Get Hired! Top 10 things your recruiter wished you knew.

Hi there cyber family! Let's chat about your job hunting game and how you can level up! I see it repeatedly, “How can I get my resume out there? Do I REALLY need a cover letter? How can I stand apart from other job seekers?”

With these tough questions buzzing in my head I hit the digital streets to find answers. This Q and A was compiled from a pool of current Recruiters in the Cybersecurity hiring space. Happy reading!

Question #1: How do I connect with a recruiter?

Answer: The best way to connect with Recruiters is LinkedIn! Find Recruiters that are actively hiring in specific job roles and connect with them on LinkedIn. Consider also sending a message to explain the value proposition being brought to the table. Recruiters will not always respond quickly to their messages and that's ok. Don't get discouraged and keep sending those connections out.

Pro Tip: Be polite, professional and informative. Sending a message like "Sup," or "Do you have a job for me?" will not likely get a response.

Question #2: What can a job seeker bring to an interview to help their success?

Answer: An interviewee should come prepared to talk about the details of what is on their resume. Nothing sends up a RED FLAG to a potential employer like a candidate who can’t answer points about their own resume. The resume is a living and breathing document that represents the job seeker, know how to speak to each point in depth. Additionally, researching the company and position details can help give insight and create excellent talking points to keep conversation smooth moving through the interview.

Question #3: Should a job seeker have a lengthy, detailed resume or a short, bullet driven one pager?

Answer: The answers to this question were split!

Some recruiters believe strongly in the quick hitting one pager while others preferred a lengthy detailed resume.

Best recommendation would be to have both ready and ask the Recruiter which they prefer. It never hurts to be overly prepared!

Question #4: Does a job seeker need a Cover Letter?

Answer: Nope! An employer will look over the candidate's resume for an average of 7-12 seconds, and unlikely to spend additional time with a cover letter. What a job seeker CAN do is add a value proposition paragraph to the beginning of their resume and get their own authentic voice out there. “This is who I am, this is what I bring to the table, and this is why I feel I am a great fit for this position.”

Question#5: Does an employer prefer to see a degree in the field, or certifications?

Answer: This will depend on the job and the company. In the federal space, there are often requirements the employee MUST meet to be considered for hire, these requirements are often minimum of a bachelors degree in a related field or specific certifications that have been deemed necessary for the role. In the commercial/private space relevant experience is likely to outweigh a degree or certification.

Question #6 What If all the candidate has is a degree, and no technical background or certificates to show past performance?

Answer: Translate value in what has been done: experience in labs, learning scenarios, class projects, and other related events can all be broken down into quantified and translatable value! "During this class project I did xyz and learned xyz. This is how I played a role in the success of our team etc."

A resume is more likely to stand out if they have a comprehensive, and well communicated description of events in school over a bullet that simply says they completed a degree.

Question #7 What form of social media platforms does an employer like to see job seekers active on?

Answer: The most recommended social platform was LinkedIn, (Reddit and Twitter are becoming more relevant, but were not recommended often) while other Recruiters said a social platform is not necessary at all.

Question #8 When a Recruiter is actively looking for a candidate, what is it that they are looking for?

Answer: Recruiters will look for a few key factors when they are searching for candidates. Resume applicability to the position (key words) and how current the resume upload were both mentioned a number of times. Job Seekers can strengthen their chances of being found by making sure their resumes are updated often, with key words relevant to the sought after position.

Question# 9 What should a job seekers resume LOOK like?

Answer: This answer is more about critical thinking from the job hunter. What kind of roles are they applying for and who will be looking at the resume? If they are applying for a more technical savvy, or design relevant role, an interactive, flashy, web based resume might be applicable. If the environment is more suit and tie, a clean modern PDF resume may be better. No matter how the resume is presented, it's important to check and double check the spelling and grammar.

Question#10 Any more advice for our job seekers?

Answer: Yes! Everything that the job seeker is doing additionally that is field relevant can be documented and used as self promoting content. Are they using Hack the Box? Let's Defend? Playing in labs or learning about The Cloud? Turn it into content! Tell potential employers what learning path is being taken and what is actually being learned. Implementing self study can absolutely help job seekers stand out, and communicating what is being learned helps show their ability to turn technical learning into plain language.

That's it for our straight from the Recruiters mouth top 10 tips on how to get out there! If you would like to learn more about trending Cybersecurity jobs for 2022, their description, requirements and salary range check out "Top 10 trending Cybersecurity career paths 2022"

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If YOU have any questions you'd like to ask about getting hired in todays cybersecurity world post it in the comments!