CYBERSECURITY JOB HUNTING GUIDE
The power of LinkedIn
Author: Stefan Waldvogel
Editor: Mahfuz Talukder, https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahfuz-talukder/
Editor: Mahfuz Talukder, https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahfuz-talukder/
LinkedIn is a great place to start networking
This article covers two fields: I mention some names, and you can follow them or send a connection request. It is a starting point. The second part talks about creating a LinkedIn profile and how to create valuable content.
Why do you need some connections?
Use LinkedIn to do networking, but start long before you are actually looking for a job. If you look for a job but you have few connections, sometimes you see things like this:
Why do you need some connections?
Use LinkedIn to do networking, but start long before you are actually looking for a job. If you look for a job but you have few connections, sometimes you see things like this:
.People do not trust you. LinkedIn is sometimes a dangerous place, and not everything is accurate. First, build a relationship, and the second step could be asking for a job.
Who to follow/connect?
I am on LinkedIn for about two years, and the list of active and valuable people constantly change. I will write a list of names, but 50% of them could be less involved in one year. The list is non-exclusive and without a specific order. I do not provide the direct link, because people change their links.
Creating a professional LinkedIn profile
Writing a good LinkedIn profile is a vast topic, you can start here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ultimate-linkedin-cheat-sheet-michael-quinn/
If you have a profile, spend 10 minutes per day in it. Respond to something with a solid comment. Show your knowledge and help people with less. If you have time, you can write a small article about something you are doing. In the beginning, few people will read it, but this will change.
Sent 5 or 10 requests a day, but only add people in your field. It does not have to be the same job, but a plumber is not helpful if you want a cybersecurity career. Someone with CCNA and expertise in networking is close enough. Add people in your target city, do not add other countries. LinkedIn uses an algorithm, and every wrong connection works against your goal.
It takes a very long time to add the first hundred people, but you can use a trick.
How to write good posts on LinkedIn
Try to write multiple posts, and people will respond to them. The goal is to write an exciting article for your readers; it is not about you! You want to bring value to someone else. One example:
Who to follow/connect?
I am on LinkedIn for about two years, and the list of active and valuable people constantly change. I will write a list of names, but 50% of them could be less involved in one year. The list is non-exclusive and without a specific order. I do not provide the direct link, because people change their links.
- Kevin Apolinario: Everything to get ready for an IT job, he works with YouTube and Discord.
- Larry Getz: Works together with Silvio Condric and his Newborn group discord. Offers free Security+ help.
- Neal Bridges: A famous Twitch streamer, extensive knowledge about Cybersecurity.
- Gerald Auger, Ph.D.: Works mainly with YouTube, and it is all about Cybersecurity, mostly entry-level.
- DFIR Diva/Elan Wright: Masterpiece of free/ affordable resources. Works with a fantastic website.
- Mic Merritt: Focus on LinkedIn, huge background about hiring people in Cybersecurity. You learn what you need to stand out.
- John Strand / Black Hills Information Security: Offers highest-end quality courses about Cybersecurity. These courses are pay-as-you-can. Additionally offers a ton of free 1-hour webinars (2 or 3 per week).
- Chris Brenton: A lot of free (and paid) webinars about Threat Hunting (entry level to very high).
- Jason Blanchard: Great YouTube channel about job hunting.
- Josh Mason: Cybersecurity instructor, shares free stuff and good posts.
- Archan Choudhury: High-end knowledge on the blue side. Works with YouTube.
- Jeremy McDowell: CCNA YouTube learning material.
- Silvio Condric: Has a Cybersecurity Newborn group and works with Discord.
- Christophe Foulon: Great posts about how to start a cybersecurity career.
- Renee Small: Many different topics, including a weekly video podcast.
- Naomi Buckwalter: Great post for beginners in Cybersecurity (transmits hope).
- Jay Jay Davey: A blue teamer with a very big heard. Great posts on LinkedIn, works withs Discord and CyberDojo (mentoring).
- Katia D: A lot of helpful content, works with a website and YouTube.
- Gregory Leiby : I love his comments.
- Neil Borne: Great and interesting posts and comments about Cybersecurity, and other topics.
