--- title: "Tips for Certified Cybersecurity Professionals to Find Jobs" description: "Discover three proven strategies to use your CISSP or other cybersecurity certification to land your ideal job and advance your career." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://christianespinosa.com/#person", "name": "Christian Espinosa", "url": "https://christianespinosa.com/", "image": "https://christianespinosa.com/__l5e/assets-v1/de07e44b-a8e0-4bcc-bcb0-13aec15421f1/headshot-front.jpg", "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/christian.espinosa.official", "https://x.com/Ironracer", "https://www.instagram.com/christian.espinosa.official/", "https://www.youtube.com/@ChristianEspinosaOfficial", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianespinosa/" ], "jobTitle": "Bestselling Author, Keynote Speaker, Entrepreneur", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Blue Goat Cyber", "url": "https://bluegoatcyber.com/" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://christianespinosa.com/#website", "name": "Christian Espinosa", "url": "https://christianespinosa.com/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://christianespinosa.com/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-US" }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://christianespinosa.com/#organization", "name": "Christian Espinosa", "url": "https://christianespinosa.com/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://christianespinosa.com/logo.svg" }, "founder": { "@id": "https://christianespinosa.com/#person" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/christian.espinosa.official", "https://x.com/Ironracer", "https://www.instagram.com/christian.espinosa.official/", "https://www.youtube.com/@ChristianEspinosaOfficial", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianespinosa/" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "Tips for Certified Cybersecurity Professionals to Find Jobs - Christian Espinosa", "description": "Discover three proven strategies to use your CISSP or other cybersecurity certification to land your ideal job and advance your career.", "image": "https://christianespinosa.com/__l5e/assets-v1/5abced3c-0905-4b37-99e6-287833037434/tips-for-certified-cybersecurity-professionals-to-find-jobs-card.png", "datePublished": "2021-09-04T05:36:54+00:00", "dateModified": "2026-06-26T05:38:48.532Z", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://christianespinosa.com/blog/tips-for-certified-cybersecurity-professionals-to-find-jobs" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christian Espinosa", "url": "https://christianespinosa.com/about" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Christian Espinosa", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://christianespinosa.com/logo.svg" } } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the core idea behind \"Tips for Certified Cybersecurity Professionals to Find Jobs - Christian Espinosa\"?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "I share three methods to empower you to find your ideal cybersecurity job, using your CISSP (or any other) cybersecurity certification." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Who is this post for?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Honestly, leaders, founders, and anyone running a team who is tired of the sanitized version of leadership advice. If you want a listicle, this is not that. If you want the honest version of what I have actually lived and worked through, keep reading." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do I actually apply this, not just nod along?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Pick the single line in the post that made you flinch or look away, and change one thing in your week because of it. One choice this week beats a whole framework you never touch." } } ] } ] --- [Skip to content](#main) [](/) [About](/about)[Speaking](/speaking)[Cybersecurity](/cybersecurity)[Programs](/programs)[Books](/books)[Media](/media) Writing Search Ctrl K[Connect](/connect) [Leadership](/blog/category/leadership) # Tips for Certified Cybersecurity Professionals to Find Jobs September 4, 2021 3 min read 616 words I'm going to use CISSP as my example here. But you can apply this to any cybersecurity certification you're working with, like Security+. ![](/__l5e/assets-v1/e1c96a90-11d3-4341-9589-7458ff2c13d7/tips-for-certified-cybersecurity-professionals-to-find-jobs-hero.webp) The takeaways 1. 01 These are the same techniques I use, and I hope they help you find a cybersecurity job that you love. What to do next Pause for five minutes today, then name the one place in your week where techniques is playing out and you have been avoiding naming it. 2. 02 Most of those, 75,465, are in the Private Sector. What to do next Have one direct conversation about private with the person on your team who most needs to hear it. 3. 03 Job openings in the United States that require the CISSP certification. What to do next Write down the last three decisions you made about openings and mark which ones you would repeat. 4. 