This cheat sheet presents practical tips for finding and getting the right job in the information technology industry. To print, use the one-page PDF version; you can also edit the Word version for you own needs.

Preparing Yourself in Advance

• Understand what jobs you want to pursue in the short term and as part of your long-term career.
• Determine what skill and experience will help you get the jobs you desire.
• Devise and begin executing the plan to obtain the relevant education, training, and certifications.
• Obtain the skills and experience through personal and work projects. Balance depth with breadth.
• Be careful not to become complacent in a job that makes you too comfortable.
• Build an online persona that's both appropriate for you and desirable for potential employers.
• Craft several "elevator pitches" to briefly explain who you are and what jobs might interest you.
• Treat yourself as a multifaceted company when managing your career.

Social Networking as Part of Your Career

• Build professional relationships with people before you start asking them for job search favors.
• Consider how you might help others along their career path and offer assistance when appropriate.
• Ask for advice, feedback, and guidance of the professionals whom you respect.
• Seek informational interviews when learning about a potential company or a job you might pursue later.
• Don’t take for granted the help and advice that people in your professional network offer.
• Keep the members of your social network regularly apprised of your career progress.

Finding the IT Position Worth Pursuing

• Understand what characteristics make you stand out from your competition. What makes you an expert?
• Look for job postings on companies' websites and on dedicated job websites. (That's a given.)
• Establish a relationship with a few recruiters in your industry and make sure they understand you.
• Allow potential employers to find you even when you aren't looking for your job, so serendipity can occur.
• Consider whether you'll need to move to the locations that have the job openings you seek.
• Explore multiple single social circles when looking a job: friends, former colleagues, college friends, etc.
• Participate in events attended by the people within the industries or companies where you want to work.
• Network within the companies you want to join to find positions that might not be officially advertised.
• Consider whether you'll accept a less attractive job to break into the field, industry, or company you desire.
• Find a way to contact the hiring manager directly in addition to applying through the official channel.

Crafting and Polishing Your Resume

• Review resumes of similarly skilled people to understand your job options and competition.
• Understand the job requirements of the position beyond what's in the official description.
• Customize your resume to match the specific requirements of the position you're pursuing.
• Make sure that every bullet point in your resume answers the question "So What?"
• Don't rely on your resume as the primary way of getting the job for which you're applying.
• Be truthful and brief in the text of your resume.
• Describe both technical as well as "soft" skills (communications, sales. etc.) in your resume.

Handling the Interview for an IT Job

• Research the organization and the position you're pursuing. How are they different from others?
• Research the people who will interview you, so you can better engage them during the conversation.
• Find out the dresscode for the interview. When in doubt, it's usually safer to over-dress.
• Be ready to ask a few insightful, nonobvious questions during the interview.
• Treat the interview as a conversation, not a one-sided Q&A session.
• Use the interview as a chance to explore the culture of the company where you might end up working.
• Send a thank-you note after the interview, referring to the specific topics discussed in the interview.

Negotiating the Compensation Package

• Understand what salary you can expect by looking at survey findings, job postings, peer discussions, etc.
• Be prepared to answer the potential employer's questions about your current compensation.
• Consider all aspects of the compensation package, including salary, bonus, benefits, training, perks, etc.
• Understand which aspects of the compensation package the employer can actually negotiate.
• Understand your alternatives to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) to know when to say "no."
• Stay engaged with the hiring manager throughout the negotiations process, which might span weeks.
• Remember to show that you're excited about the new job and that you also value your self-worth.
• Research and practice influence techniques that might add to your negotiating power of confidence.

Career Tips for Information Security

• Lesley Carhart's Starting an InfoSec Career advice.
• Brian Krebs' series of interviews on breaking into the information security industry
• Hal Pomeranz' advice on getting started in information security or any other career
• Lenny Zeltser on recruiting infosec professionals

Post-Scriptum

This cheat sheet is distributed according to the Creative Commons v3 "Attribution" License. File version 1.2.