- When you start searching for a cybersecurity job,
you really need to think about two main things,
the type of cybersecurity job
and the skills require for the job.
Remember, you are new to the cybersecurity field.
You do have some knowledge in different areas,
so you need to understand the initial limitations
that you may face
when you start looking for a cybersecurity job.
But to research about the possibilities,
you can start doing some homework
to better understand what is available.
And really, once you find that clarity
about these two items, the job and the skill required,
you can start to reevaluate what is right for you.
And not only evaluate what is right for you,
but also the growth opportunity for the job.
Very important to think about not only
in that immediate moment,
but how you're gonna grow at the job.
Not only that,
but you really need to go after
what you feel passionate about.
You need to understand,
"Okay, I'm going to change my career
to work with cybersecurity.
I want to be happy in this field.
And maybe there are some jobs in cybersecurity
that will make me happier than others,
because some other job, although they are in cybersecurity,
they require some skills that really is not my forte."
For example, if you are not a developer,
if you don't work with code,
you may not enjoy work in the DevSecOps field
because it's very developer-oriented
with different other skills.
But if you are very strong in networking,
you may love it to work in network security.
So that's the thing that you need to find out,
and that's something that you'll need to perform,
such as self-assessment to identify,
"Okay, what is really good for me
based with the opportunities that are out there?"
Now, of course,
you're not going to stay on that comfort zone.
You're gonna stretch yourself because you're gonna look,
"Okay, what is next,
and how can I stretch myself to do even better?"
So here, just an example, you can use LinkedIn.
It's a great place to search for jobs.
You can open LinkedIn and basically search for jobs
and look at the job description, start reading it.
The different job description,
the options that are out there
is a great way for you to gain familiarity
with the options available with the different titles.
So if you just type cybersecurity analyst
in the search of the jobs within LinkedIn,
you're gonna find a lot of opportunities available
just by researching the job title.
And understanding:
What are the companies expecting based on this position?
What are some of the skills that they are looking for?
And based on those skills,
can you start creating your learning roadmap?
That's how you start these migrations.
Really understand what the market requires,
really understand that.
Let's take a look, for example,
in more details on this senior security
operation analyst job.
Well, there are different areas of focus,
which includes risk and compliance,
identity and access management, cyber design.
So there is a lot of things going on there,
and those terms are very inflated many times
because it means a lot of things.
So you have to go back,
and this one is very good because it looks
and it tells you the basic qualifications, right?
Basic, what you really need to know.
Well, you really need to have, in this case,
a bachelor's degree in computer science,
I mean it's five years of experience.
And you were like, "Okay, so that's a problem.
I don't have five years of experience."
Okay, but again, this is a senior job,
so don't stop just because it says five-year experience.
You need to look for an entry-level job.
I'm just giving this an example for a senior.
Now, if you are already a senior in a different field,
you gotta evaluate yourself
because in some situations,
you may be resetting your seniority,
and that's very important for you to understand, right?
Because you may be a senior IT administrator.
Well, the knowledge that you have in IT is very important,
but is not a migration once you want to become
a senior security operations analyst
because there are a lot of skills that you do not have.
So when you consider applying for a position,
mainly if you are migrating from zero,
zero experience in cyber to another job in cyber,
you really need to understand the position tenure
and adjust your resume
because your flat resume as is
may be focused on IT, for example,
let's just give an example.
So it's heavily oriented to all IT projects that you did,
which is great.
Now, if you are planning your migration to cybersecurity,
maybe six months ahead of time,
because let's say it will take six months
for you to fully migrate.
What can you do the next six months
to highlight some cybersecurity projects
and put this on your resume?
So you may need to wait working some cybersecurity projects,
even if it is side work, even if it is volunteer work,
even if it is projects within your company
where you are just collaborating.
But then add those things on your resume, right?
Or tailor your resume more to cybersecurity.
A lot of people, for example,
that work as a IT administrator,
creating accounts, establishing password length,
and policies, and everything,
those things are, in certain way,
identity-related, security-related.
So you need to just tailor the resume
to highlight those skills.
So in summary,
make sure to look for the tenure of the position.
Don't get desperate initially
if it says five years experience
because if it is a senior position,
that's what I'd expect anyway.
Go look to a different entry-level job,
and then start adjusting
and crafting your resume based on that.
Now, you need to do this in a...
You cannot change your resume without doing anything,
so you need to plan ahead of time, this migration.
That's why a six-month plan minimum will be ideal
if you think about it,
and then invest those next six months to gain the skills
and to gain everything that you need to achieve
and be successful during the interview process.