- Dr. Mansur Hasib: Has a recorded show about Cybersecurity.
- Heath Adams/The Cyber Mentor: His Zero-to-Hero course on YouTube is a legend, offers very affordable entry-level courses on his platform and on udemy.
- Michael Refuerzo: A good motivator, does things together with Kevin.
- Yujun Liang: Famous on LinkedIn, >30K connections.
- Danish Haider: A motivative recruiter, active on Discord.
- Joe Hudson: US recruiter, insides about the US recruiting system, sometimes on Twitch with Neal Bridges or Gerald Auger.
- Ricki Burke: Australian recruiter, deep inside into the job market, writes insightful posts.
- Ken Underhill: funny posts about cybersecurity. Has an own show.
- Daniel Lowrie: A very friendly and calm person. I love his courses and YouTube content.
- John Hammond: Famous YouTuber, he is on the red side of the house.
- Amr Thabet: Multiple people recommend him; I do not have him on my list, but my view is small, and the world is enormous.
- Busra Demir: Same here; it is a recommendation from others.
- Professor Messer: He has the best YouTube channel about A+, Network+, and Security+. You do not need anything else.
- David Bombal: YouTuber and on Twitch. I like his calm style, a wide variety of topics; in the past, more on the network side (CCNA). His udemy courses are legend.
- Kip Boyle: A YouTuber about Cybersecurity.
- Alexandre BLANC: A lot of great content to think about security. It is usually brand new stuff.
- Bob Carver: Great content about Cybersecurity.
- Dan Williams: Shares great Cybersecurity related posts.
- Tamra Groff: Writes awesome comments.
- Andrew (David) Worley: Writes good posts about cybersecurity and people.
- Daniel Schwarzentraub: Shares free courses and material.
- Nicholas Werner www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-werner-629122161/ Helps people into Cybersecurity
- Stefan Waldvogel: That is me, but most likely you have me already.
Creating a professional LinkedIn profile
Writing a good LinkedIn profile is a vast topic, you can start here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ultimate-linkedin-cheat-sheet-michael-quinn/
If you have a profile, spend 10 minutes per day in it. Respond to something with a solid comment. Show your knowledge and help people with less. If you have time, you can write a small article about something you are doing. In the beginning, few people will read it, but this will change.
Sent 5 or 10 requests a day, but only add people in your field. It does not have to be the same job, but a plumber is not helpful if you want a cybersecurity career. Someone with CCNA and expertise in networking is close enough. Add people in your target city, do not add other countries. LinkedIn uses an algorithm, and every wrong connection works against your goal.
It takes a very long time to add the first hundred people, but you can use a trick.
How to write good posts on LinkedIn
Try to write multiple posts, and people will respond to them. The goal is to write an exciting article for your readers; it is not about you! You want to bring value to someone else. One example:
Ask a question or talk about feelings (1). Do not write too much, but try to solve a minor problem or help people (2). Design or use a delightful picture (3). I use draw.io to create it. In the beginning, few people will respond, but if you click on the number (4) add these people. These people know you and will more likely accept your connection request.
Are you afraid? Do not worry too much. People care about themselves the most, and therefore they do not care much about your mistakes. In the beginning, you will reach 100 people with our posts, in some months maybe 1,000 and a year 50,000. You grow slowly, and you can brush up on your skills.
If you help others and one day you will ask for a job… they might offer you one even so you might not have 70% of the wanted technical skills. The reason is: It is not a problem to teach technical skills, but it is not possible to teach you to become a friendly personality.
One side note: Do not copy someone else content. If you do, you might get a lot of attention, but people know you are a thief. If you steal small things, you will steal bigger things… nobody with a brain will hire you.
Building your brand with the help of LinkedIn takes time. I would say at least 6 to 12 months. Start early!
The advantage of "inconvenient" followers
If you write posts, some people are “inconvenient”. They disagree and criticize you… If you want to gain knowledge or need an unfiltered opinion, these people are gold.Let me explain this:
Americans are friendly, and most are very positive and motivating. If you say: I want to go this way, is this a good idea? Most say, yes, very cool, do it. Even so, your goal path or goal might be nearly impossible (real world). If you find people who say: Your way is crap, be careful…→ it is your time to ask him or her why. Many have an excellent reason, and they are beneficial. A while ago, I spent 2.5 hours in a bar with a “most hated” person on LinkedIn, and I learned so much. Take a notebook and ask career and job-related questions. Dunning-Kruger Effect… that was a bit of his vast knowledge.
