Posting a security job? Consider being slightly more specific with the title.
Believe it or not - it matters.
In my time serving the technology world, I have witnessed the transition of security jobs go through several iterations.
Once upon a time it was just
“I.T.”
and along the way, someone said “Our systems guys don’t want to deal with firewalls”
and so…
“I.T. Security”
…was born and is somewhat still in use.
THEN purism gave rise to the likes of the following:
“Security Analyst”
“Security Engineer”
“Security Manager”
“Security Architect”
For many organizations, these titles work just fine. Solid security generalist titles, expecting a wide range of skills.
And finally here is where we are today, some organizations need a SPECIFIC type of security engineer.
So now we are getting even more details:
“Network Security Analyst”
“Cloud Security Engineer”
and even more granular…
“Cisco Network Security Analyst”
“AWS Cloud Security Engineer - Firewall and IAM”
Which is great when it comes to finding the right role and avoiding applying to the wrong one.
The problem arises when companies use:
IT Security Engineer
but what they really need, for example, is..
IT Security Engineer, IAM
Further problems are fed by a lack of outlining this need in the job descriptions. Subtly burying a need for identity management somewhere in the description.
When specific needs should be upfront, bold, capitalized, with time-in-role years made clear:
“5+ years of direct IAM, AD Experience is a MUST.” or “Candidates will have 5+ years of experience directly managing Palo Alto Firewalls”
Imagine sitting for an interview for a generalist role, and they ask repetitive questions about technology not outlined in their job description, job title, and certainly nowhere in your resume.
It can be cumbersome and a massive waste of everyones time.
So, for all of the recruiters and hiring managers out there - try just a little harder. Remember this is out of respect for the candidates and your teams.
Your time is important but not more important.
Hope that helps.
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print("Shawn L. Donahue")