Why rigid hiring practices are driving away cybersecurity talent

Cyber security recruiting: how to spot a B-player before they torch your team...... Let’s be honest in security, there's a lot of B-Players on the market right now.... Folks that look great on paper. They’ll talk for 20 minutes about their “career pivots” but dig deeper, and the gaps show up faster than unpatched vulnerabilities. Here’s how to spot them before they slip past your firewall: Red flags in technical interviews: Still bragging about that cert they got in 2017? Cool story. But if your last technical challenge was OSCP before they intro'ed the AD part you've got a problem. Resume loaded with buzzwords like “Zero Trust,” “SIEM,” and “Threat Hunting”…… but they flinch when you ask them to explain a real-world lateral movement scenario? B-Player. Lists “PowerPoint” under skills. If you can’t build a deck in 2025, you’re either retired or googling "what is phishing" Real Interview Filters: Ask about real incidents. “Walk me through a breach response you personally worked on.” If they get vague, theoretical, or start reciting CISSP flashcards, they weren’t in the trenches. Ask about tools then go deeper. “You used CrowdStrike? Cool, what telemetry did you pull, and how did you pivot from it?” If they fumble the follow up, it was probably just listed to make the resume keyword friendly. Ask why they left their last roles. If you get a mixtape of blame (bad leadership, legacy tools, “wasn’t challenged”) you’re not hiring resilience, you’re hiring excuses. B-Players blame the tech stack, the tooling, the budget & sometimes even the weather. A-Players? They own it. They build. They adapt. They secure & keep your end clients coming back! Stop hiring based on who sounds the most polished. Start hiring based on who shows you how they think under pressure. And for the love of....... stop asking “What’s your biggest weakness?” and ghosting them for giving a real answer. In security, you’re not just hiring an Engineer, a VP, or a CISO. You’re hiring someone to protect your company’s future. Hire accordingly!

💼 Skills-based hiring isn't becoming just an HR adjustment, but a national security imperative. With cyber threats escalating against federal systems, agencies can no longer afford to limit hiring to those with traditional degrees. A newly proposed legislation by Reps. Nancy Mace and Shontel Brown remove unnecessary barriers, enabling skilled professionals—regardless of academic background to step into critical roles and strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity posture. Hack The Box provides validation through repeatable, real-world skill assessments, while giving access to a pool of ready-to-hire cyber enthusiasts with proven skills. Let's connect: https://okt.to/Ya3CA8

Cybersecurity is facing a growing talent gap, putting organizations under pressure to safeguard critical systems and data.   For IT professionals, this challenge is also an opportunity, as high-demand cybersecurity roles can be seamlessly stepped into using existing skills.   Swipe through to see practical ways to transition your IT expertise into cybersecurity and take the next career step.   #CybersecurityRoles #ITtoCyber #CareerGrowth #TechJobs #SecurityEngineering #CybersecurityCareers #TalentAcquisition #WorkforceTransformation #smarthiring

This is the job of Human Resources; they are responsible for adhering to labor laws, tax laws, ISO/IEC 27001 ISMS, and SOC 2, which include requirements for competence that must be followed. Each company develops its unique strategy for attracting, retaining, and developing talent through recruitment, compensation and benefits planning, as well as corporate development and succession planning. 

Hiring a new technical employee takes 8.4 months. Upskilling an internal team member? Just 5.2 months. ⏱️ That’s a 62% time advantage—and a serious edge in a market that rewards speed. The "2025 State of Tech Talent Report" breaks down why organizations are choosing internal development over external recruitment. Download the report for free: https://hubs.la/Q03xJYMp0 #CIO #LandD #TechLeadership #TalentStrategy #Cybersecurity

💡 Cybersecurity hiring is at an all-time high. But here’s the challenge: demand is up, supply isn’t. Companies that wait for applicants are already behind. The best hires are made through proactive outreach. That’s exactly what we do. 👉 #CyberSecurityJobs #TechRecruitment #HiringTrends #UKTech

Hiring a new technical employee takes 8.4 months. Upskilling an internal team member? Just 5.2 months. ⏱️ That’s a 62% time advantage—and a serious edge in a market that rewards speed. The "2025 State of Tech Talent Report" breaks down why organizations are choosing internal development over external recruitment. Download the report for free: https://hubs.la/Q03Jb4M10 #CIO #LandD #TechLeadership #TalentStrategy #Cybersecurity

Well, hiring a cybersecurity expert is almost as fun as finding out your password was "password123." This article emphasizes the importance of recruiting skilled cybersecurity engineers who can leverage both white and black hat tactics, streamline hiring with optimized descriptions and interview questions, and rely on expert-crafted frameworks to secure data effectively. It underscores the need for organizations to adopt proactive security approaches by finding versatile talent and well-designed processes to thwart malicious intruders. From a product management perspective, this reminds me that building secure and trustworthy products requires a focus on talent acquisition and processes, especially amid global concerns about data privacy and cyber threats. Thanks to the author for the insightful piece and how it sparks important strategies for security and talent management. #Cybersecurity #Recruitment #ProductSecurity #DataProtection First published: October 2023

The cybersecurity talent "gap" that you keep hearing about? It's actually a strategy gap in how enterprises hire. In Expel's 2025 Cybersecurity Enterprise Talent Index, we analyzed over 5,000 cybersecurity roles listed by Fortune 100 companies on LinkedIn. Here's the reality: we're misaligned with market demands and candidate expectations. It's time to adapt our hiring if we're serious about building resilient security teams. Read the full report:

𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗺𝗶𝗱 𝗔𝗜-𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 AI's rapid adoption has transformed the cybersecurity landscape. Unfortunately, it hasn't just strengthened defenders' abilities it's also given cybercriminals advanced tools to launch attacks faster, smarter, and more convincingly. 𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 $𝟭𝟬.𝟱 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗯 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 $𝟭𝟬.𝟴 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲. This continued rise underscores why investing in cybersecurity talent is not just urgent, it’s essential for business resilience. Recent data shows that over 3.5 million cybersecurity roles remain unfilled worldwide. As businesses strive to build strong teams capable of defending against AI-powered threats, the areas with the fastest growth include cloud security, penetration testing, incident response, and threat intelligence. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗸𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗱. Companies are looking for individuals who understand traditional security concepts while also anticipating threats that evolve at machine speed. Candidates see this situation as an opportunity. For organizations, it emphasizes the necessity of having the proper recruitment partner to find, screen, and provide proven professionals who can protect systems and reputations. 𝗔𝗜-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄. Building strong defenses starts with hiring the right people. Interested to find out more, let's connect! #Cybersecurity #ITTalent #ThreatManagement #RecruitmentExcellence #WorkforceStrategy #AIThreats #TalentAcquisition #CyberDefense