How To Stand Out To A Recruiter, Outside Of Formal Education

Written By AJ

I’m at the Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) conference and soon-to-graduates are asking me what they can do to get a job interview.

While formal education is great, it isn't everything. There are lots of things you can do to show your PASSION for the field and demonstrate you're striving to construct a career in cyber.

So, here is a list of things that would make a recruitor or manager say, “I want to interview you!” ...

  • I did this (security thing) at school/work and got so excited about it I started researching more about it and found out that ….

  • I participated in a capture the flag (CTF) challenge with a group like #nationalcyberleague to think like a hacker and solve problems

  • I take things apart and put them back together

  • I 3D print my own materials

  • I love reading (or writing) security policies

  • I volunteer at security conferences

  • I am the help desk for friends and family

  • I pick locks for fun

  • I know how to read a log file

  • I'm a mega fan of the #USCyberGames and want to be a #cyberathlete

  • I love simplicity- explaining a complex issue as simple as possible

  • I can find the relevant in vast amount of information and summarize

  • I understand standards/standardization

  • I am curious about human behavior and how we learn

  • I have spent 15 min chatting with 20 people that work in <insert cyber niche>. This is what I learned and this is why I want to do it too

  • I am credited for discovering and disclosing a vulnerability

  • I presented at a major security conference like #RSA, #BlackHat, #WiCyS, #DEFCON, etc.

  • I built a cloud-based application and secured it

  • I built a security tool and automated x

  • I have used NMap or WireShark to do something

  • I volunteered to teach a community group not to open sketchy emails

  • I helped build my security community by having meetings or hosting hack nights

  • I have contributed to open source research/intelligence projects

  • I have a lab or server room at home

  • I was an active contributor to an open source project

  • I own a technology patent

  • I automated a manual process saving X amount of time

Katie Boudreau, Director, Cyber Talent - Mastercard

With contributions from other information security professionals

AJ
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