CYBERSECURITY

What Soft Skills do I need for Cybersecurity?

Phillip Kittelson | 28 Feb 23 | 3 min read |

Communication

Without a doubt if you are not able to communicate, both written and verbally, you will struggle in cybersecurity. Every position I have had in the field of cybersecurity has required me to be able to communicate with others. In one positions, I was often responsible for monitoring the teams shared inbox, which required me to respond to inquiries, and initiate tickets and tasks for others. Some of my emails would be received by hundreds of others across the organization, some in executive and strategic persons with Chief Information Officer (CIOs) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in their title. If your communication was not professional, and easy to read, you would be ignored. If you were not authoritative, knowledgeable, and technically sound, the response could be even worse. You need the ability to communicate technically complex issues in simple terms to all types of people, from the executive to the lay user who just wants to be able to access their email.

Networking

Networking is an important soft skill to have in cybersecurity. Through networking, others can come to understand your skillset and see how well you interact with others.

Research Skills

Without research skills, you will not do well in cybersecurity. IT and cybersecurity change on a daily basis, which requires you to be able to find, analyze, and understand complex technologies, adversaries, and attacks. There are PhDs worth of knowledge out in the world-wide-web, just waiting for you to read, watch, and listen to. Go do some research.

Ability to Learn

If you have the ability to learn and adapt, you can go far. After doing research, you need to be able to update your approaches to situations, implement better security solutions, or identify malicious activity better. Then…do teach someone else. At least nine months into a new position, you should be able to teach the tasks you do to others. Sometimes the best way to learn an topic is to teach it yourself.

Be Genuine

I have been asked, across many of the jobs I have had, “how are you able to do X?” “How were you able to get a long well that that particularly hard client?” When I reflect on questions like those, I often find the simple answer: I am just being myself. I am being a genuine person, willing to learn, willing to put myself out there. I had one client tell my boss “I think Phill just does things to see if he could do them” meaning I take on tasks or build something just to test myself. Well, this client was correct. I am always trying to stretch myself. A few years ago I wrote out what I thought were my values. Not some hyperbolic, corporate-generated junk you often see a company put out, but I truly thought about what my values were. Here is what I came up with:

Be a blessing to those around me.
Strive to stretch myself, personally and professionally, into new experiences and opportunities.
Practice excellence both personally and professionally.
Be a mentor and example for others.

To be a blessing, means to be someone who is great to have around, someone who’s presence is a benefit to everyone around me. To practice excellence in both my personal and professional life means to approach things wholeheartedly. Even my home network has redundant DNS servers. To be a mentor, you do not have to be in a leadership or management position. I have often been the person others ask their questions to, and have been one of those “informal” leaders.

Back...

Tags: cybersecurity, career advice, soft skills, communication, networking, learning