Build your personal brand
Author: Stefan Waldvogel
Use your personal brand to get your dream job in Cybersecurity
Getting a job in Cybersecurity is hard, especially if you have a "special" background. Maybe you are an immigrant or Black, Latino, Asian, or something else. Sometimes the gender is such a factor because, in Cybersecurity, we have few women.
If you are in such a position, you should build a personal brand to improve the chance to get a wanted job. Personal branding is promoting yourself. People buy products because they know a product, and you can do the same. Do you want a job in a highly competitive field like Cybersecurity? -> Promote yourself.
Be careful because everything you are doing is visible for a long time or forever. If you talk bad about something and five years later you are "famous," you might kill your brand with an old story. Everything is essential; each word and each action counts.
If you are in such a position, you should build a personal brand to improve the chance to get a wanted job. Personal branding is promoting yourself. People buy products because they know a product, and you can do the same. Do you want a job in a highly competitive field like Cybersecurity? -> Promote yourself.
Be careful because everything you are doing is visible for a long time or forever. If you talk bad about something and five years later you are "famous," you might kill your brand with an old story. Everything is essential; each word and each action counts.
- If you use LinkedIn, fix your profile and design it the right way. Talk to people, try to help others, or do something you like.
- Connect with other people or influencers. If you are visible in an area with influencers, people might recognize you, too. Do not copy their style; create your own brand and use your own ideas.
- If you have the option, try to talk to people via meetings. Start small, so you can improve each time you are in public.
- Promote your own brand by creating a blog or a webpage.
My story:
As an immigrant, I do not have connections in the US (this changed), but I still want a good job, and I want to work with talented people. Besides knowledge, my second pillar to get a job is creating my personal brand. Of course, I have the ability to do a lot of jobs but is not enough.
I had 20 connections on LinkedIn over a year ago, but now I have over 7000. I added many Cybersecurity related people to increase my visibility. If you add people, use this power. I am writing valuable posts because it reflects my personality and people like it. You can find your own way to stand out. If you want to start, this first step takes time, and I would say at least six months.
The next thing you can do is to connect to “influencers.” I followed Heath Adams, but I found a more powerful way. If you are visible, other people are in the same stage but with a different focus. You can work together to reach your goal. I am not a YouTuber, but I liked what Gerald Auger was doing, so I did things with him together. If you want to create a personal brand, look at others and work together. Famous people have little time, but they have time for you if you ask the right people. Maybe in 5 years, this person is well-known, but you still have this personal connection.
I am shy and introverted! Talking to people is challenging for me and others. If you are shy, talk to people anyway because you can grow and increase your visibility. People care most about themselves, and if you make a minor mistake, people care little.
Do you know why I have this website? For four reasons:
As an immigrant, I do not have connections in the US (this changed), but I still want a good job, and I want to work with talented people. Besides knowledge, my second pillar to get a job is creating my personal brand. Of course, I have the ability to do a lot of jobs but is not enough.
I had 20 connections on LinkedIn over a year ago, but now I have over 7000. I added many Cybersecurity related people to increase my visibility. If you add people, use this power. I am writing valuable posts because it reflects my personality and people like it. You can find your own way to stand out. If you want to start, this first step takes time, and I would say at least six months.
The next thing you can do is to connect to “influencers.” I followed Heath Adams, but I found a more powerful way. If you are visible, other people are in the same stage but with a different focus. You can work together to reach your goal. I am not a YouTuber, but I liked what Gerald Auger was doing, so I did things with him together. If you want to create a personal brand, look at others and work together. Famous people have little time, but they have time for you if you ask the right people. Maybe in 5 years, this person is well-known, but you still have this personal connection.
I am shy and introverted! Talking to people is challenging for me and others. If you are shy, talk to people anyway because you can grow and increase your visibility. People care most about themselves, and if you make a minor mistake, people care little.
Do you know why I have this website? For four reasons:
- It is my personal brand. I use this project to get a job and for networking.
- Many people wanted my help, but my time is limited. The only way to share my knowledge with many people is through this website.
- Why not learning something new? As a penetration tester, it is helpful to have an own website, and you know how it works to build one. It is an additional skill.
- I learn English with it.
© 2021. This work is licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license