How to gain valuable experience before your first cybersecurity role

As a student, career changer or incoming professional, having the needed skill and experience is a must to get most jobs, no exceptions. Listed below are a few helpful ways to gain the necessary skills to land your first cybersecurity role. Let’s begin!

Recognize what you have learnt.

Now, if you have taken time to learn and reliably obtained an entry level certification, then you have a lot of knowledge at your disposal. Make a full list of all the skills you have acquired and think of ways to make use of them in your current settings. For example, think of how you can improve the security on your home network, or ways to educate your friends and family on secure online practices. When done well, this provides valuable transferable skills for your next role.

Build your own projects.

Secondly, to gain a good understanding of some parts of cybersecurity, it will be helpful to set up a network of your own. Whether physically or in a virtual lab environment, projects like these provide a good chance to test out security tactics and serve as valuable evidence to be showcased to employers or referenced in interviews.

Take a risk with your skills.

That’s exactly what I did! I took it upon myself to knock on the doors of those who needed my skill and offered it at no cost. I offered cybersecurity services to small and medium sized organizations who had to follow directives from industry regulators. This experience proved vital later in my career when similar breaks came along. I encourage you to take a risk with your skill and look for ways to apply them. It’s one of the surest paths to gain the needed practical experience to start your career.

Take advantage of corporate opportunities.

Finally, many organizations today hire and train in house talent for cybersecurity positions. If you find yourself in such a case, don’t pass on the offer to be a part of something great. Accept the offer to gain hands on experience through on the job training, corporate guidance, and funded certification training. This is one the finest ways to move into cybersecurity.

Be encouraged, believe in yourself.

Take the necessary steps to make your dreams come true. I hope the above knowledge points prove useful on your journey to land your next cybersecurity role. Feel free to continue the conversation by leaving your thoughts and comments below. You are welcome to contact me here if you would like to receive further coaching about any topic of interest. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy and be cyber secure.