Some people are negative without giving something positive. Remove them!
Other things to know about LinkedIn
If you are open to work, do not write in the headline: open to work or something like this.
The reason is, LinkedIn has a search feature for recruiters. A recruiter might search for: "Security Engineer" but never for: "seeking new opportunities".
You see the problem? Use the headline and add jobs you want. I never worked in cloud security but I have the skills for it and it is one option.
Are you afraid? Do not worry too much. People care about themselves the most, and therefore they do not care much about your mistakes. In the beginning, you will reach 100 people with our posts, in some months maybe 1,000 and a year 50,000. You grow slowly, and you can brush up on your skills.
If you help others and one day you will ask for a job… they might offer you one even so you might not have 70% of the wanted technical skills. The reason is: It is not a problem to teach technical skills, but it is not possible to teach you to become a friendly personality.
One side note: Do not copy someone else content. If you do, you might get a lot of attention, but people know you are a thief. If you steal small things, you will steal bigger things… nobody with a brain will hire you.
Building your brand with the help of LinkedIn takes time. I would say at least 6 to 12 months. Start early!
The advantage of "inconvenient" followers
If you write posts, some people are “inconvenient”. They disagree and criticize you… If you want to gain knowledge or need an unfiltered opinion, these people are gold.Let me explain this:
Americans are friendly, and most are very positive and motivating. If you say: I want to go this way, is this a good idea? Most say, yes, very cool, do it. Even so, your goal path or goal might be nearly impossible (real world). If you find people who say: Your way is crap, be careful…→ it is your time to ask him or her why. Many have an excellent reason, and they are beneficial. A while ago, I spent 2.5 hours in a bar with a “most hated” person on LinkedIn, and I learned so much. Take a notebook and ask career and job-related questions. Dunning-Kruger Effect… that was a bit of his vast knowledge.
Some people are negative without giving something positive. Remove them!
Other things to know about LinkedIn
If you are open to work, do not write in the headline: open to work or something like this.
The reason is, LinkedIn has a search feature for recruiters. A recruiter might search for: "Security Engineer" but never for: "seeking new opportunities".
You see the problem? Use the headline and add jobs you want. I never worked in cloud security but I have the skills for it and it is one option.
One hint:
Sometimes you get professional mails from recruiters. Most of them are spam; many of them have the tag "InMail." If you do not have interest in such a position, just official decline the request.
The reason is, LinkedIn is smart and marks you as active and responsive. It is an advantage for later.
What should you not do:
LinkedIn is a weird place, and it is easy to look down on people. Some have fewer certs or less work experience. It is easy to feel better, but never ever in your career write things like this:
Sometimes you get professional mails from recruiters. Most of them are spam; many of them have the tag "InMail." If you do not have interest in such a position, just official decline the request.
The reason is, LinkedIn is smart and marks you as active and responsive. It is an advantage for later.
What should you not do:
LinkedIn is a weird place, and it is easy to look down on people. Some have fewer certs or less work experience. It is easy to feel better, but never ever in your career write things like this:
This person is destroying his career, and on LinkedIn, everything stays forever.
If you show such behavior, nobody wants to work with you. On the other hand, if you are better and have more knowledge, use it to help others, but do not look down on others.
Most people on LinkedIn know Jay Jay's unique background, this person was exceptionally rude... but he does not know.
Here is a very interesting podcast about this "incident".
player.captivate.fm/episode/05ef16ce-f2a0-4474-8383-0309675e640b/
If you show such behavior, nobody wants to work with you. On the other hand, if you are better and have more knowledge, use it to help others, but do not look down on others.
Most people on LinkedIn know Jay Jay's unique background, this person was exceptionally rude... but he does not know.
Here is a very interesting podcast about this "incident".
player.captivate.fm/episode/05ef16ce-f2a0-4474-8383-0309675e640b/
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