Top Interview Tips for Cybersecurity Professionals 2020

When you interview for the profile of a cybersecurity professional the interviewer will get into the technical bits to establish your level of expertise once they finish asking you about your professional experience, educational details, and more such obligatory questions.

Now, how technical they can get depends on the position of the job profile you are applying for as a cybersecurity professional. But in any way as a cybersecurity professional, you are expected to be well-versed in your field of work.

In this article, we have curated some tips that can help you top your cybersecurity interview like a pro and impress the interviewers with your potential.

With no further delay, let us get you started.

Emphasize your professional experience

Describing any relevant past job profiles can help the interviewer determine your level of professional expertise.

Interest the interviewers with the backdrop of your previous engagements as it can give them an insight into your professional achievements and contributions.

As a cybersecurity professional, describe how you implemented strategic security measures and controls in your previous organizations. It can be anything related to your contributions to an organization and achievements at securing cyberspace.

In any way, you need to make the interviewers understand what were your roles & responsibilities and how your work led to positive results for the organization.

This can make the interviewers weigh your performance and consequently recognize you as a suitable applicant.

Be specific

Don’t beat around the bush while trying to answer a question raised by the interviewers. You will only end up sounding vague and that will disinterest the interviewer and overshadow your skills as a cybersecurity professional.

For instance, if the interviewers ask you the difference between encoding and encryption your answer should be brief and specific.

The perfect scenario would be you describing encoding as the transformation of data that can be used publicly while encryption is the transformation of data that can be used only by selected people.

There is no need to elaborate on your answer as it can only cloud the interviewers’ judgment towards your knowledge of cybersecurity.

Not to mention, that other questions might stem from your answer which you might not know the answer to. So, stick to only explaining what the interviewer asks.

The main goal is to let the interviewers recognize the cybersecurity skills that you possess so focus on making them recognize what you can potentially contribute to their organization.

Do not exaggerate your skills

Every organization needs to protect its electronic devices and data from unwanted elements and hazards. And it is the responsibility of cybersecurity professionals to provide the required security.

During the cyber security interview and the interview questions, The skills on the resume should be justified in person. During the interview, the interviewers will ask you about your knowledge of cybersecurity and your expertise in various fields. Be honest with what you can contribute to your potential organization.

Cybersecurity is classified into information security, application security, and network security through which you can take care of various cyber threats.

Depending on the requirements of the targeted organization and the job profile you are applying for, you will be assigned tasks to prove your expertise. So you need to be very specific and accurate about what you can perform because you will be assigned work accordingly.

Unless you are familiar with something, do not try to make the interviewers hire you based on an exaggerated skill. It will only end up overshadowing your other skills and fail to communicate your real potential to the interviewers.

You may get through the interview by exaggerating your skills but it will only jeopardize your cyber security career because you will not be able to execute tasks when required.

Mention your soft skills

When the interviewers give you the chance to describe your soft skills, make sure that you focus on those which can add value to your technical skills.

You may be an expert in application security development, advanced malware prevention, Firewall/IDS/IPS, etc. but that alone may not be enough to impress the interviewers.

There is no denying the fact that cybersecurity is mostly a technical job, yet an employee is required to possess more than just technical skills.

Do remember that you need to communicate yourself as the most suitable applicant for the interviewers and your soft skills can boost your technical skills. But you need to keep it brief and on point.

For example, if you are someone who has leadership qualities, make sure to mention that as it can make the interviewers recognize you as someone who can take up responsibilities and supervise fellow employees when required.

Likewise, you can mention your communication or management skills provided you possess them. Every relevant skill you possess can reflect your potential as a suitable applicant.

Conclusion

Every job profile requires you to possess a different set of skills and likewise, every organization you target will come with its own set of requirements and demands. However, every interview requires you to be confident and honest with your professional status.

As mentioned in this article always emphasize your professional experience and describe your accurate technical and soft skills to land your dream cybersecurity job.