If you’ve found this article, chances are you’re passionate about applying your cyber security skills to solving real-world problems, but you don’t know where to start. Or, worse still, you may have read plenty of cyber security career advice, signed up for multiple job search websites, and glanced at several job advertisements, but you have no clue how to proceed.
Take a deep breath. Look no further. At StationX, we want you to learn our top tips for locating cyber security jobs. The good news is, you only need to be familiar with one website—a dedicated website on the cyber security job market, where a beginner like you can count on finding a suitable cyber security job there.
This article will guide a newbie like you in finding a desirable cyber security job using everything this website offers. It’s CyberSecurityJobs.com. Let’s go there now and follow the instructions below.
Register
The first thing you need to do at CyberSecurityJobs.com is register for an account because you need to access the features available only to logged-in users, such as saving job searches and getting job alerts.
On the header menu bar, navigate to Job Seekers → Job Seeker Login.
You have two options:
Anybody who’s a job seeker within cybersecurity needs a LinkedIn profile. Therefore, you can link it to your LinkedIn profile, which will save you from putting in your details.
If you’re an active job seeker, use an email address you’re monitoring because you need to act as soon as you get notified. You’ve got to be quick in the job market.
My Account
Once you’ve registered and logged in, you’re in My Account, and you can see Settings here.
Settings
Under Settings, you can change your notification settings. Keep it on if you’re an active job seeker. Otherwise, you may turn it off.
My Contact Requests
You’ll see recruiters who wish to contact you here.
My Messages
Here is where you’ll find messages from recruiters and admins.
My Job Applications
This is where you find the jobs for which you’ve applied.
My Saved Jobs
This region lists the jobs you’ve saved. By clicking on the star icon on a job advertisement, you can save a job that interests you.
Let’s get to the important stuff: how to search for jobs. For the rest of this article, remain logged in. The following drop-down menu is only available to logged-in users:
Job Search
On the header menu bar, navigate to Job Seekers → Job Search.
On the main search bar, you may search for:
Location
Location matters to most job seekers, but with the rise of remote jobs, you might want to do an open search.
To do an open search on the Location field:
- Leave blank;
- Input “Remote”;
- Cast a large net: “Remote OR United States.”
These methods will bring up remote jobs. But sometimes, a job advertisement doesn’t state whether it has a remote working option. So leaving the Location field blank gives you the best chance of finding work anywhere.
Job Title
An essential search item is job titles. Cybersecurity job titles and tasks are not one-to-one. For example, “IT Security Analyst,” “Cyber Security Analyst,” “Cyber Security Specialist,” and so on may share the same job duties, and the title “Cyber Security Analyst” alone may entail different responsibilities in different places.
The most general search term on CyberSecurityJobs.com is “security.” Before you have other ideas, relax. Unlike other job sites, it won’t show you jobs for security guards or physical security because the advantage of this site is it only lists cybersecurity jobs.
For anyone who hasn't got the StationX cyber security career guide, you can download it here.
Use this guide to familiarize yourself with well-known titles for popular and commonly available cyber security jobs. It also describes each cybersecurity role and lists its potential salary.
Better still, when you click on the job titles in this guide, it performs searches for you on CyberSecurityJobs.com:
General and specific cybersecurity job titles
There is only a strong convention for some job types within cybersecurity, such as “penetration tester” and “malware analyst,” on which you can do a specific search. Most other jobs have generic names. The following is a comparison table:
| Generic | Specific |
|---|---|
| Security Analyst / Specialist: Often a junior role, but may apply to senior positions as well. Performs security analysis and defensive tasks that prevent organizations from being compromised by attackers. | Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker: Trying to hack systems to find vulnerabilities. Reporting any weaknesses found for mitigation. |
| Security Consultant: This is where you work for a consultancy and support other organizations, such as IBM, as a consultant. Advises organizations of their security posture. | Cyber Crime Analyst / Investigator: Examines digital components to determine if illegal actions have happened. Also can respond to security incidents. |
| Freelancer / Contractors: People who work for themselves; gets paid at a regular rate, such as daily. | Security Engineer / Architect: The engineer and architect roles refer respectively to the creation and design of security solutions. Example: In a mobile banking app, the architect designs the security features while the engineer implements some of them. |
| Chief Information Security Officer (CISO): A senior-level executive. Other job titles of this nature: Security Director; Chief Information Officer (CIO); Information Security Officer. |
Another helpful resource is StationX’s interactive walkthrough of cybersecurity career pathways.
Here, you can find additional information on cyber security jobs, job descriptions, salary, required skills, education, certificates, etc.
Certificate
Another item you want to search for on CyberSecurityJobs.com is your certificates because you could be a match for jobs calling for skills you have.
For example, if a job advertisement specifies “Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)” as a requirement, and you have earned the CISSP certificate, your knowledge will be in line with the nature of this job.
