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Careers in InfoSec: Don’t Be Fooled By The Credential Alphabet
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Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli,
 User Rank: Ninja
1/30/2016 | 12:02:09 PM
Re: When the Acronyms Don't Matter
My only concern might be with overreliance on tools like that and "overtesting" candidates.  Some companies may truly need programmers who can handle anything.  Others, however, may place more value on hiring candidates with specialties in certain programming areas and encouraging their employees to collaborate and talk with each other to solve problems.
RetiredUser
RetiredUser,
 User Rank: Ninja
1/29/2016 | 11:48:20 PM
Re: When the Acronyms Don't Matter
Very true, Joe.  Actually, regarding online applications, I'd like to see more resume applications that are tied to online testing apps, too.  Codility comes to mind, for instance.
Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli,
 User Rank: Ninja
1/29/2016 | 8:37:39 AM
Re: When the Acronyms Don't Matter
@Christian: And it's a pity that online application systems weed out a great deal of qualified applicants -- often on the basis of the applicants simply not writing a good enough resume for the system (usually because of keyword deficiencies and/or formatting issues).
RetiredUser
RetiredUser,
 User Rank: Ninja
1/28/2016 | 5:02:53 PM
When the Acronyms Don't Matter
I've met lots of unique assets over the years and they all shared something in common - they were found outside the usual hiring process and in many cases they approached the company with a "you need me" pitch.  While I'm not going to be a CEO/CIO anytime soon, it did convince me that hiring off-grid can be beneficial.  The whole HR process of writing up the job req, inserting the usual acronym pre-reqs and pulling together a nearly useless interview panel just can't continue for certain tech roles.  Taking the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) model into account, there is a strong "show me the code" attitude that we need in tech right now.  

Ignoring the paper credentials, you drop into a reverse engineering IRC and toss out that you have a need for someone who has RE'ed malware and helped identify features, origins, etc.  You get a candidate or two who are interested, point them to a copy of the malware and within a brief period of time you get back a seriously clean and on-point report, and even a couple ideas on how to stop this malware from ever getting on-system.  Another candidate sends back a poorly composed, incomplete analysis with little take-away overall.  After doing the interviews, you find one of them is a CompSci MS, security-certified across the board over a period of ten years.  The other candidate is a High School dropout with a dozen well-respected FOSS projects written in Python and a regular speaker at conferences like Black Hat and DEFCON.

After reviewing all the candidates, you decide to hire the High School dropout.  Just an anecdote, but the tech industry has lots of different needs and they aren't all filled by degree- or certificate-holders.
RyanSepe
RyanSepe,
 User Rank: Ninja
1/28/2016 | 3:52:43 PM
Re: CABC, CXYZ, CBLAHBLAHBLAH
Agreed, I always see CISSP. It's pretty much become a standard for HR to put in a security job listing.

 
cyberartisan
cyberartisan,
 User Rank: Apprentice
1/28/2016 | 1:36:53 PM
Agree!
I could not agree more. Although I think this could appy to other professions, it seems to hit the mark in the Info Sec domain today.


As someone who has been in an Info Sec role earlier in my career and looking to get back into it, it almost seems to be impossible to be considered without the certifications as they show up in the "requirements" of the postings.


I just got my CISSP in December. It was a good refresher and validated that I haven't lost my relevant skills/knowledge. I have had numerous conversations with other hiring managers about certifications and its importance in the selection and hiring decisions. We all agreed they are helpful, but do not rank over other qualifications simply due to the rate and pace of change in technology.
Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli,
 User Rank: Ninja
1/27/2016 | 3:39:13 PM
CABC, CXYZ, CBLAHBLAHBLAH
> "one of the things I've noticed repeatedly over the course of my career is that there is no correlation between degrees and certifications and the skills needed on the job."

Preach, brother Joshua!

Alas, good luck convincing HR departments of that -- especially as certain certifications become more in vogue and more in demand in job postings (CISSP, CISM, and CIPP in particular come to mind).


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