How to Prepare for a Cyber Security Interview (w/ Stephen Semmelroth)
Ғылым және технология
The interview is one of the most crucial parts of applying for a cyber security position. It’s your window of opportunity to start or advance your career. You’ve probably already heard it all: make eye contact, look sharp, research the company...
But interviewing for a cyber security position is a little bit different. The technical gap makes it hard for HR professionals to find talented candidates. Just parsing a resume for the right keywords is difficult since terms and definitions in the cyber security industry is inconsistent.
In this interview with Stephen Semmelroth, we talk about the recruiting world and considerations when preparing for a cyber security interview. Stephen is a military veteran who’s transitioned from leading top cyber teams to now, the recruiting division at StrataCore, a cyber consultancy.
He shares tips and real-life experiences on how to ace the interview, be shortlisted in the process, and get hired for the cyber security job.
Several key takeaways Stephen emphasizes when you’re interviewing for a cyber security job include:
Alignment. Do your personal goals and abilities align with what the company is looking for? Tailor your resume and interview responses accordingly.
Due Diligence. If you’re chatting with a non-technical interviewer, frame your technical abilities in terms of driving business outcomes. Use your OSINT skills to find out the business reasons why a company is looking to fill a position.
Decisiveness. Many candidates expect the company to tell them their role. Rather, be decisive about the role you want and communicate with authority why you’re the right person.
Appearance. It matters. In virtual interviews factors, like camera, quiet, and sound make a huge impact on the impression for the interviewer.
Find an internal referral. This greatly increases the chances of your resume actually being read by a human. Referrals are much less expensive and risky for companies, and they tend to have higher success rates.
00:00 Introduction - Stephen Semmelroth
01:51 What do employers look for in a cyber security candidate?
03:07 How to craft a good cyber security resume
08:27 Do your former titles and responsibilities matter?
10:32 Spraying applications vs. sending targeted ones
13:02 How is a cyber security interview structured?
19:28 What hiring systems do cyber security employers use?
25:06 Using OSINT to research your target company
28:14 The DNS question
35:50 Important non-technical factors of a cyber security interview?
39:31 Reasons people fail a cyber security interview
43:43 Successful cyber security candidates
46:51 Get in touch with Stephen Semmelroth
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#CyberInterview #CyberSecurityInterview #Cyberspatial
Пікірлер: 77
What interview tips or resources have you found valuable? Share them by commenting below!
@DisciplineUnleashed24
3 жыл бұрын
Hi I'm a Cybersecurity specialist Student in my last year of my diploma , can you please make vibes about how to make resume foe Cybersecurity specialist. Thank you.
Well.. this video makes me feel like I'll never go anywhere. That guy was sharp.
@Naa4mla
2 жыл бұрын
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
This guy is really good at talking and sounding like he's saying something without actual content. Very talented HR guy, basically.
@manfrombritain6816
9 ай бұрын
definitely a salesman, constantly giving that phoney smile. measuring everything in terms of how much money you can generate for your overlord - a peak american, basically
I really like this interview with Stephen he's so direct to the point. I encountered all of these interview questions all the time!
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Those are the interviews that are the most fun to host. Decisiveness lol.
Dig through the company mission and recent news/ project press releases to build a cover. Then, review your projects and how they can contribute to the company and highlight the value you bring. Review software (e.g. Wireshark, Splunk, ELK, w/e) by explaining your process as you investigate to be sure you can clearly communicate issues. Prepare for general, open-ended questions and explain simply. Loading responses with jargon is a typical (unsuccessful) tactic that will quickly get people calling bs on you.
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing your insights. Digging for info on projects and technologies the actual team you're likely to be working with is also something worth doing.
The video was very eye-opening for someone who's junior and entering the industry. Felt very honest and direct, absolutely loved it!
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Great to hear, glad it helped!
Lots of great information in this. Really liked the emphasis on how cybersecurity is an extension of a company's ability to be successful and generate revenue. Thanks for sharing.
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Couldn't agree more! Thank you!
this channel is dropping GOLDDDDDDDDD. Thanks for the amazing work you do !
What a great interview. Such quality content! I gathered this: Soft skills, Technical capabilities, Interpersonal Communication, All Around Due Diligence, Personal Projects, COACHABILITY, and Respect (in no particular order) are driving factors in an individuals success.
words of affirmation, is so universal
Love this video also. I really tried to subscribe but realized I was already subscribed. Stephens awesome!
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
😅 Double subscribe LOL
Thanks for all the info!!!! Love the video
Great video for cyber-resume tips + tricks!
