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Does the Job Fit?

Take our quiz to figure out whether the job youre considering is a great move or a nightmare-in-waiting.

Will the CSO job you are interviewing for make your career or make you wish you never took it? Sharon OBryan, former CISO at ABN Amro, thought she had landed a plum position with another company as a chief privacy officer. She did her research and was straightforward in asking the organization about the challenges that it was facing. On my first day, three executives came up and apologized for lying to me in the interview, OBryan recalls. They had misled her about the problems the company was facing and why they were not being addressed. She came to believe that the company had created her job just so it could say that it had a CPO. Luckily for her, OBryan was at a point in her career where she could walk away from this nightmare job.

The experiences of OBryan, and several other veteran practitioners we talked with, demonstrate that the interview portion of the job search process is not only a showcase to present your qualifications but also a valuable opportunity to discover what you can about the prospective employer. Who asks what, how they ask it, and what information the company shares about itself can tip you off about whether the organization is a great fit or a potential horror show.

Top security jobs differ. Some companies emphasize IT security; others, access control. Still others might want a mix of risk management and budgetary prowess. Take our quiz to get a sense of what your prospective new employer is looking for and check the scoring guide at the end for some tips on whether this job is the right fit for you. This is not about telling good CSO jobs from bad ones. Its about finding the one that best fits your skills and aspirations. Happy hunting!