Today, it’s impossible to navigate the job market without a LinkedIn profile. That said, making a LinkedIn account that stands out is increasingly important if you’d like to be a competitive candidate for tech positions. However, the majority of tech professionals do not take advantage of all that the platform has to offer. There are a number of ways that you can improve your profile and activity on LinkedIn to expand your network, find new contacts, and make a perfect LinkedIn Profile for a cybersecurity professional.
According to LinkedIn, profiles with complete sections are 40% more likely to receive opportunities from recruiters. Furthermore, having a professional photo increases profile views by 14 times.
Source: FinancesOnline
LinkedIn: Why Does it Matter?
LinkedIn is a professional networking application that is utilized by tech professionals across the globe. Learning how to best utilize the application will be beneficial to your professional development and career growth. Having a profile will help build your professional network, discover job opportunities, and stay up to date with the current trends of the job market and in your industry. LinkedIn is more important than ever and here are a few reasons why:
Networking: we know that the majority of job hires do result from networking. A study by LinkedIn revealed that up to 85% of jobs are filled through networking. That said, by creating a profile, you’ll be able to build your network through connecting to peers, colleagues, other folks who work in your industry and potential employers.
Job opportunities: many businesses and recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates for potential job openings. By creating and remaining active on your profile, you have a greater possibility of being contacted for potential job opportunities.
Highlight your skills and achievements: your LinkedIn profile is essentially an online resume where you can showcase your achievements. Additionally, former colleagues or employers can endorse your skills and confirm your employment history, allowing you to find job listings that match your skills and experiences.
Stay up to date: LinkedIn has over 900 million members and is utilized in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. That said, there’s no shortage of information and insights into the tech industry on the platform. Folks use LinkedIn to communicate new advances in all sectors, trends, and insights. By connecting or following relevant professionals in your industry, colleagues, and employers, you’ll be more informed about industry ongoings and developments in your field.
Source: Photo by Abid Shah on Unsplash
Tips and Tricks for All LinkedIn Profiles
As we know, LinkedIn has over 900 million members. Building a profile that helps you stand out among the masses becomes a necessary task for tech professionals. For cybersecurity professionals, the application is crucial in showcasing your skills and experience in order to build your professional network and uncover enticing career opportunities. Here are a couple tips for all LinkedIn users:
Choose a professional profile photo: selecting a high-quality headshot is step one of making a great LinkedIn profile. As we know, LinkedIn is a career networking website and your photo should represent you as a professional. It should go without saying, but your headshot should be recent, clearly show your face, and capture you as a cleancut and qualified professional. Don’t forget, your profile also allows you to include a banner photo. We’d recommend using an image that relates to your work and is consistent with the personal brand that you’re working to cultivate.
Craft a compelling headline: your LinkedIn headline is your moment to truly capture the attention of potential employers and other LinkedIn users. It should offer a broad summary of your professional experience and allude to your strengths and versatility as an employee.
Write an engaging summary: the summary is your space to further elaborate on your strengths and unique qualities alluded to in your headline. Steer clear of fluffy words like “leader” or “passionate,” and zero in on keywords that are relevant to your industry. This is your chance to differentiate yourself from other candidates, make sure your summary is easy to read and markets your specific expertise.
Showcase all work experiences: the beauty of LinkedIn is there is space to include an extensive amount of work experiences. And being multi talented or armed with diverse experiences is not something one should shy away from, if anything, versatility is something employers are increasingly interested in.
Be active on LinkedIn: having a LinkedIn profile only means so much if one is not regularly using the network. If you want to take advantage of all the application offers, you have to be an active participant in it. Post about relevant ongoings in your field or congratulate your colleagues on their latest successes. Engaging on the application is crucial in truly building your network and in making folks aware of your own professional accomplishments.
Keep your profile up-to-date: your profile should be regularly updated to ensure that it reflects your latest career decisions, skills, and accomplishments.
These tips and tricks are important for anyone looking to get the most out of the application. Following these tips will help you create a strong LinkedIn profile that presents your expertise and competencies in order to market you as the qualified professional you are. Investing time into developing your LinkedIn profile is investment in yourself and your professional career.
Source: Photo by Greg Bulla on Unsplash
Building a Standout LinkedIn Profile for Cybersecurity Professionals
LinkedIn is an important platform for cybersecurity professionals to connect with others, stay on top of industry trends, and grow in their careers. From building your network to highlighting your specific hard skills, experiences and achievements, the platform is crucial to collaborating with others in the field and building your career as a tech professional. When marketing your skills as a cybersecurity professional, we’d recommend including relevant skills, certifications, recommendations and endorsements in your profile.
