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Make Yourself a Dream Security Job Candidate

A sharp suit and a set of acronyms won't be enough to land a top position. Leading recruiters share the specifics that make CSO job-seekers easy to place.

If you're that rare candidate who has the whole package, you're going to have an awful lot of opportunities. But if you're a person who excels on the technical side but is lacking the people skills, there is going to be a ceiling. Does that sound harsh? It's reality. If I were talking about CFOs, it would be the same. The people who ascend to the top of the company are the people who have outstanding communication skills. Yes, they have to understand their subject matter. But if they don't have outstanding communication skills, there's going to be a limit to what they can accomplish.

Pete Metzger, vice chairman and head of the global security practice at Christian & Timbers in Washington, D.C.

It's not what my dream candidate is; it's what the clients want. The first thing a client will say is, I have to have someone who can lead this organization, someone who can influence people and events. The other thing is threat analysis. Our enterprise is threatened by man-made disasters, by natural disasters, by radical reformist groups and by state-sponsored terrorists. How do I prepare my enterprise to deal with these threats? That generally requires a forward-thinking person who is also able to network with national-level sources in law enforcement and intelligence. The CSO also has to have experience in designing, practicing and implementing disaster recovery plans, and have the executive presence to knock on the door [of the CEO] when necessary and say, here's something you need to know about.

Then the client needs someone who understands business. An MBA is an important advantage for a CSO candidate.

Vincent Sorrentino, president of J & S Resources & Associates in New York City

I'm looking for a solid work background, not a candidate who takes a new job every two years. I'm not looking for someone from a ho-hum school. I'm looking for someone who has moved from one good firm to another good firm. We advise candidates to trade up, and when we say trade up, that's not only in terms of compensation. You don't want to go from a Merrill Lynch to a firm that's not recognizable. You don't want to go to a startup just because there's an opportunity to make millions of dollars. If you trade down, it's gotta be a minimal trade down.

The other thing is personality. You're talking about somebody who's going to come into a new corporate environment, and he has to know how to win over his peers to get the job done—especially from a security perspective, because you don't come in and just lay down mandates. You don't want to come in like a bull in a china shop. You have to be able to negotiate. You have to get people to buy in to your program.