CyberSN Launches New JobBuilder Service
March 9, 2018 – Increasingly, organizations of all sizes are awakening to the perils posed by cyber attacks. For years, many groups tried to ignore the problem, dismissing cybersecurity as a concern only for the biggest, most high-profile entities, be they government or corporate. These days, more groups are coming to understand how ruinous such intrusions could be. This has led to a dramatic rise in the demand for cybersecurity executives.
To help fill that demand, CyberSN, a boutique search firm serving talent needs in the field, has launched JobBuilder, a recruiting product for cybersecurity that reduces the time needed to fill positions. The services are available for companies without the budget to engage staffing firms, those that want to empower their in-house recruiters and for organizations that want to focus on talent retention.
A lack of talent pipelining in cybersecurity, particularly at the senior levels and into the C-suite, has meant that top cybersecurity positions generally remain open for an average of six months or longer – and that’s even before the company engages with an external recruiting firm.
Passive Job Seekers
Another reason: passivity. “The zero percent unemployment rate among cybersecurity professionals isn’t the reason why companies can’t fill their cybersecurity jobs,” said Deidre Diamond, founder and CEO. “The real problem is that these job seekers are passive.” That’s in light of the fact that, according to a recent LinkedIn study, 89 percent of employed professionals across the sector are open to speaking with recruiters about new career opportunities.
Scrambling for Cybersecurity Leaders is Big Business for Recruiters
Cyberattacks are growing in magnitude, complexity and frequency, and these massive security lapses have left many companies vulnerable. The need for cybersecurity executives reaches across virtually all industries.
Related: Scrambling for Cybersecurity Leaders is Big Business for Recruiters
Dom Glavach, CyberSN chief security officer and head strategist, has served in high-level cybersecurity positions at other organizations and helped create JobBuilder from the perspective of a hiring organization.
“When cybersecurity professionals are searching for a position, knowing exactly what the responsibilities, projects and tasks are before accepting an interview is critical,” he said. “Cybersecurity professionals do not have the ability to take interviews and leave the office easily. JobBuilder uses cybersecurity common language to eliminate generic, vague, ambiguous job descriptions, and lets people know instantly what they can expect to be doing each day, each week, each month. Using cybersecurity common language, we bridge the divide between job seekers, recruiters and hiring managers.”
Ms. Diamond said companies are also using JobBuilder to reorganize their job descriptions and internal reviews. “They see the value of using our common language job building product for performance reviews, training and retention plans,” she said.
Investment in Cyber Talent Lacking
“What many organizations are failing to realize is that by not investing properly in cyber professionals, they’re sending the message that cybersecurity is not a priority,” said Ms. Diamond. This creates a retention and attrition problem that nearly eclipses the recruiting challenges faced by many companies seeking cyber talent.
Security Threats Create Talent Challenges, Opportunities
Cybersecurity might well be the greatest challenge facing corporate America today. The threat to reputation, private information and dollars — both from immediate theft and the cost of repairing the damage of a cyber-attack — can be staggering.
Ms. Diamond referenced a recent survey her firm conducted that found a gaping lack of security talent. It is a problem that becomes more pronounced when organizations look to recruit more senior talent. “Now, more than ever,” said the report, “companies are competing against the likes of Netflix, Google and Facebook for high quality candidates.” A lack of transparency around salary data, it concluded, is simply making it more difficult for organizations to compete on a level playing field. “In order to recruit more effectively for cybersecurity industry positions, there’s a clear demand for accurate information that includes real-time, market-driven compensation data,” the report said.
Related: Spencer Stuart Explores Global Cybersecurity Talent Needs
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
