Making Skills Visible in Cybersecurity — Part 4: Building a Walking Deck

Why a Walking Deck?

Most resumes are black-and-white lists of skills, degrees, and job titles. But people hire people, not just credentials.

A walking deck is a short, human-centered slide deck (think 4–6 slides) that helps others understand who you are, how you think, and how you work with others. It’s especially useful for:

  • Students who haven’t had their first industry job yet
  • Career changers entering cybersecurity from another field
  • Practitioners trying to highlight their leadership or communication style

It turns the invisible into something tangible.

What to Include in a Walking Deck

Here’s a repeatable structure you can adapt:

Slide 1: “Who I Am”

  • Cybersecurity educator, practitioner, and mentor
  • Former program director for a cybersecurity degree housed in a College of Business
  • Passionate about hands-on learning, emotional intelligence, and communication

Slide 2: “What I Value”

  • Growth over perfection
  • Systems thinking + people thinking
  • Real-world projects over textbook examples

Slide 3: “Soft Skills in Action”

  • Led a team of 6 students through a simulated ransomware drill
  • Managed miscommunication between red/blue teams to maintain forward momentum
  • Debriefed stakeholders with both technical and business summaries

Slide 4: “How I Learn”

  • Share learning reflections on LinkedIn
  • Build hands-on projects on proftsec.info
  • Practice mentorship through Slack communities

Slide 5: “What I’m Looking For”

  • Projects where education, threat analysis, and leadership intersect
  • Opportunities to bridge technical and human gaps

How to Share It

  • Turn it into a PDF or linkable Google Slides file
  • Use it in networking conversations, not just job interviews
  • Add it to your LinkedIn Featured section
  • Use it as the basis for a personal website or About page

Pro Tip

Your walking deck isn’t a pitch deck. It’s not meant to “wow” an audience. It’s a conversation tool, one that helps others visualize working with you.

Final Thought

This wraps up our Making Skills Visible series. Whether you’re a student, early-career professional, or a mentor guiding others, I hope this series gave you new ways to showcase what often goes unseen.

Because skills aren’t just technical. And the best cybersecurity professionals? You can see the human behind the keyboard.

Stay grounded. Stay growing. Stay aligned.