As I was interviewing a candidate for a Information Security job, and helping a friend prepare for an interview at another company, I kept thinking of what attributes makes the best, and worst, security professionals. There are probably a lot of studies out there with different statistics to prove one key attribute over another, but I am just writing from my gut.
When I interview folks, I am usually looking for intangibles over current skillset. I caveat that with I normally am interviewing people for more senior positions so they have a background in Information Security or a related field. The intangibles I usually probe for are teamwork, a growth mindset and curiosity.
I think of curiosity as the desire to learn, an inquisitive mind, and a joy for discovery. Individuals who think they know everything, don’t want to learn and who aren’t passionate, are not going to last long in this ever changing field. I know that the best folks I have ever worked with had a natural curiosity around technology, and knowledge in general, and will go down the rabbit hole to find answers.
So, if you ask me what it takes to be successful in Information Security I may answer, “Are you curious enough to be a hacker?”
