Find out the top 10 core skills you need to master as an information security specialist and what hard skills you need to know to succeed in this job.
An information security specialist is tasked with the responsibility of safeguarding information systems by way of identifying and solving security system problems. He/she will guarantee the protection of the organization's systems through defining access privileges and control structures. The specialist will also be tasked with maintaining quality service by observing organizational standards.
In addition to that, he or she will also get to handle the following tasks; determining any security flaws, develop security patches when needed, reporting any security violation, perform system updates, participate in security related forums like workshops, organize and handle training on security protocols and preventing data loss by observing firewalls and switches.
Core Skills Required to be an Information Security Specialist
Core skills describe a set of non-technical abilities, knowledge, and understanding that form the basis for successful participation in the workplace. Core skills enable employees to efficiently and professionally navigate the world of work and interact with others, as well as adapt and think critically to solve problems.
Core skills are often tagged onto job descriptions to find or attract employees with specific essential core values that enable the company to remain competitive, build relationships, and improve productivity.
An information security specialist should master the following 10 core skills to fulfill her job properly.
Developing Others:
Developing others is an unremitting process that focuses on the broader, longer-term growth of individuals to nurture them to their potential and promote future development.
An Information Security Specialist needs to support, coach, positively impacts and effectively aid in developing talents of their staff by motivating them to become outstanding in their behavioral change and performance improvement that opens up development opportunities in the organization.
Physical Abilities:
Physical Abilities is the ability of one's strengths and limitations that are also known as the individual resources to perform well at the tasks given.
An Information Security Specialist must understand that his employees are very different types of people who vary in what they can or cannot do and treat each one with respect while supporting them to become the best in what they do.
Evaluating Others:
Evaluating others is the capacity to see the individuality in others and recognize a person's unique point of view.
An Information Security Specialist must master the skills of evaluating others to help his staff members to identify their talents and match those talents to the proper job without trying to judge them by their actions that can create a misinterpretation of who they are.
Monitoring Others:
Monitoring others is tracking employee activities monitor the worker engagement with the workplace-related tasks.
An Information Security Specialist should always monitor his workers to measure productivity, track attendance, incoming and outgoing phone calls, safety spying, employee theft, employee's location, horseplay and collect proof of hours worked using the latest computer detective monitoring system that provides accurate data that cannot be debated.
Personal Commitment:
Personal Commitment is an obligation that you have voluntarily agreed to fulfill without being cajoled or threatened and are willing to be held accountable for the results.
An Information Security Specialist ought to understand that though adopting new policies and procedures will be met with resistance, the approach by which safety standards are implemented and enforced influences employee's attitudes and commitment towards the organization.
Meeting Management:
Meeting Management is the skill to know and understands the reason why an official meeting should be held and who should attend.
An Information Security Specialist must learn how to properly organize and conduct meetings to contribute to organizational effectiveness by determining situations that require a meeting, understanding types of meetings, planning the meeting, running the meeting to the close and managing people after the meeting.
Training others:
Training is the ability to expand the knowledge base by learning new truths that are useful in the workplace.
An Information Security Specialist needs to creatively schedule training for his employees in a focused manner that will allow the employee stay useful in the workplace and get new knowledge so that both the business and the worker not suffer from delays and work related stress.
Computer Skills:
Computer Skills are the necessary computer working skills that each employee need to have while seeking to get admitted into the professional world.
An Information Security Specialist ought to be technologically oriented and hire employees with strong computer skills because they fare better in the job market than their tech-challenged counterparts bringing a high level of quality employees in the job seeking category.
Programming Skills:
Programming Skills is the ability to use technical languages, tools, and operating systems professionally in the workplace.
An Information Security Specialist ought to value digital competencies in the workplace, being the third core subject and treated with the same respect as numeracy and literacy because they are the future of the company and very vital to the growth and productivity of the business.
Technical Skills:
Technical Skills are the abilities and knowledge mostly related to mechanical, IT, scientific and mathematical needed to perform specific tasks in the workplace.
An Information Security Specialist ought to hire employees with particular talents and expertise that helps them perform certain duties and jobs that other skills like soft skills cannot perform to grow both the business and the employee and bring in productivity.
Hard Skills Required to be an Information Security Specialist
Hard skills are job-specific skill sets, or expertise, that are teachable and whose presence can be tested through exams. While core skills are more difficult to quantify and less tangible, hard skills are quantifiable and more defined.
Hard skills are usually listed on an applicant's resume to help recruiters know the applicant's qualifications for the applied position. A recruiter, therefore, needs to review the applicant's resume and education to find out if he/she has the knowledge necessary to get the job done.
An information security specialist should have a good command of the following hard skills to succeed in her job.