Career Readiness

Making Skills Visible in Cybersecurity — Part 3: Feedback, Critique & Growth Growth Isn’t Just Technical Everyone says they want to grow. But when feedback stings, conflict escalates, or someone misreads your tone in Slack—it’s harder than it sounds. Cybersecurity isn’t just about detection and defense. It’s also about dialogue and disagreement. That’s why this post focuses on three areas where invisible skills become visible in how we respond: Taking feedback with curiosity, not ego Navigating critique (especially from peers) Growing from conflict and friction on a team 1. Feedback Isn’t an Attack In tech, feedback is often seen as a red flag—“You did something wrong.” But in high-functioning teams, it’s a sign of trust and investment. ...

Making Skills Visible in Cybersecurity — Part 1: Skills You Can’t See on a Resume Why This Series? Every week, I work with students and early-career professionals trying to break into cybersecurity. And while the advice often starts with “get your certs” or “build a homelab,” what’s missing is just as important: The invisible skills. I’m talking about: Knowing how to stay calm during chaos Making risk-based decisions in gray areas Translating technical findings into business impact Asking good questions when you don’t know something Taking initiative without being told These are the skills that don’t neatly fit into the Skills section of a resume. But they’re the ones that shape trust, credibility, and long-term success in the field. ...

Beyond the Firewall: Part 5 – Measuring Soft Skills in Cybersecurity Introduction It’s easy to assign a grade to a lab or a test. But how do you evaluate something like adaptability under pressure or collaborative leadership during an incident response? In cybersecurity education and early career development, we often say that soft skills matter. Yet, we rarely measure them with the same intent and structure as we do technical ones. ...