Articles Tagged with ''security career''

Security teams should be carefully selected to meet an organization’s needs in terms of competence, but perhaps, more importantly to foster inclusion, diversity and a strong sense of team. When it comes to completing your security team, hiring the right employees will lead you, your team, and your organization to greater success, but finding, recruiting and retaining top security talent may be easier said than done.

We have previously talked about many aspects of how to advance your security career. This includes having a thorough understanding of both soft and operational skills sought after by organizations. The ability to execute on these attributes is valued when companies look for top talent for senior level security roles.

Last month this column looked at how humor can enhance leadership. Inspired by the book "Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes," this month’s column explains security leadership through jokes.

Humor is tricky business in the security world, however. Briefing staff on warning signs of workplace violence, precursors of terrorist attacks, contingency plans for natural disasters, and methods of corporate espionage doesn’t exactly lend themselves to one-liners. Dealing with most security incidents isn’t a laughing matter.

Unfortunately, diversity is still underrepresented in security. Our profession continues to struggle to attract and/or advance diverse candidates into leadership ranks in numbers that accurately represent a cross section of the working population.

Barring winning a major lottery or inheritance, during a 40+ year working life in the security profession, security leaders will likely make a dozen or more job changes. While some of these may be significant responsibility shifts within a single organization, in today’s environment it is likely that a person will be changing organizations and even the type and/or responsibilities of various roles. One of those changes may include self-employment. Here’s what you need to know to ponder the transition.

Lessons are best learned when we don’t expect them. When someone proselytizes us or pontificates, our defenses go up. Therefore, the best time to influence someone is when their guard is down.

As what has been a unique and difficult year for many finally comes to a close, I find I have been engaging in a significant number of conversations regarding what the future holds for security careers in these challenging market conditions.