Example resume in detail

Author: Stefan Waldvogel

One example for a Cybersecurity resume

Resumes can look different, and for this section, I use my beta resume to show some mistakes and possible improvements. This resume was "roasted" here: youtu.be/5T_u7l-t56g?t=3122. Joe Hudson is a Cybersecurity recruiter and roasted more resumes.

This is the first page of my beta resume and it is a changed LinkedIn copy. This resume is not tailored towards a specific job. Do not send such a resume if you can adjust it!

Let us talk through all areas. I am not a specialist in these things, but I hope I can give a bit of help if you never wrote a resume.
The name: Obviously, it starts with your name and your title. In this example, I applied for a Penetration tester position, therefore it has to be a Penetration Tester.

Contact details: Each country is different, in Australia, you do not need the full address, but in America, you have to. Here, the email is special. I have a @pm address and this is proton mail. This small thing gives a company an idea about my mindset. Everyone knows Gmail / google is an American company and therefore the US government has access to all emails because it the law and google scans each mail to improve their advertising. If you use a secure mail provider, you show awareness. If you have a LinkedIn account, add it, if you have a GitHub, you can add it, too. The same is true if you have a website.
Objective: Objectives are used if you change your career, you are a student with little experience, but you do not have to use it. Most companies focus on real-world things, so you can add a minor story. If you use a Cover Letter, you do not have to do it here. This objective is too small, I have to add more details or I can remove this part.
- If you write: "I am a hard worker and I study a lot" or "I am a passionate in Cybersecurity", you have to back it up with matching activities because if it stands alone, there are other people with a proof. Some ideas: community leader, study at night, home lab, CTF events, a rank on TryHackMe/HackTheBox, forum activity, a website like this, etc. The same counts for certifications. If you have some, great, but back it up with other activities. Cybersecurity is highly competitive. Certifications alone do not bring you a job.
Skills: This area should reflect the job. You can add all the skills you have, but be prepared. If something is on the list, you might get questions about it. Do not add skills if you “saw” the product. The interviewer might grill you, and you look like a liar. I added two unique things: DroneSec and FAA. The job offer does not mention drones, but if you have such skills/certs, this might be very beneficial for a company. Find something to stand out.
There are three different levels of knowledge:
- knowledge of something / familiar with -> I have heard of it
- proficient in -> I use it on a daily base
- expert in -> I know it so well I could teach it
  (if you deal with the imposter syndrome: If you can teach it, you are an expert. Let us take this website and the hands-on section. If you can write something like this or you have a YouTube channel, you are an expert. It is not about the teaching skills itself.)
Work Experience: This field is about what you did. In the US, follow some rules. Use active sentences (start with and action word) and show an achievement/goal. Use between 3 and 5 bullet points. If you have or you had clearance, add it. This is precious for the US.
If you are doing something right now, write: Testing, deploying, etc.
If you did it in the past, write: Tested, deployed -> use past tense.
Certificates: You can use a separate field to list your certs or if you do not have many, you use the objective area.
Labs and Activities: If you are a student or you do not have a lot of relevant work experience, add such a section. You can list your own labs, courses, things like TryHackMe, HackTheBox, volunteer work, and much more.

The second page

Here you see a typical mistake… one job has a very long list and it does not have any keywords in it. I did this job 10 years ago, maybe 3 to 5 bullet points are okay, but not eight.

Education: This degree is not fully related to the wanted job, but it has transferable knowledge. Remove all unnecessary skills.
Projects: Over the last 15 months, I invested over 3,000 hours in studying and gaining skills. If you did similar things at home and you studied a lot, do not hide it.

Remember, you have 7 seconds. If you put your main skill at the end, you might not get the job. If you are a student, add this field as “work” experience and describe in detail what you did. It has to be on page one. Add your lab at home and describe it.

Next: Understand the company