This chapter covers
- Building and tailoring a resume to accommodate applicant tracking systems
- Choosing the right job opportunities to apply to
- Making informal learning and skills development stand out credibly
- Preparing for screening, technical, and team interviews
- Avoiding common pitfalls that often trip up candidates
- Negotiating and accepting terms of a job offer
So far, we have taken a look at the cybersecurity landscape, the roles that fall within it, and the skills required for those roles. We have talked about you, how to find your interests, and how to align your skills to the job you want. Many obstacles stand in your way of landing that first job, and we have acknowledged those as well. So now it’s time to take all that prep work and put it into action. Let’s dig into the key aspects of the job search process itself and talk strategies for being successful and avoiding common pitfalls.
Three main steps make up the job search: building your resume, choosing and applying to jobs, and going through the interview process. We are going to go through each step and talk about how to put yourself in the best possible position to be successful. We will also look at common mistakes applicants make and ways to avoid them. As you might expect, we will start by talking about your resume.