Sales Development Representative & Team Lead for ANZ. I studied a Bachelor of Commerce at Macquarie University and joined CrowdStrike as an intern back in April 2023. A fun fact about me is that I once filmed an ad with Virat Kohli.

What do you do at CrowdStrike?

My role at CrowdStrike involves me being responsible for prospecting, outreach and qualifying leads for SMBs across WA, NSW & QLD. I interact with potential customers at the beginning of their cybersecurity buyer’s journey and guide them on the CrowdStrike path. Alongside that, I also lead and mentor our SMB SDR team.

Describe the culture at CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike has a very strong, positive culture that is inclusive of individuals regardless of certain backgrounds & skillsets. There are constant opportunities for personal + professional growth and development; everyone is always willing to lend a helping hand with whatever you may need. You also get the chance to go to various company events/conferences across Australia, and network with many of people in the cyber industry.

What’s been one highlight to date?

It’s hard to pick one but I’d have to say CrowdTour 2023, which is CrowdStrike’s biggest annual cybersecurity conference. It was great to be able to meet and connect with people you see virtually on a more personal level face-to-face. Another highlight would be getting a senior SDR + team lead promotion within 9 months - again, shows the opportunity for progression at CrowdStrike.

What’s a tip you would give to incoming graduates and interns?

Don’t be afraid to talk to anyone and take every opportunity you get with both hands. You can learn something from everyone and the stronger connections you build, the more access you’ll get to opportunity. Ask many questions and be a good listener.

What was the biggest surprise transitioning into a graduate role from an intern role at CrowdStrike?

The biggest surprise for me transitioning from an intern to full-time role was discovering the pressure that having a quota can put on you, and then understanding where to dedicate your time in order to be most effective. However, as time progresses you understand your role better and things start falling into place.

Emily Zhao

Bachelor of biomedicine (neuroscience) and a diploma of IT

Analyst I Falcon Complete

Describe a typical day for you in CrowdStrike in your team:

Typically, I spend my day investigating and addressing security alerts. We work on removing any malicious elements from our customer's environment and make security recommendations to the customer. I also work with the customer to answer any questions they may have on the security alerts or the Falcon platform. It's a mix of technical work and customer interactions.

What is your top tip for incoming graduates or interns at CrowdStrike?

My top tip would be to be proactive about forming connections with the wider team. Remote work makes the work-life balance a lot more manageable, but it does make it difficult to build relationships naturally. Whether it's by sharing memes or pictures of your (fur)babies, joining huddles, or finding people with similar hobbies, building a network makes work that much more enjoyable. They will be there to help you with any questions, and you will learn a lot from these people.

If you could go back in time and give your university self some advice, what would it be?

I would tell myself to focus less on trying to figure out the 'perfect' thing to learn and instead concentrate on developing strong learning skills. In a fast-paced environment like cybersecurity, you're constantly exposed to new information and concepts. The ability to learn and adapt quickly is far more valuable than trying to know everything. Remember, it's impossible to know it all, and most knowledge and skills you gain will be transferable in some way. It's more important to develop good learning/analytical skills and to become efficient at acquiring and applying new information.

What do you enjoy the most about work at CrowdStrike?

My favourite thing about Crowdstrike are the people here. There is such a range of people from different backgrounds and skillsets, but everyone is always willing help you learn and succeed. The people at here are friendly, supportive and ambitious, which creates a really positive working environment.

What opportunities for professional development have you found most valuable at CrowdStrike, and how have they shaped your career path?

Crowdstrike encourages you to take certifications to grow your technical, as well as providing a variety of opportunities and programs run internally to develop soft skills such as public speaking and leadership.

Tony Lui

Bachelor of Advanced Computing (Data Science)

Engineer I - Site Reliability

My name is Tony and I'm a site reliability engineer (SRE) under the product team. I studied a Bachelor of Advanced Computing with a major in Data Science at the University of Sydney. I joined CrowdStrike as a graduate around February 2023.

What’s do you do at CrowdStrike?

The role of a SRE can be split into two parts. One part of it is to ensure customer facing services are running fine. We have various monitoring technologies used to monitor the health of various services. Another part of it is to develop tools that can help better performing our work. The tool can be an automation tool, or it can be an AI model that helps to spot anomalies.

Describe the culture at CrowdStrike

In CrowdStrike, we value innovation a lot. We use our innovation to creatively solve our customers’ problems. Thus, it’s challenging and interesting here. You can expect different sort of problems happening, and we use our imagination and passion to solve the problems. Also, CrowdStrike has a remote-first work culture. This means most of the people working in CrowdStrike are in a remote working manner. CrowdStrike understands that people have commitments outside of work and encourages work life balance and flexibility.

What’s been one highlight to date?

Although we are working remotely, there was a time that the graduate cohort were grouped together, in order to get to know more of each other and the company. We went to the company office in Sydney and went through some team building activities. It was a great way to break the ice, and allow us to get to know more of each other.

What’s a tip you would give to incoming graduates and interns?

Enjoy your time in CrowdStrike. Don’t afraid to ask questions, there’s no such thing as silly questions here. No one knows answers to all the questions. So go wild and ask things when you do not know the answer to it. It is always better to ask a question than figuring out something is missed in the end.

An Vu

Bachelor of Cybersecurity

Associate Analyst, Falcon Complete

My name is An and I'm a part of the CrowdStrike team as a Falcon Complete Associate Analyst working in the APJ region. I studied and completed a Bachelor of Cybersecurity in 2023 and joined the CrowdStrike Team in February 2024 as a Falcon Complete Graduate.

Why did you choose to work for CrowdStrike?

I chose to work for CrowdStrike after hearing about the graduate program from a uni friend (shoutout Josh) who was interning at CrowdStrike during my final year of study. Once hearing about the graduate program and realizing it was one of the biggest cybersecurity companies in the world, I knew I had to apply and give it my best shot.

How do the core values of CrowdStrike manifest in your daily work?

The core value of One Team One Fight rings absolutely true in my daily work. Working closely alongside the entire Falcon Complete Team, who provide close support and learning experiences, has been nothing short of amazing and has greatly developed my professional career and skills. I have never felt uncomfortable asking for help from the Falcon Complete Team, and this has driven me to also help others in the team.

What advice would you give to incoming interns and graduates on how to make a tangible impact during their early days at CrowdStrike?

Take on the hardest challenges as much as possible and throw yourself into the action, regardless of your team and role. There will always be someone who can assist you and help you learn the processes and provide further insight. I would also highly recommend connecting with people in different teams; this has given me immense insight into how other parts of CrowdStrike operate. I still regularly talk to my fellow interns and grads!

How do you manage work-life balance in a high-energy environment like CrowdStrike? What support does the company offer in this regard?

Managing work-life balance was easily one of the greatest perks of working at CrowdStrike. With a remote-focused job, I am very easily able to disconnect myself from work and find comfort with my own friends and family outside of work. CrowdStrike facilitates this as the Falcon Complete Team is a global team, having other analysts and associates globally allows me to disconnect right on time.

What's something you know now that you wish you knew when you started at CrowdStrike? What insider knowledge could be beneficial for new hires?

Fortunately, I already had insider knowledge of the job; I knew what to expect and what the job looked like. However, I wish I knew more about the company. My only knowledge of CrowdStrike was that it was a massive competitor in the cybersecurity scene, but I wished I knew more about how we operate and the objectives of the company before starting. For new hires, I would highly recommend investing some time in research on CrowdStrike to understand what the team delivers and how to follow the core values of CrowdStrike.

Videos

Crowdstrike - Emerging Talent

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