Yan Gordon – SAP Security & Authorization Consultant

His thirst for more far-reaching knowledge and practical experiences in his area of expertise is the reason why Yan Gordon became a freelancer in the first place. Since then, Yan has been a full-time freelance SAP Security and Authorization Consultant for two years now and still likes to take advantage of every opportunity he gets to broaden his horizon and to improve his skills…

1) First off, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Yan Gordon. I am a SAP Security and Authorization consultant from Russia. I have been freelancing for two years now.

2) If you would search for your profile on Google, which are the three keywords you would type in the search bar?

SAP Security/Authorization consultant.

3) What was your inspiration and when did you actually decide to become a freelancer?

Before freelancing I had been working in internal SAP Security teams and internal control. A developing market lets you grow faster. I had always been trying to get more experience and one SAP freelance expert advised me to start freelancing. It is much better to study in action, especially when the market gives you a chance to do so. The last two years I have been freelancing full-time.

4) What kind of services have your clients asked you to provide?

My clients asked me to provide a wide range of services like role template and authorization concept developing, creation of support processes, auditing, workshops and internal courses for support teams.

5) Do you use other freelancers or companies to provide skills that you don’t possess?

I always try to use any possibility to get expertise or support by other freelancers or companies. Usually it is technical support and business process expertise.

6) Now tell us, how do you find new clients that are interested in your services?

I use LinkedIn (my profile there https://linkedin.com/in/sapsecurityfreelancer), Xing (https://www.xing.com/profile/Yan_Gordon), websites of headhunting companies, and resources like freelancermap.

7) What about freelancermap.com? Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with our IT-network?

I was impressed by your project agent engine. It works very well. Hope, you will make this service 100% relevant for me.

8) How do you set yourself apart from your competitors? What makes you special?

I started my career not in consulting but on the client side. I saw results of consulting teams’ mistakes.

I always pay attention to communication: every manager, key user or any concerned person should be informed and prepared for all project steps and changes in the system, otherwise after hypercare business and support teams will do double work or the project timeline will be changed, which means extra costs for the client.

I never let it all hang out. If a client is wrong, he should get the truth. Otherwise it is a waste of the client´s money and my time.

Also, I am ready to relocate anytime anywhere.

The quality of my work is confirmed by feedbacks on my LinkedIn profile: https://linkedin.com/in/sapsecurityfreelancer

9) What are the top three books, blogs or magazines you read to stay up to date in the IT-market?

SAP Marketplace, scn.sap.com, SAP Press books

10) Freestyle! Is there anything you would like to tell our readers?

Use professional networks to find headhunters, HR partners and project managers. Remember that headhunters sell complete products: they know nothing about work permits, visas, language levels etc. and will not send your CV to a client if you do not match all requirements. Sell yourself.

Where to find Yan Gordon?