That was awesome! 👍 Thanks for sharing.
Thank you team...I really learnt a lot via this discussion
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
You're very welcome!
Thanks for sharing!
Very Helpful, Thank you.
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
You're welcome!
Good Stuff really enjoyed it learnt something new.
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you!
best video on the topic!!!
I’ve been feeling very confident preparing for interviews until the DNS explanation he gave. I’m not so sure about all of it I mean it was in depth but somewhat all over
i really like the guy's personality. actually not just the personality but everything about him
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Stephen is a sharp guy!
@rawkstar952
3 жыл бұрын
@@Cyberspatial I passed 3 interview sessions as an Identity and access management analyst and the company is waiting for me to finish my studies next month. it would be great if you can kind of cover what an IAM analyst do on a day-to-day basis. if I'm not asking too much of course
Awesome vid, very constructive indeed.
Such an amazing interview and helpful tips, I have a job interview soon and that 10k SEC filing tip is amazing. I'll report back if I get it
Do you tweak your summary section/profile in the resume according to the job as well?
Awesome interview tips!
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
You're welcome!
great video, thanks for the advice!
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Glad it helped!
@oliviathompson1491
3 жыл бұрын
@@Cyberspatial what videos can we expect next? :)
Under the media's understanding of the word, Cybersecurity is two words. All the experts guidelines and spelling of Cybersecurity is one word, following the guidelines of NIST. NIST is the government agency who puts out the guidelines and best practices for Information Security or what is better known as Cybersecurity, within the industry
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Yeah just tailor the spelling to the audience. Google Trends shows two words to be dominant.
brilliant.
great video!! couldn't stop laughing at cyber-security cybersecurity infosec..... xD
Aren't questions about DNS and home labs more fitted to those interested in Penetration testing and other deeply technical areas of Cybersecurity? What about those in policies and governance; ISSOs, Assessors, how does this apply to them?
Is that apply only for advance certs like CISSP or to all CEH, OSCP level too? Questions like (How DNS works).
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
They might ask you that regardless of what certs you have. Since certs don't prove true understanding.
Good one.
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
why is this guy so happy and excited by this stuff? is he a robot or something? i want to go live in the woods smh
Thanks for confirming it really is who you know....
Did you edit out all the "Umm" and "Uhh"s, there are random scene cuts in the video that i cant stop focusing on, haha either way, awesome editing, great information, and lovely presentation. 😌
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Sure did! Next time they'll be smoother.
@missgirl8210
3 жыл бұрын
@@Cyberspatial maybe delete the audio only for those moments :)
Tailor your resume to everything the job wants but don't do it too well or hiring managers will toss it. Great. Thanks for asking us to be mindreaders, but just not too good at it.
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Don't need to read minds. Just need to be pragmatic. Tailoring to fit, not pattern matching to clone. It's quite obvious if you do.
This interview confirms why there is a hiring shortage in the USA. This guy needs to learn from Israel and understand why they are at the top when it comes to Cyber security. They train their talent up.
@manfrombritain6816
9 ай бұрын
no no no. everybody needs to somehow have a ton of experience in 400 different aspects of security, plus software engineering, plus ops, oh and also you need to be a salesman as well as a leader and a team player. btw here's the same salary as a front end dev who works 9-5
I got to say this Video was required
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Indeed!
Are you high in this video? 🤣
Seems like a good guy with a great background, but the DNS question he gave was cool but differs a lot from what other experts have said about interviews they've had for entry level positions.
this guy is chat GPT
The first Comment
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for tuning in!
Decent content, but this guy reeks of HR.
@usedcolouringbook8798
3 жыл бұрын
Is that why he started talking about love language?
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Perhaps it's the side effect of spending lots of time over there.
It-s nice that the expert is being informative and giving pointers, really congrats. (But this is my own personal opinion): but man is he obnoxious?! Listening him talk about employment with such a grin and "Typing so fast their finger's bleed" I understand why some people want a communist revolution.
@manfrombritain6816
9 ай бұрын
this was exactly my feeling. this guy acts like being a slave drone who busts their ass 80 hours a week and thinks of nothing but "how can i provide more value for my boss?" is some kind of treat like going out for a nice meal or something. newsflash americans: almost nobody thinks like this. that fake salesman smile every half-sentence is creepy as well
Third comment
@Cyberspatial
3 жыл бұрын
Bronze.
@rebootlinux608
3 жыл бұрын
@@Cyberspatial haha yes just made it 😅
there's some really weird bug on your ear dude