You may also search for technology you’re familiar with or want to get involved in, such as security information and event management (SIEM), intrusion detection systems (IDS) / intrusion prevention systems (IPS), public key infrastructure (PKI), or cloud computing.
Avoid generic open searches on broad terms such as “Microsoft,” but specific search terms, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), will return meaningful results.
Security Domain / Function
You might aspire to or have skills in a particular field of cyber security. If you look into the StationX cyber security career guide, Page 4 is a diagram of cybersecurity domains and functions, which slices up the cybersecurity industry into functions and areas in which you might want to work:
Suppose you want to work for a Security Operations Center (SOC). You can search for the keywords “privacy” and “red teaming,” which yield jobs with generic names such as “Security Analyst.” But if you do a specific search for, say, “cloud security,” you’re more likely to find what interests you.
Industry
Some people narrow down on the industry, or vertical market, where they could apply their cyber security skills. The industry is an easily overlooked factor in your job search. If you can, seize the opportunity to advance your career by investing in cyber security skills in an extreme-growth industry.
Just as it’s difficult to enter banking unless you’ve worked in it, it’s also challenging to enter these extreme-growth markets without the proper expertise. Work experience in your preferred industries enables you to land otherwise inaccessible jobs.
Consider joining an organization in one of the following industries:
Examples of extreme-growth markets include:
- Cryptocurrency
- Blockchain (Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, Metaverse, etc.)
- Digital Wallets (hardware wallets, software wallets, other implementations)
Note that cryptocurrency is a risky market to enter.
- Biotechnology
- Gene editing
- Gene sequencing
- Living therapies
- Tactiles
- 3D printing
- Reusable rockets
- Robotics
- Autonomous mobility
- Battery technology
These are good niches to enter if you want to become more marketable. Having security skills and expertise in any of these large-growing markets makes you more saleable to recruiters in those industries.
Saving Searches
On the top right corner of a job advertisement, click on the star to save the job. If successful, this dialog box will appear:
Job Alerts
Suppose you’re interested in a particular cyber security job, and you’ve got your search results.
On the bottom left of the search results page, toggle “Receive Alerts for this Search.”
In the subsequent popup, click on “Create Alert.”
If successful, this dialog box will appear:
On the header menu bar, navigate to Job Seekers → Job Alerts. You will see something like the following:
In the Job Alerts section, you can:
- Delete the alert;
- Update the alert by editing the keywords, function, industry, and other details of your alerts; and
- Specify whether you want to receive such alerts daily or weekly, or Stop them.
Suppose you’ve found a prospective future job. What are your next steps?
Job Application
On the top right corner of a job advertisement, the “Apply Now” button takes you to the website of the business offering the role, and you need to apply there.
If you’re open to invitations to apply for a job, CyberSecurityJobs.com has a place for you to display a resume visible to recruiters. Let’s go there.
Manage Resumes
If you upload a resume to CyberSecurityJobs.com, recruiters can find you. Therefore, the website is similar to LinkedIn but it’s specific to cyber security. You can build a resume online, or you can upload one. A resume is also known as a curriculum vitae (CV).
On the header menu bar, navigate to Job Seekers → Manage Resumes.
Public resumes
Anyone can read anything you post here. Keep private information out of this section.
Private resumes
This is for resumes you give to recruiters you specify. No one else can see them.
Build resume
Fill in common questions expected of a CV.
Closing remarks
Another thing worth pointing out is the front page of CyberSecurityJobs.com contains shortcuts to many useful searches, such as those for certificates (e.g., Certified Ethical Hacker, CISSP, CISM) and known job titles. It lists positions accepting applications too.
As a newbie, use CyberSecurityJobs.com to familiarize yourself with the skills, knowledge, experience, and qualifications typically required for the job types you’re pursuing. Understanding job specs will help you identify the capability gaps between your current skills and those of your desired role(s) and know whether you need any training to close the gaps.
CyberSecurityJobs.com also shows you the available jobs, locations, salaries, skills, job titles, and the overall job market. The information will help you identify the job types that best meet your passions.
It’s easy to think cyber security is all technical or all hacking, but it’s a large umbrella that covers a wide range of roles. You may find some previously unheard-of cybersecurity roles that you could pursue, including cybersecurity solicitors (search results shown in screenshot below), which are generally un-technical compared with jobs requiring reverse engineering or exploit developments.
In conclusion, use CyberSecurityJobs.com to register for job alerts, which will keep you updated on how the job market is evolving and prepare you to apply as soon as possible.
A recap of handy links before you go:
Also, consider our Complete Job Interviewing Skills course to handle your upcoming interviews confidently, and enjoy career advice and mentorship with our StationX Accelerator Program.
We wish you all the best in exploring a career in cybersecurity. Have a great day!
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