Career Advice for InfoSec Professionals

Has it been challenging finding or applying for jobs as an information security professional? Perhaps you don't know where to begin or how to craft a stand-out resume for potential employers.

Don’t worry; Cybrary’s here for you! Join us monthly for our career advice series, where we'll cover different topics related to recruiting and hiring on security teams, such as resumes and interviews.

Earlier this month, our Chief Impact Officer, Chloé Messdaghi, met with Deidre Diamond, CEO & Founder of CyberSN, to discuss career advice for information security professionals as well as resume guidance.

Let's get started and see what you should include on your resume and how to stand out from the crowd when applying to join a security team!

How to Make Your Resume Stand Out

Chloé: Let's go into resumes. I know there are so many issues right now, especially with scanning software, about resumes. There comes a point where we apply for so many security roles, yet we don't hear back at all. What are some ways that we can really showcase and get our resumes seen?

Deidre: “Let's first really look at what's going on before the solution. I think it's really important for people to understand the problem so that we don't think that there isn't an opportunity for us, or that we don't blame ourselves, etc.

Job searching is a broken system. We are not capable in society to easily search and find jobs that we are qualified for, and yet there are millions of openings.

What does that mean when I say job searching is broken? Well, job descriptions mean just about nothing on any platform other than ours (CyberSN) because in ours, you can't cut and paste; you have to answer specific questions. That means you're applying for jobs that may or may not be anywhere close to what you see listed on other job sites. Why is that happening, and why didn't it happen before? Because before the digital era, posting a job cost $5,000 in the Sunday paper in the United States. So, nobody posted jobs until they were approved financially, by the organization, etc. The job description criteria had to be really lean and specific if you were going to attract people to respond who were qualified and interested. That doesn't happen today. It's like, “I don't know, I'm gonna apply” because I need something or I want something. That's where we're at, it's all because of money. So, it’s a big mess.

The next thing to understand is that resumes kind of follow suit. Meaning, a resume can have whatever a person wants to put on it. That doesn't make it any easier for those that are out trying to hire and figure out what somebody has done.”

Chloé: So how do we tackle that problem? Which is, should I make sure that my resume matches the job description?

Diedre: “I say no, don't change your resume. However, your resume needs to be correct. So, let me tell you why I say no. I say no because then you're going to go to the job interview and they're going to start asking you questions. If you're not able to answer them well and be able to share what you did in your prior roles, that's going to be a terribly uncomfortable place. So I always say, lead with integrity. Which says, just speak the truth.”

Resume Q&As

Q: How can we add Cybrary labs to our resumes?

Chloé: “Put it in your education area or interests. When I'm looking at resumes, I tend reveiw those areas to see what are you doing outside of traditional schooling. So, that means I want certs, I want labs, anything that shows that you’re hands-on and technical, that's what I want to see.”

Q: What do I do if there was a gap?

Deidre: “Don’t do anything. Just tell me what your experience is. We’re smart enough to know that we’ll learn more about you once we talk to you. Whatever that gap was, if you cared for somebody in your life or took some time off to take a sabbatical, then be honest. Because, here's the deal, if people don't like that, then don't work for them, they're not good people. It might be hard to get in but, once you got some skills, the world is your oyster as long as you don't settle.”

Q: Can degrees, certs, or personal projects qualify as experience?

Chloé: “Absolutely! That should be experience because you took time to learn and make yourself more valuable to your next employer.”

Where do I go from here?

If you’re looking to better match to a job that fits your career aspirations, or are simply curious as to what information security jobs are out there, visit CyberSN.

Or, better yet, stay up to date on the latest career advice webinars by visiting https://www.cybrary.it/business/events/.