Sandra D.

Delegation is not an easy task for many, especially if you are a new manager. Think about both the tasks and who you want to assign the task to. Consider, not only the complexity of the task, but the priority as well. Review all of the tasks on the list, identify the priority, and complexity then determine if the task can be delegated. In my experience, I delegate tasks to individuals on my team based on their skillset and goals. If a person is interested in stretch assignments, delegating a task to them might be advantageous for both you and the individual. Think about how much instruction is required for the task, if you can give a quick instruction for a low complexity task, it might be worth delegating as well.

In my experience a combination of formal education and certification are important to becoming an information security specialist. The formal education provides the theory and baseline knowledge base. There may be opportunities in formal education for hands on, lab experience, this is a resume builder. Formal education also helps you decide on a discipline within the field to focus on because it provides exposure to many of the disciplines. The certification, provides the real world or practical experience in the discipline area that you’re interested in. Boot camps are offered to assist with obtaining the certifications.

Compelling reports and graphics helps to communicate best with senior executives. 1. Keep one thought per slide or use a one pager that outlines all of the points in an infographic or dashboard. 2. Keep it simple. Use business language instead of technical jargon. You may not have a lot of time to present your information, so you want the message to be clear and impactful. 3. Relate the information and data points to business objectives and goals or financial impacts. Use your background and skills to help with answering any questions. If you do not have an answer, inform them that you will research the answer and follow-up with them. Be sure the follow through is prompt.

Consider P.I.E… Performance: ensure your consistently performing and can speak to your performance metrics. Do not keep your head down and do a good job. Do a good job, measure it, and socialize it. Image: perception is real. What people think about you and how your brand yourself matters. How do you want to be received by senior leadership and your peers. What your peers and direct management think about you, matters. Exposure: this step may require a sponsor or spokesperson because you need to explore ways to be seen to show your value to senior leaders. A sponsor or spokesperson should be able to clearly articulate your contributions and provide you the opportunity to share your skills.

When you are new to a field like cybersecurity, it is can be challenging to showcase your skills because you may not have any job-related experience to highlight. However, your school projects and case studies can be used to show se your skills. Explain the tools you used on the project, the decisions you made, and why your approach was used. Relate the experience to industry best practices and frameworks to show understanding of the concepts. Also, to relate the experiences to the role, study the job description and talk with industry professionals in your network to get information about the role. Don’t forget to incorporate your transferrable skills as well because they are just as important as technical skills.

In my opinion, it’s a good idea to research and attend conferences that are adjacent to vendor management. For example, attending a cyber conference or a program management conference might be relevant because professionals who work with people in the vendor management space might be interested in your knowledge about managing their vendor relationships. Think about not only attending, but speaking at these events may also provide a means for sharing your expertise or obtaining insights from individuals that partner with the vendor management function on a regular basis. These interactions can help enhance your business acumen while learning more about how to improve vendor management practices.