TIPS FOR GETTING THE RIGHT IT JOBThis cheat sheet presents practical tips for finding
and getting the right job in Information Technology.

Preparing Yourself in Advance
Understand what jobs you want to pursue in theshort term and as part of your long-term career.
Determine what skill and experience will help you get
the jobs you desire.
Devise and begin executing the plan to obtain therelevant education, training, and certifications.
Obtain the skills and experience through personal
and work projects. Balance depth with breadth.
Be careful not to become complacent in a job thatmakes you too comfortable.
Build an online persona that’s both appropriate foryou and desirable by potential employers.
Craft several elevator pitches to briefly explain who
you are and what jobs might interest you.
Treat yourself as a multifaceted company whenmanaging your career.

Social Networking as Part of Your Career
Build professional relationships with people before
you start asking them for job search favors.
Consider how you might help others along theircareer path and offer assistance when appropriate.
Ask for advice, feedback, and guidance of theprofessionals whom you respect.
Seek informational interviews when learning about apotential company or a job you might pursue later.
Don’t take for granted the help and advice thatpeople in your professional network offer.
Keep the members of your social network regularly
apprised of your career progress.

Finding the IT Position Worth Pursuing
Understand what characteristics make you stand out
from your competition. What makes you an expert?

Look for job postings on companies’ websites and on
dedicated job websites. (That’s a given.)

Research the people who will interview you, so you
can better engage them during the conversation.

Establish a relationship with a few recruiters in yourindustry and make sure they understand you.

Find out the dress code for the interview. When indoubt, it’s usually safer to overdress.

Allow potential employers to find you even when you
aren’t looking for your job, so serendipity can occur.

Be ready to ask a few insightful, nonobvious
questions during the interview.

Consider whether you’ll need to move to thelocations that have the job openings you seek.

Treat the interview as a conversation, not a onesided Q&A session.

Explore multiple single social circles when looking ajob: friends, former colleagues, college friends, etc.

Use the interview as a chance to explore the cultureof the company where you might end up working.

Participate in events attended by the people within
the industries or companies where you want to work.

Send a thank-you note after the interview, referringto the specific topics discussed in the interview.

Network within the companies you want to join tofind positions that might not be officially advertised.

Negotiating the Compensation PackageConsider whether you’ll accept a less attractive job tobreak into the field, industry, or company you desire.
Find a way to contact the hiring manager directly in
addition to applying through the official channel.

Crafting and Polishing Your Resume

Understand what salary you can expect by looking atsurvey findings, job postings, peer discussions, etc.
Be prepared to answer the potential employer’squestions about your current compensation.
Consider all aspects of the compensation package,
including salary, bonus, benefits, training, perks, etc.

Review resumes of similarly skilled people tounderstand your job options and competition.

Understand which aspects of the compensation
package the employer can actually negotiate.

Understand the job requirements of the position
beyond what's in the official description.

Understand your alternatives to a negotiatedagreement (BATNA) to know when to say “no.”Customize your resume to match the specificrequirements of the position you’re pursuing.

Stay engaged with the hiring manager throughout
the negotiations process, which might span weeks.

Make sure that every bullet point in your resumeanswers the question “So What?”

Remember to show that you’re excited about thenew job and that you also value your self-worth.

Don’t rely on your resume as the primary way ofgetting the job for which you’re applying.

Research and practices influence techniques thatmight add to your negotiating power of confidence.

Be truthful and brief in the text of your resume.

Career Tips for Information Security

Describe both technical as well as “soft” skills(communications, sales. etc.) in your resume.

Lesley Carhart's Starting an InfoSec Career advice.

Handling the Interview for an IT Job

Brian Krebs’ series of interviews on breaking into theinformation security industry

Research the organization and the position you’repursuing. How are they different from others?

Hal Pomeranz’ advice on getting started in
information security or any other career
Lenny Zeltser on recruiting infosec professionals

Authored by Lenny Zeltser, who writes an information security blog at zeltser.com; you can also find him on Twitter as @lennyzeltser. You can explore Lenny’s other information security and IT tips
at zeltser.com/cheat-sheets. This document is at version 1.2. It is distributed according to the Creative Commons v3 “Attribution” License.