Soft Skills

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 2: Standing Out Without a Giant Portfolio Why This Matters A lot of students and early-career professionals think they need a giant GitHub repo or 10 certifications to “stand out.” But in cybersecurity, how you think, how you adapt, and how you engage can be just as meaningful as what you’ve built. So how do you showcase your skills before you’ve collected the big wins? ...

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 6 – Building Psychological Safety and Team Culture Because no one grows in silence. And no team thrives in fear. Introduction In high-pressure cybersecurity environments, asking questions, admitting mistakes, or challenging assumptions can feel risky—especially for early-career professionals. But that silence? It’s more dangerous than any zero-day exploit. Part 6 of our Beyond the Firewall series closes with a focus on psychological safety and team culture—the cornerstones of a resilient, high-performing cybersecurity organization. ...

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. ...

Beyond the Firewall: Part 4 – From Peer to Lead in Cybersecurity Teams Introduction Moving from a technical peer to a team lead isn’t just a title change—it’s a mindset shift. In Part 4 of the Beyond the Firewall series, we explore what it means to take on leadership in cybersecurity environments. Delegation, escalation, and cross-functional communication aren’t covered on a CompTIA exam—but they’re crucial to a team’s success. Leading from the Trenches Most new leads are promoted from within. That means yesterday’s peer becomes today’s decision-maker. ...

Beyond the Firewall: Part 3 – Collaboration, Conflict, and Control Introduction In security, the stakes are high—and so are emotions. Especially during red-team/blue-team drills, security audits, or live incident response scenarios. That’s why in Part 3 of our “Beyond the Firewall” series, we’re focusing on how students and new professionals can build the interpersonal resilience to manage disagreement, assert their role appropriately, and de-escalate tension when things go sideways. This isn’t just about being nice. It’s about maintaining operational control during the moments when every second and every message matters. ...

Beyond the Firewall: Part 2 – Teaching Technical Communication in Cybersecurity Introduction In Part 1 of our Beyond the Firewall series, we highlighted why soft skills like communication and empathy are just as vital as technical know-how. In this post, we go deeper into technical communication—what it means in cybersecurity, why it’s often overlooked, and how you can teach it directly in your IT curriculum or onboarding program. Strong technical communication helps: ...

Beyond the Firewall: Part 1 – Why Soft Skills Make or Break Cyber Careers Introduction You can teach someone how to configure a firewall. But can you teach them how to stay calm during a data breach, explain complex issues to a non-technical executive, or collaborate with a peer who disagrees with their approach? These aren’t technical skills—they’re soft skills, and in today’s cybersecurity landscape, they are often the deciding factor between a good hire and a great one. ...