Why Soft Skills Matter in Cyber Security and Practising Them

To be successful in cyber security, you need soft skills. To be very successful, you need to master them!

Soft skills refer to your ability to interact effectively with others and navigate the many social situations that arise in the modern workplace. They are skills like communication, teamwork, and leadership. These skills are not cyber security specific or even related to technology. Instead, they transcend professions and apply across different contexts.

But why are they important in cyber security?

One simple answer. In the professional world, these skills will set you apart from others and rapidly progress your career. Let’s explore how.

There are many soft skills that you can acquire. This article looks at ten of them as they apply to cyber security and how to use them to stand out in a crowded job market, particularly at the entry-level. Let’s start with perhaps the most important, communication.

Communication

Communication is the ability to clearly express your ideas to others through verbal and written communication. But this is only the first part of being a good communicator. You also need to be able to actively listen, empathize, and adapt your communication style with the person you are communicating with. Communication is a two-way street, and mastering both directions is important.

Cyber security is all about effective communication. You need to be able to communicate risks, threats, ideas, strategies, technical information, and more. Communication is so important in cyber security because you will often need to share very technical things with non-technical people. This could mean explaining the latest vulnerabilities to key stakeholders or how your code helps automate a business process with your manager.

Having a great idea is only half the battle. You need to be able to tell other people why it’s such a great idea.

3 Ways to Practice Communication

1. Start a blog — writing blog…