04 The blue number represents openings requesting the CISSP. What to do next Have one direct conversation about blue with the person on your team who most needs to hear it. I've helped a lot of people land their first job, or their next job, in cybersecurity. It doesn't matter if it's for a CISSP or another certification. I've got three methods that work. These are the same techniques I use, and I hope they help you find a cybersecurity job that you love. I'm going to use CISSP as my example here. But you can apply this to any cybersecurity certification you're working with, like Security+. ## #1: Research CISSP Job Openings First, you need to know where the jobs actually are. I tell people to research CISSP openings in the specific locations they're looking at. I just checked CyberSeek, and there are 77,492 open jobs in the US right now that need a CISSP. Most of those, 75,465, are in the Private Sector. Only 2,031 are in the Public Sector. **Job openings in the United States that require the CISSP certification.** The orange number represents CISSP certification holders. The blue number represents openings requesting the CISSP. If you live in Arkansas and want to stay in Arkansas, as an example, there are 265 open CISSP jobs in the entire state of Arkansas. If you want to move to Texas, for example, there are 6,333 open CISSP jobs in Texas. ## #2: Determine Which Organizations Hire People with the CISSP Certification _This technique involves you_ **_actively_** _seeking a CISSP job._ There are several paths you can take: 1. You can work for the DoD as an actual DoD employee (civilian or military) 2. You can work for the DoD as a contractor 3. You can work in the private sector Steps to become part of the DoD as a DoD civilian or member of the military are beyond the scope of this article. I will focus on numbers two and three above. If you are seeking a job as a DoD contractor or in the private sector, the process is the same because private companies that have DoD contracts hire DoD contractors. Private companies also hire CISSPs for private sector work. A good place to determine which companies are hiring CISSPs is [indeed.com](https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=cissp&l=). As of this writing, there are 13,469 open CISSP jobs in the United States. According to indeed.com, the company Deloitte has 514 open CISSP jobs, and Washington, DC has 765 openings for people with the CISSP certification. Another source to determine which organizations are hiring CISSPs is [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/). Search “CISSP” on LinkedIn and set the focus of the results to “Jobs.” As you can see from the screenshot, there are 25,997 open jobs in the United States that required the CISSP certification. ## #3: Update your LinkedIn profile with your CISSP certification _This technique involves you_ **_passively_** _seeking a CISSP job._ Many employers, recruiters, and headhunters use LinkedIn to search for people with the CISSP certification. Listing your CISSP certification on your LinkedIn profile will make you show up in searches for “CISSP.” In the screenshot above, I searched for CISSP, then switched the results to “People.” As you notice, one guy even listed “Studying for CISSP Exam” in his LinkedIn “Headline” and he showed up. The second person put it after their name, like “John Smith, CISSP”. The third person listed the CISSP certification as their LinkedIn Headline. Any of these approaches work to get the attention of employers, recr uiters, and headhunters. Just be prepared to be bombarded with “incredible opportunities” and lots of new connection requests. ## Conclusion I hope you find these strategies useful in your hunt for your ideal cybersecurity job. Best of luck! Frequently asked ### What is the core idea behind "Tips for Certified Cybersecurity Professionals to Find Jobs - Christian Espinosa"? ### Who is this post for? ### How do I actually apply this, not just nod along? ### Work with me I help founders and cybersecurity leaders build teams that ship, not teams that stall. If that's the problem you're trying to solve, let's talk. 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He's an Air Force Academy graduate, 24x Ironman, climber of two of the Seven Summits, and the author of The Smartest Person in the Room and The In-Between: Life in the Micro. Keep reading - [ ### Cybersecurity "Professionals" - Reboot Needed - Christian Espinosa Same thread: leadership. Read essay → ](/blog/cybersecurity-professionals-reboot-needed) - [ ### LinkedIn Tips for a Better Cybersecurity Job - Christian Espinosa Same thread: leadership. Read essay → ](/blog/linkedin-tips-for-a-better-cybersecurity-job) - [ ### How to Recruit and Hire Cybersecurity Professionals to Help You Win the Cybersecurity War - Christian Espinosa Same thread: leadership. Read essay → ](/blog/how-to-recruit-and-hire-cybersecurity-professionals-to-help-you-win-the-cybersecurity-war) [← Previous essay LinkedIn Tips for a Better Cybersecurity Job - Christian Espinosa ](/blog/linkedin-tips-for-a-better-cybersecurity-job)[Next essay → Cheating Cybersecurity Exams: Paper Tigers - Christian Espinosa ](/blog/cheating-cybersecurity-exams-paper-tigers) Related, Cybersecurity ### Need medical-device or offensive security expertise? Blue Goat Cyber, Christian's firm, runs FDA-aligned premarket submissions, penetration testing, and SBOM/SOUP analysis for medtech and high-stakes industries. [Explore Blue Goat Cyber](/cybersecurity) Christian Espinosa Bestselling author, keynote speaker, and Founding CEO of [Blue Goat Cyber](https://bluegoatcyber.com/). Helping technical leaders develop the soft skills that turn brilliance into impact. 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