Profile
Ensure your profile is comprehensive by including all relevant sections. For instance, in the ‘Summary’ section, highlight your experience with cybersecurity tools like SIEM, firewall management, and incident response. An effective summary might be: 'Certified Cybersecurity Professional with 7+ years of experience in securing enterprise networks using SIEM tools, firewall configurations, and incident response. Proven track record of mitigating cyber threats and enhancing organizational security posture.'
Certifications
Certifications are a professional way to certify that you have certain skills and knowledge that will help you be successful in a specific job position. These certifications are often what differentiates you from other candidates and confirm that you have the necessary expertise and capabilities to make you a strong cybersecurity professional. In the area of cybersecurity, these certifications may include the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) or the CompTIA Security+ Certification.
Projects
Potential employers want to see more than just your employment history. If you’ve worked on projects or led research initiatives, display that! Your profile will be much stronger if you highlight your successes and showcase your measurable results. In the world of cybersecurity this may include achievements like:
Implemented a comprehensive security awareness training program that reduced employee susceptibility to phishing attacks by 50% within six months.
Led a team in conducting a successful penetration test on a client’s network, identifying critical vulnerabilities and providing actionable recommendations resulting in a 30% improvement in overall security posture.
The key here is to use verbs like “led,” “implemented,” or “orchestrated” to show your initiative and go-getter attitude. Equally, providing numbers and demonstrating the measurable impact you created through the development of these projects will provide a much stronger picture of your work for a potential employer.
Summary
The summary section on LinkedIn is your opportunity to go into depth about your specific abilities, competencies, and achievements. This is also your space to exhibit your personal brand or identity through this summary. Here is an example:
[NAME] is a cybersecurity professional with five years of experience in the field. Thanks to their strong foundation of cybersecurity, as demonstrated through their obtainment of the following certifications...., [NAME] has benefited [COMPANY] in significant ways. [NAME] continues to develop and implement a variety of complex security management tools at [COMPANY] and has enhanced the company’s vulnerability management program resulting in a [70% reduction] in critical vulnerabilities across the organization over the last year alone. Through their strong knowledge of industry specific regulations (such as GDPR or HIPAA), and their attention to detail as it relates to risk management and cybersecurity, [NAME] has elevated [COMPANY’S] security practices in unprecedented ways.
The summary should be written in third-person, include measurable results, and feature the specific ways in which you’ve transformed the company’s security practices.
Professional Recommendations and Endorsements
Including your skills relevant to your field of work is immensely important. That said, your profile will be significantly stronger if colleagues endorse your skills and competencies. Luckily, LinkedIn makes endorsing your abilities easy and allows for previous and current colleagues to partake in the process of confirming your specific abilities and noteworthy expertise. Reach out to current and previous employers or colleagues to request that they write a few sentences about your work ethic, specific expertise, or positive experiences working with you.
Remember, steer clear from overly common buzzwords and instead zero in on your unique skills that differentiate you and showcase your competence and versatility. In the world of cybersecurity these skills may include: “penetration testing,” “incident response,” “threat intelligence,” or “risk assessment and management.” Again, make sure your professional contacts endorse your skills.
Building a strong LinkedIn profile is a simple way that you can invest in yourself and your professional career. The platform is easy to use, but requires attention in order to create a profile that fully encapsulates your unique skills and competencies. We hope that these tips and tricks help you catch the eye of potential employers and help you expand your network as a cybersecurity professional.
Steps to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
Professional Photo: Use a high-quality, professional photo.
Compelling Headline: Create a headline that highlights your strengths, e.g., 'Cybersecurity Analyst | Expert in Threat Detection & Incident Response.'
Detailed Summary: Write a summary that tells your professional story, including key skills and experiences.
Experience Section: Detail your role and achievements using specific metrics and examples.
Skills & Endorsements: List relevant skills and seek endorsements from colleagues.
Recommendations: Request recommendations from previous managers and clients.
About the Author:
Juliette Carreiro is a tech writer, with two years of experience writing in-depth articles for Ironhack. Covering everything from career advice and navigating the job ladder, to the future impact of AI in the global tech space, Juliette is the go-to for Ironhack’s community of aspiring tech professionals.
