Tips for Cybersecurity Job Search

In my journey through the #cybersecurity job market, I've learned a thing or two about the application process that I think could help others who are also #opentowork. It's easy to fall into the trap of applying to as many roles as possible, but I've found that approach isn't always the most effective. Cold applications often find themselves at the bottom of the pile, overshadowed by internal candidates, interns, and those with referrals. From my experience, the key is focusing on quality over quantity. Instead of mass applying, I invest time in researching roles thoroughly to ensure they're a good fit and legitimate. Boolean searches have also helped me a lot. They allow me to narrow my job search down and find roles I am qualified for, examples I use are "ability to obtain" OR "associate position X" I also don't rush to apply. Instead, I reach out to my network or individuals currently at the company to gain insights into the role I am applying for. Networking is also important. Building connections can smooth out the job search process significantly. Don't just focus on recruiters; tap into your college alumni, industry peers, and even those in your desired role. And don't overlook the power of AI tools like ChatGPT to streamline your job search. When applying for roles it's all about not wasting time on applications, so using AI to help with your resume and the process entirely is a game changer. Lastly, organization is crucial. Before you start applying, have a clear plan. Know the roles you're targeting, and how you'll approach each application, and keep track of your applications to monitor your progress. What lessons have you learned during your job search?

Looking for your first / next role in Cybersecurity? I'm seeing a lot of open req's in posts. Now is a good time to apply and/or prep for Q2 opportunities. If you're applying to <many> roles without a response, chances are your resume isn't hitting the mark. This is when I typically tell a mentee to hire a professional resume writer, particularly one who has experience in IT/cyber. Use your freed up time to really think through and craft your STAR (situation, task, action, result) stories. It. is. worth. your. time. Then...test them out. Go to https://www.meetup.com/ and search for cyber/cybersecurity/IT/etc in your area or local security conferences (e.g. BSides). Go meet people and test out your STAR stories. If they react positively, you nailed it! If you really want to roll up your sleeves and own your resume (I'm guilty of this!), ask friends/foes/random strangers to have a peek. Get an unfiltered, honest opinion. I see a lot of "first cyber resumes" and the majority don't clearly reflect what the candidate wants to do. RULE # 1 - don't make recruiters/hiring managers work to understand how you meet their needs. Typical major issues: - Lack of Focus - pick a role you want and hone your resume to reflect - Skill translation - levy job descriptions to find meaningful language - Kitchen sink - remove anything not supporting your focus - TMI detail - make it relevant, short, meaningful (STAR methodology) For those interested, I have a resume template on my profile. Best of luck!

Landing Your Dream Cybersecurity Job: A LinkedIn Playbook Breaking into cybersecurity involves more than just technical skills. Building relationships with hiring managers through LinkedIn can be your secret weapon. Here's a game plan to navigate LinkedIn and land your dream job: 1. Research & Connect: Identify Hiring Managers: Use LinkedIn search with filters like "cybersecurity" and "hiring manager" to find decision-makers at your target companies. Personalize Connections: Don't just send generic requests. Mention a specific post or interaction they had that resonated with you. Highlight your relevant skills and express your interest in their company or work. Optimize Your Profile: Make your profile a talent magnet. Use relevant keywords, showcase your achievements, and present a professional image. 2. Touchpoints for Trust: Engage with Content: Like, comment, and share their posts. Contribute insightful comments to relevant discussions, showcasing your expertise. Offer Expertise: Offer to answer questions in public forums related to their company or industry. This positions you as a thought leader. Share Valuable Resources: Share relevant articles, case studies, or industry news with the hiring manager through direct messages, demonstrating your knowledge and staying top-of-mind. 3. Job Hunt with Focus: Refine Your Search: Use advanced filters to find open positions that align with your skills and interests. Targeted Applications: Don't apply to every job. Tailor your resume and cover letter to each specific role, highlighting relevant skills and achievements from your touchpoints. Showcase LinkedIn Connections: If you have mutual connections with the hiring manager, mention them in your application, mentioning how you know them and why you're interested in the company. 4. Power Up Your Resume: AI Boost: Explore AI resume builders to analyze your skills and optimize your resume for keywords and format. Remember, AI is a tool, not a replacement for human review. Quantify Achievements: Use numbers and metrics to showcase the impact of your work. Did you save the company X dollars by identifying a vulnerability? Quantify it! Action Verbs Shine: Replace passive language with action verbs like "led," "implemented," and "spearheaded" to demonstrate your initiative and impact. 5. Follow Up Strategically: Thank You Note: Send a personalized thank-you note to the hiring manager after applying, mentioning specific details from their job description and how you can address their needs. LinkedIn Update: Stay connected by sharing relevant industry updates and engaging with their content. This keeps you on their radar without being pushy. Remember: Building genuine connections and showcasing your expertise takes time and effort. Be patient, consistent, and persistent. By strategically leveraging LinkedIn and crafting a killer resume, you'll be well on your way to landing that coveted cybersecurity job. Now go out there and hack your way to success!

