Emanuel Carpenter ⋅ Alpharetta, GA SDR Master Class ⋅ 20 years experience

Hi Andy:

If you haven't already, switch to a skills-based resume instead of a chronological resume. Highlight the skills you have obtained at the very top of the resume instead of highlighting your past work history. Google images has a ton of examples.

If you see job postings online for your ideal job, cut and paste the required skills that you have onto your resume.

Most importantly, try to find out about jobs BEFORE they are posted online or in classifieds. Connect with potential hiring managers and recruiters on LinkedIn and in person at networking events. And send your resume to people you know and ask them to share it with their bosses if they work for a relevant company. Employers would much rather hire someone via referral than posting a position and getting thousands of applicants.

John Green ⋅ Cary, NC Information Technology ⋅ 40 years experience

Do you have an online presence (ie. your own website) that highlights these skills ?

The key is experience. You may be getting these help desk offers because you cannot demonstrate any experience. Do an internship at a company in a cyber security role.

Your resume needs to be a forward-looking document. It needs to call-out things that apply to the position you want, not the positions you have held.

Dan Pierce ⋅ Cincinnati, OH Systems Evolution, Inc ⋅ 35 years experience

Hi Andy!

The main challenge to working with recruiters is to translate military jargon to business jargon. There are obviously some good recruiters, and most are just matching key words. Most of your military experience can be described using business terminology that should help. I would be happen to review your resume and offer some suggestions. I also have a nephew who works in cyber security as a civilian. Please feel free to reach out to me directly and I would be happy to help.

Steve Hall ⋅ Beaverton, OR ⋅ 18 years experience

Hi Andy,

I am not a cyber security professional, but I do work in IT and keeping applications secure is part of my job. I share my personal perspective below.

First, we should recognize that governments and companies are being hacked and data is being lost and or compromised on a daily basis. A simple mistake can result in the loss of data that can destroy the reputation of a company, and perhaps the company itself, or compromise national security. An A+ certification does not provide enough background and experience to qualify for anything other than typical entry level help desk roles. No surprise that is what you are being offered.

You can do some research here. I suggest that you try a Google search on something like this: cyber security certification and accreditation

You may want to look into something along these lines and consider something like this: https://www.isc2.org/cissp/default.aspx

Having shared those thoughts, here is another.

It's not likely that there are many jobs that involve day to day work in cyber security with an A+ certification. That would imply there is routine work to be performed here. That work is being automated using things like machine learning to provide real time threat and fraud detection. Systems can perform this work more effectively than humans. Accordingly I do not see great prospects here with limited education.

Critical thinking is going to be a necessity. It's not enough to know yesterday's attacks. To be successful in preventing attacks one must be a step ahead of the emerging threats. That is likely to require extensive education in systems engineering, networking, software, operating systems, and software languages just to name a few. To acquire that one would need to be extraordinarily intelligent, and / or perhaps have a masters degree, or even a doctorate degree focused on information security.

Take some of my points into consideration during your journey. You may find that I am wrong on some of these points. However, I hope some of the points above can help you organize your approach, your research, and your thinking.

Good luck,
Steve

Marvin Feil ⋅ Newton, NJ Quest ⋅ 30 years experience

List Accomplishments on your resume, not Skills. People want to know what you have done. I can help with wording.

martin kelly ⋅ Wilmington, DE ISM Insurance, Inc. ⋅ 30 years experience

Hi Andy.

First, thank you for you service!

While perhaps obvious, my advice would be to learn as much as you can about he business sector and specific company you wish to apply to; then be clear as to how your experience, skills and capabilities can help THEIR company - if they're smart enough to hire you!!

Best,

Martin

Henry ("Dr. Hank") Stevens ⋅ Fort Lauderdale, FL Human Resources Quality Assurance, LLC (Now Retired) ⋅ 50 years experience

I will be very brief here, in direct answer to your question. A prudent employer will hire to your TALENTS and only secondarily consider your experience. Thus, shift your mindset from WHAT you have done; I.E., experience, to what you are good at doing; i.e., YOUR talents. Need help with either identifying those talents of yours or using the right words, go to this FREE website. If you need help with interpreting the results, let me know - glad to help!

http://www.humanmetrics.com/hr/jtypesresult.aspx

Jim Starr ⋅ Saint Louis, MO BJC HealthCare ⋅ 16 years experience

Hi Andy and thanks for your service! Others may already have noted this, but it may be helpful to look for some commonalities in experience and skills from your military background and how those skills would transfer to roles that you are applying for. Highlighting experiences and value on your resume in a way that clearly translate to success and value in a civilian role may be key, depending on whom you are interviewing with. Additionally, it may be helpful to ask for as many details around challenges a current role (or that role's overall team) may be facing or wanting to resolve and then tie in your experience and skills with the contribution and value they would bring to the specific role and team. In my view, with contractors and placement agencies, you are essentially "interviewing twice" so it may be helpful to reference the above suggestions for both presenting yourself to contractor companies along with the actual job opening itself. Good Luck!!

barbara hawes ⋅ Brielle, NJ Aflac ⋅ 28 years experience

Hi Andy,
Thank you for your service. All the above are great suggestions. I used to work in corporate crisis management and anyone with a military background was preferred over a civilian among applicants. As far as framing your skills, think beyond the job duties -- security = attention to detail, problem solving skills/creative problem solving, etc. that could apply to the position you are looking for (there was a housewife who had NO job experience and needed to find a job. Her resume read like a CEO of a major corporation - financial management, organizational oversight, crisis management -- and she was hired in middle management!). All skills based and while unpaid, was true. There are certifications and courses available to put you higher in priority. And in this day and age, networking through related associations is the key. Good luck!

