Looking for a Mentor to Guide You on Your Cybersecurity Career Journey? Start Here.
Working with a knowledgeable mentor can offer aspiring cybersecurity professionals a framework for achieving career success: Here’s how to get started.
If you surveyed a room full of cybersecurity professionals, and asked: “How did you get started in information security?”, you’re guaranteed to receive several different answers: Some folks might have gone to university, others might be self-taught or college dropouts, while still another group might have attended a training program, earned relevant industry certifications, or even transitioned from serving in the military. With hundreds of certs, learning platforms, and career possibilities to decipher, wouldn’t it be great if there was some sort of guide to help navigate the complicated world of infosec? Here’s where a cybersecurity mentor can help.
How can a mentor help?
A mentor’s role is to help you envision and become the version of yourself that you aspire to be. An ideal mentor is one who can point you in the right direction, or even help you identify entirely new ways of thinking. Because they’ve have been there before, they have the benefit of experience. Speaking with a dedicated, knowledgeable mentor can feel like a conversation with a future version of yourself. The most difficult part of this type of professional relationship is perhaps the start: Reaching out and asking someone to volunteer their time to help you seems like a big ask, and can potentially be an awkward conversation for both parties.
Cybersecurity professional and Founder of Cyber Mentor Dojo, David Tyler, has a solution. David has created an active community where those seeking mentorship can sign up to connect and chat with experienced security professionals: “Getting a mentor is one of the best things you can do for you journey into cybersecurity – you have access to years of experience and failures which helps you by avoiding the same pitfalls. Furthermore, it will ensure that you don’t waste time, effort, and money on useless certifications that you might not need,” says David.
Whether you’re looking for some career guidance or want to volunteer your time to mentors an aspiring security professional, head over to Cyber Mentor Dojo and register your interest. You can also follow the community on Twitter and LinkedIn. Remember: Finding a mentor is only the start of the journey.
Here are 8 tips for optimizing your professional relationship with your mentor:
1. Establish a consistent meeting schedule that works for both of you
2. Have a clear sense of what you would like to achieve from each conversation
3. Always come to meetings prepared with specific questions or challenges
4. Take notes, and follow-up with any assignments or tasks your mentor asks you to complete
5. Be receptive to feedback
6. Be mindful of your mentor’s time, and thank them for their advice
7. Keep them posted on your progress: Mentors love hearing about your accomplishments!
8. Pass it on: Consider eventually becoming a mentor yourself and helping others on their journey.