Five ways to add #cybersecurity experience to your resume without needing to be hired into a full-time role: 1. Join a Cybersecurity Working Group. There are dozens to choose from across multiple industries. Help do research. Contribute to white papers. Volunteer to proof read. Not only will this give you something to put on your resume, it's a great way to build your network. 2. Volunteer at a security conference. Help find speakers. Help with the website. Run back-end tech support. This is also a fantastic way to network and meet people who are influential in this space. 3. Organize a security awareness seminar for your community. Work with your local library, community center, and school. Focus on security basics like password hygiene, using MFA, privacy, and how to avoid phishing & tech support scams. Great for the elderly community. 4. Create a cybersecurity blog or dedicated social media account. Write a book review. Evaluate a tool. Compare services & products. Create a home lab and write about your set up. Build something fun and share it with the world. 5. Be a security champion at your current company. Ask your IT and security team how you can advocate for security best practices within your team and department. Volunteer to help with low-level tasks. Communicate potential security risks to your security team that they might not be aware of. Offer ideas on process improvements that help reduce security risk. Rooting for you. ❤️ #informationsecurity

Ready to start a career in #cybersecurity? Here's a Cybersecurity Career Decision Tree to guide you on your journey! Starting a career in cybersecurity can be exciting yet challenging, especially for newcomers. To navigate effectively, you need a clear roadmap. This decision tree outlines crucial steps and choices for a successful cybersecurity career. It's a valuable tool whether you're from a technical background or starting fresh. Self-Assessment: • Technical background: Explore education and certification options. • Non-technical background: Focus on foundational IT skills. Education and Certification: • Technical background: Pursue advanced certifications like CISSP or CEH. • Non-technical background: Start with CompTIA Security+ or Network+ for a strong foundation. Choose a Specialization: • Technical background: Follow your passion, whether it's network security or penetration testing. • Non-technical background: Explore cybersecurity career options and choose your interest. Hands-On Experience: • Set up a home lab for practice. • Gain practical experience through online labs and challenges. • Consider volunteer security work. Apply for Jobs: • Tailor your resume to showcase skills and certifications. • Apply for entry-level positions like Security Analyst. Career Advancement: • Consider specialized and higher-level roles like Security Engineer or Security Manager. • Target higher-level certifications like CISSP or CISM. Networking, Learning, Ethics, and Mentorship: • Connect with professionals on LinkedIn. • Stay updated with the latest trends. • Prioritize ethical practices. • Seek guidance from experienced mentors. Use this decision tree as your career guide and embark on your cybersecurity journey with confidence! If you found it helpful, please like and share to assist others. Have questions? Feel free to ask! [This originally appeared on X. Follow me there for more cybersecurity career tips: https://lnkd.in/gNY8t8Ud] #CareerAdvice #InfoSec

"What kind of role are you targeting?" "I don't even care really, literally anything in cybersecurity is fair game." I get that this probably rings true for many trying to get into the field, and honestly I don't think there is anything wrong with the mentality if you are truly a blank slate and just looking to get a piece of the action! However, narrowing your attention can not only help you explore specific roles and teams and fields (more productive action items vs. spray and pray), but can also help you make better decisions along the way with how you're spending your money and investing your time training, as well as whom you're trying to network with. You may not identify the path quickly, but I bet you can eliminate some optional routes. By default, you are inching closer to your destination. For the 100th time, start free and cheap with training. If you find yourself more drawn to the content and want to go deeper, now you can feel more confident forking over the big sweet bucks. As you add some of these "lesser known" trainings and courses to your resume, it helps to tell the story of where you're headed...especially since most recruiters don't know and won't look up the differences between ISC2, ISACA, AttackIQ, or TCM. Spell out your training titles to support the journey narrative (if it says OSINT, spell out "Open-Source Intelligence" also). If you're looking for a new gig, be intentional with your actions as often as you can. The more specific you can be with your search and training investments, the more likely you are to stand out as a potential match for a specific role. There is absolutely a place for "security generalists" in many companies, but most roles have a more succinct set of responsibilities. This is not rocket science! If you're searching for cyber jobs and realize that 4 out of the last 10 you applied to seem to focus on threat hunting, give that a good look. What would it take to get some training? What are my options, and how much? Why am I interested in it? Who else do I know (or would like to get to know) are also performing threat hunting? All that said, it is OKAY if you don't know right now. But at some point, you have to move in a particular direction, and today is a great day to get started!

