Hacking Your Cybersecurity Career

Cybersecurity professionals and job seekers, you won't want to miss this panel discussion on "Hacking Your Cybersecurity Career" on Wednesday, October 25th from 4:30pm - 5:30pm in the Career Center at ISC2Security Congress.

Building a cybersecurity career takes education, training, and experience – but it also requires selling yourself to recruiters. "Many of us in cybersecurity are introverts, and marketing ourselves doesn't always come naturally," admits Ron Woerner, panel moderator. That's where this panel comes in, "to showcase different hacking techniques and how they apply to career development."

Meet the Panel

This panel discussion will feature James McQuiggan, Sharon Smith and Christophe Foulon.

James McQuiggan is a Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4, a College Professor, and President of the ISC2Central Florida Chapter. James is passionate about making everyone cyber safe and secure online, and helping people worldwide.

Sharon Smith is an experienced security and compliance professional who's worked with companies such as Amazon and Verizon. Sharon is also experienced in coaching, mentoring and sharing her expertise to foster professional growth in others.

Christophe Foulon is a podcast co-host of Breaking into Cybersecurity to name a few of his roles. Christophe enjoys being active in the community and mentoring aspiring security professionals

"Together we're going to share what has worked for us, and what doesn't work," explains Ron. "We're going to help attendees be able to build their profiles, resumes, and skills. Then when you are interviewing or looking for that next opportunity, it will come a lot easier."

Make the Most of ISC2Security Congress

Ron's favorite track is the hallway track, meaning the conversations you get to have out in the hallways during a conference. Ron urges you to consider interactions with people during ISC2Security Congress as potential career opportunities, because they might be hiring or know someone else who is.

"Even when you're having casual conversations, think about how you portray yourself," suggests Ron. "You may need that connection in the future to build your career." Keep in mind, it works both ways. "You might be able to help mentor someone else who's growing in their career. Then it becomes very synergistic, where we help each other, and together we are better, stronger, and help build our cybersecurity community."

So Ron's recommendation to those at Congress is to meet at least five new people every day. "No one bites," says Ron. "We are all very friendly and we are all in this together." If you're not very comfortable with small talk, try phrases like, "What brings you to Congress?", "Have you been to Congress before?", or "What has been your favorite session?"

Ron suggests steering away from the traditional "what do you do" question, because everyone's going to answer, "cybersecurity." But people come from all over the world, so you can ask, "Where are you from?" Or ask about their cybersecurity journey. "There are so many fascinating stories about how people got to where they are today, because there isn't just one path to building a cybersecurity career," explains Ron. "It's quite varied, and we need those multiple experiences."

Be sure to visit the Career Center, produced by ClearedJobs.Net, at ISC2Security Congress for more career development presentations, in addition to roundtable discussions and individual coaching sessions.