Jason Cavness ⋅ Dupont, WA cavnessHR ⋅ 25 years experience

Andy,

This is going to be an out of the box answer. But find a Startup to work for and use that experience to gain skills. If you go to WWW.ANGELLIST.COM. You can do a filter by company and location. I know here in the Seattle area there are about 3-4 Startups in the Cybersecurity space. I worked for a Startup when I retired and what I learned and the skills I gained were invaluable. The people I met were great and they were a great asset in my job search.

Jason

Larry Steward ⋅ Aiken, SC Stewardship Coaching ⋅ 30 years experience

I see you have many good suggestions to follow here Andy. I hope you have found them useful and are making progress. Here is my advice, don't overlook the power of professional networking. I say professional because so often the networking process is not executed correctly. The key is to thoroughly research your targeted goal: a networking/cyber security job. Read articles about this and extract information about the skill requirements companies are seeking. Learn why companies need these professionals and track people who are mentioned as being in those positions. Then as you are armed with this information you can begin making contact with those already doing that work in whatever capacity they may have. This level of contact does not and should not be lead with a resume. It is too easy for someone to say - oh, sorry, we're not hiring. Instead, you want to approach them as an experienced military professional with a passionate interest in networking/cyber security and would like to ask them about their experience dealing with these important issues. Chances are they used effective networking skills in the past to land the job they now have and will respect where you're coming from and why you are contacting them. Just keep this perspective - in the beginning, this approach will get you through the door and talking to people who are doing the job you want for yourself. It sounds like the long way around but the key is that these insiders will share with you openings that are waiting to happen, other key people to talk to, and eventually lead you to that opportunity you've been looking for. You're in full control to be very active making this type of contact. It will lead you to what you're looking for. Then submit your polished resume once the discussion gets serious. Good luck!

Jo Prabhu ⋅ San Rafael, CA International Services Group ⋅ 20 years experience

Hello Andy,

All the answers above were excellent advice. The qualities that you have gained in the services in my opinion, should be highlighted at the very top of your resume, as they are far more important to any employer, than all the certifications you collect: Honesty, Integrity, Discipline, dedication, team work and adherence/application of task requirements and duties to a T. Ross Perot has been very successful in hiring ex-servicemen and women because of these qualities. One company I know required everyone, regardless of the job title, to first take an online integrity test with 90+ time-bound, rapid-answer questions that had no back button. 60% of the applicants failed including an applicant for a VP position. I would only add that every job you have, even if its a help desk as a starter, will provide opportunities for advancement within that company. You just have to be patient, acquire the experience while you're at it, make connections and offer to volunteer for opportunities that may enhance your experience in the field you seek.

Gerald Mannikarote ⋅ Houston, TX dMann Training Technologies ⋅ 20 years experience

Hi Andy,
I wish you all the best in your job search. There was a suggestion about a 'skills based resume'. I believe that is a good one. Also there was another suggestion about developing an online presence. That too is a great suggestion.
I would suggest combining the two. Develop your LinkedIn profile where you can add your acquired skills. Highlight the same skills within each job you list in the profile. Similarly, add the skills to your resume, creating a skills section and highlighting the skills acquired in each job listed.
Finally, when applying for a job, look for the skills posted in job description. Tailor your resume to accommodate the skills described. This will allow your resume to match their needs.
I hope this helps.
Warm regards,
Jerry

michael convey ⋅ Longboat Key, FL JH Williams Oil Co ⋅ 42 years experience

Thank you for your service. It is important to focus on the reasons your experience would be helpful to someone in the cyber security business and try find ways to illustrate how you experience and accomplishments have helped in developing cyber security solutions to situations you have worked on. Your resume should include related courses, seminars or experience in this area, and, if possible, how your experience would provide hands-on experience in analyzing problems and developing workable alternatives for situations that you encountered. I think possibly getting involved with Linkedin could assist you in developing a network of potential employers, and enable you to illustrate the reasons for your being a good potential employee

DF Jackson ⋅ Washington, DC U.S. Air Force, Senior Airman ⋅ 4 years served

Make sure you have the most updated and needed Certification. Then highlight using Bullet or Check symbols for about 8 functions and accomplishments at top of your resume that are truly in Demand for your field of interest. See sample resumes for Tech online.

Katie Tamarelli ⋅ Newport, KY Strategy& ⋅ 8 years experience

Thank you very much for your service. I do agree with John -- if you don't demonstrate experience in those skills, that may be very well why you are getting shifted to help desk positions.

Any project work, work done in your free time that may be relevant should definitely be highlighted in the resume.

I would also ensure that you de-military your resume to ensure that you are getting credit for the experience you already have.

I am happy to review your resume if helpful. Please feel free to message me offline

Best,
Katie