Posting certificates and course completions is a good start but recruiters and hiring managers gloss over these unless you answer their real question: "How does this make you valuable to MY team?" 🚫 What Doesn’t Work: “Completed [Cert Name]!” “Studied [Framework]!” ✅ What Does Work: *“Mastered NIST 800-53’s access control requirements by building a lab enforcing RBAC in AWS. Now I can audit least-privilege setups 40% faster.”* *“Earned my CySA+ by analyzing 50+ malware samples—my Python automation cuts triage time in half.”* 3-Step Formula to Stand Out (write this down!) 1️⃣ Name the Skill (Not the cert!) “Gained hands-on SIEM query writing” > “Got Splunk cert” 2️⃣ Prove Application “Used this to detect credential stuffing in our capstone project” 3️⃣ Link to Employer Pain “This means I can shorten your incident response timeline Day 1.” Try It Now: Rewrite your latest cert/post using this template: “I didn’t just learn [Topic]—I now can [Skill] by [Method]. For teams struggling with [Pain Point], this means [Result].” Drop your rewrite below! #CyberHiring #CareerGrowth #JobSeekers #GRC #OwnYourSkills #Cybersecurity

How to Talk About Your Cyber Skills When You’ve Never Had a Cyber Job Let me say this clearly: Experience ≠ Employment. You can absolutely have cybersecurity skills without having a cybersecurity job. Here’s how to position yourself like a pro 👇🏾 1. Reframe What “Experience” Means ↳ Built a home lab? That’s experience. ↳ Created a risk register for a fake company? That’s experience. ↳ Audited your current employer’s data policy (informally)? That’s experience. If it demonstrates skill, it counts. 2. Use the STAR Format for Projects ↳ Situation: “I noticed X risk or gap...” ↳ Task: “So I created Y...” ↳ Action: “Using NIST CSF/Excel/Privacy frameworks...” ↳ Result: “I built a process that...” This structure makes projects feel like professional wins. 3. Speak Their Language ↳ Translate your work into cyber terms: “I led a team” ➡ “I managed stakeholders in a compliance setting.” “I trained staff” ➡ “I created a security awareness initiative.” “I wrote documentation” ➡ “I drafted cybersecurity policy content.” Don’t downplay your past—repackage it. 4. Show Proof of Work ↳ Link to a Google folder with your mock audits, reports, labs, or policies ↳ Bonus: Add a 2-minute Loom video explaining your process ↳ This shows confidence, clarity, and competence—no job title needed 🔔 Follow for more tech career insights! ♻️ Repost if this was helpful! #CareerSwitchers #CyberStorytelling #InsPowerHER #TransferableSkills #CyberReady

Breaking Into Cybersecurity Tip #30: Create a strong professional summary aligned with your target role. The top of your resume is prime real estate. And if your professional summary is vague, generic, or full of buzzwords… you're wasting it. Instead of saying: “Motivated cybersecurity enthusiast seeking entry-level opportunity.” Say: “Emerging cybersecurity professional with hands-on experience in threat detection, vulnerability management, and SIEM tools. Trained in SOC workflows and passionate about protecting systems and data in fast-paced environments.” See the difference? Your summary should be: Aligned with the job title you're pursuing Packed with relevant skills, tools, or frameworks Free of fluff — but full of intentionality And here’s a tip: If you’re pivoting careers, this is where you reframe your story. Show them who you are becoming — not just who you’ve been. It’s not just a summary. It’s your opening pitch. Make it count. i'm Michelle Pupoh, Cyber Career Coach, and I’m in your corner.