Cyber Defense eMagazine June 2020 Edition

Shorten the job hunt process
The problems don’t end there. Companies often take far too long to hire anyone. The process tends to
be overly laborious – even when searching for employees in a high-demand market such as cyber
security.
Positions can stay open for nine months and often longer. Corporate recruiters often are asked to fill 50
or more jobs at once. Even when hundreds of people apply to one position, few people have time to
review them, or at least not for several months.
Cybersecurity affects finances
Companies also wrestle with cyber security hiring because cyber security does not generate revenue.
It’s an expense. Naturally, the company wants to keep the revenue-generating engine humming. They
are therefore more inclined to hire salespeople and others who can affect the bottom line.
The flaw in this logic, of course, is that if the company’s cyber security stays weak, fraudsters are more
likely to steal millions of dollars and valuable information from the company. But until that happens,
companies de-prioritize cyber security hiring in favor of people who bring in the cash.
Overreliance on certifications
Cybersecurity professionals rely too much on certifications and are not familiar enough with the
certification programs to assess whether they show that an applicant is competent in a discipline just
because they gained the certification. Some certifications are easy to get and don’t require much skill.
Too often companies place too much value on one applicant who has a certification when another
applicant who does not is better qualified for the position.
It’s not all about the money for employees
Employers also underestimate how much job applicants value doing meaningful work. They frequently
assume the salary constitutes the overriding force for luring candidates. But actually the work they will do
and how valuable it is to the employer means a great deal to employees.
How to overcome these obstacles
To be more successful hiring cyber security professionals, companies need to become much more
knowledgeable about what cyber security is and pinpoint exactly why they need to hire people to help
them with this important program.
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