Information security recruitment – can you find the talent?

Cybersecurity is or should be a concern for every major organisation – and SMEs and small businesses too.

Because cyber attacks are on the rise in a big way. Some of the biggest companies in the world have suffered costly data breaches in recent years.

But while information security jobs are currently in ready supply, those in need of cybersecurity specialists often find themselves struggling to attract the right talent.

If that sounds like you, here is how you can work with your IT recruitment company or HR team to fill cybersecurity jobs in the current highly competitive market:

Cybersecurity recruitment tips – job description comes first

Your job description will likely be the first time a potential team member comes into contact with your business. What first impression of your company do your current job descriptions give?

Are you putting forth a clear offer? Is it an attractive one compared with others? What impression could a potential candidate take away about the kind of workplace and culture you have?

Here are the key features of a good and bad job description for almost any IT job:

Cybersecurity job description donts

–Generalisations – talking non-specifically is essentially wasting screen space. Don’t be coy about what you want and what you offer in information security recruitment if you want to attract talent.

–Questions open to interpretation – are you leaving your prospective hire guessing about the salary you offer or whether a position is remote or in-office, for instance? People don’t like unanswered questions.

–Salary ranges – this information is already available. Being deliberately vague about this kind of information doesn’t give off good signals. It hits both of the two key “donts” above too.

–Irrelevant qualifications – for cybersecurity recruitment, this might mean you ask for a required arbitrary X years of programming experience or a 2:1 degree, for example. Neither of these things is necessarily vital for most cybersecurity roles.

–Gendered language – including non-gender neutral language or anything that suggests you have a male-dominated environment (even if you don’t) is likely to put off many applicants. This includes men who don’t like this kind of environment either.

Cybersecurity job description dos

–Be specific about what you need and offer – this includes mentioning keywords like information security, cybersecurity, application security, and engineer but also details of the salary and benefits you offer.

–Proof for readability – over-using industry jargon can instantly put off even well-informed and experienced candidates. Try using lists of bullet points rather than dense paragraphs of text.

–Check your tone – the tone of your description is vital. You can easily send the wrong message even with potential positives – saying you offer “free beers in the fridge” or a “competitive work environment”, for instance. Not everyone enjoys these things.

–Suggest a positive workplace – using words like “collaboration” and “team” ensure you send the right positive message about your workplace (as long as they are actually true when your candidate starts work!)

–Review your job descriptions – don’t rely on copy-and-pasted sections of older descriptions for other positions or reuse the same description from five years ago.

Top job benefits to offer in information security recruitment

Some key features of the most effective information security job descriptions of recent years are:

–Career development – the overwhelming majority of cybersecurity experts (as well as professionals in almost every field) want to know they can advance their career in a role. Mention the certifications or skills in which you will be offering training.

–ESG and giving back – more than ever before, especially for younger applicants, your company’s Environmental, Social and Governance factors will govern how many candidates apply for IT jobs you have available.

–Work-life balance – remote working possibilities are the minimum you will probably want to offer with almost any tech job these days. Most applicants will expect some degree of flexibility even in a hybrid setup.

Still struggling to recruit the information security talent you need?

Let’s talk. Ernest Gordon is a specialist IT recruitment agency. We provide access to the best professionals from our extensive talent pool.

Get in touch with us today – for free and with no obligation – to find out if we can find you the talent you need.