Hiring and Retaining Top Cybersecurity Talent – a new report from (ISC)2 – has found that there are high numbers of professionals in the cybersecurity workforce open to changing jobs this year.
The membership association based its findings on a blind survey of 250 cybersecurity pros within the United States and Canada. What it discovered was that only 15% of those polled said they had no plans to change jobs in 2018, while the remainder either did have plans to do so (14%) or were open to exploring new opportunities (70%).
The data suggested factors such as unmet expectations between businesses and their employees, high-demands for security skills and frequent contact from recruitment firms could be playing a significant role in encouraging cybersecurity pros to consider new opportunities.
“The cybersecurity workforce gap is growing rapidly, and turnover within cybersecurity teams makes filling those roles even more challenging,” said (ISC)² COO Wesley Simpson. “It is more critical than ever for organizations to ensure their recruitment and employment retention strategies are aligned with what cybersecurity professionals want most from an employer.”
The (ISC)2 study did shed light onto what cybersecurity pros value most from a role with regards to their personal fulfillment: 68% said they want to want to work where their “opinions are taken seriously,” 62% want to work where they can “protect people and their data” and 59% want to work for an employer “that adheres to a strong code of ethics.”
In terms of professional goals, respondents said they want to work for a company with “clearly defined ownership of cybersecurity responsibilities” (62%), that “views cybersecurity more broadly than just technology” (59%) and that “trains employees on cybersecurity” (59%).
“Armed with this insight, employers can do a much better job appealing to top cybersecurity professionals, and retaining their talent and expertise for the long-term,” Simpson added.