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According to LinkedIn, job applications have surged over 45% in the past year, with 11,000 applications submitted every minute. This flood of applications is making it harder than ever for qualified candidates to stand out.
The industry has become highly specialized. Gone are the days when you could land a job simply by calling yourself a generalist: hiring is based on specific skills that match defined roles.
Know the role you’re applying for
If you’re applying for every role you see, you’re already behind. Before submitting anything, get clear on what kind of work you want to do and what you’re prepared to bring to that role.
Our industry contains dozens of specialized career paths. Most entry-level roles fall into a few categories:
- SOC analyst / threat detection: You’ll monitor alerts, triage incidents, and operate tools like vulnerability scanners or SIEMs. You don’t need a degree, but you do need to show real technical curiosity and discipline. Some of our strongest analysts came through paid internships and proved themselves over a 90-day performance window.
- Penetration testing / Red teaming: This role requires analytical thinking, persistence, and a strong appetite for problem-solving. If this is your goal, actively pursue certifications like OSCP in your first year. It’s about demonstrating that you’re serious.
- Compliance / GRC: These roles aren’t typically where people start. They demand excellent communication, organizational skills, and stakeholder management. We’ve brought in successful consultants from office administration, finance, and project coordination backgrounds – people who could track the details, drive follow-through, and communicate across teams.
In our field, specializing has started to matter. If you’re not sure what your long-term focus is, that’s OK, but start by ruling things out. Don’t enjoy customer interaction? Maybe SOC work isn’t a great fit. Are you more interested in technical analysis? Look into malware or forensics next.
Build and communicate a definable skill set
The best way to stand out is with a clean, focused, one-page resume that shows how your background aligns to real-world security problems.
If you’re coming from a non-traditional background such as nursing, education, military, or operations, your transferable skills matter. What hiring managers care about is how you can connect your previous experience to this work. For instance:
- Nurses excel in high-pressure environments and crisis response.
- Teachers understand how to convey complex information.
- Military vets bring operational rigor and discipline.
If you’re pursuing a role in red teaming, talk about your home lab, your CTF experience, or the tools you’re learning. If you’re applying for SOC roles, show what you’ve built, monitored, or analyzed even if it was in a home lab or classroom. We want to see what you’ve already started to step into the role before we bring you on board.
Certifications also help, but they don’t replace curiosity and demonstrated initiative. If you’re serious about pentesting, hiring managers want to see movement toward an OSCP or equivalent. If you’re interested in compliance, look into training programs aligned with frameworks like NIST or ISO. Whatever you’re targeting, take initiative to build skills that show you’re committed.
Choose the right type of employer for your first role
Where you start in this industry has a huge impact on how fast you develop. I’ve worked in both services and enterprise environments, and each has pros and cons for newcomers.
Security services companies move fast. You’ll be exposed to dozens of technologies and clients in your first year. The learning curve is steep, and you’ll be expected to contribute early. But if you’re willing to learn under pressure, this is the fastest way to gain experience. You’ll get feedback, mentorship, and exposure to a wide range of threats, systems, and technologies.
Large enterprises on the other hand tend to be harder to break into. They often recruit from within or specific universities or structured programs, but once you’re in, they offer career paths, formal onboarding, and long-term growth. If you’re looking for stability and development over time, this might be a better fit.
The key is knowing how you learn. If you thrive under pressure and like variety, services firms will give you that experience. If you prefer a structured path and predictable pace, look at enterprise openings with strong training programs.
Be intentional
There’s no real shortage of cybersecurity jobs, but there is a shortage of well-aligned applicants. Don’t apply blindly. Know the job, know the expectations, and know yourself. Before you apply, ask yourself:
- What role am I applying for?
- What do I already bring to the table that’s relevant?
- How have I already started preparing for the work?
Your resume should reflect this thinking. Keep it concise, focused, and specific. Align your experience with the job posting, show results, and use the right language. And keep in mind, your resume will likely be screened by AI before it ever reaches a human. So, clarity and keyword alignment matter.
Our industry has plenty of room for new talent but it doesn’t reward general interest, it rewards action. Take the time to build your skills, find your interests, and communicate. If you can do that, there’s absolutely a place for you.
