This section runs from 17:54 to 19:14 in the full video above, with extended guidance on building your public profile from 34:16 to 36:27. Feel free to watch now or let it play through to the next topic.

I need to tell you something that a lot of people won’t say out loud: before you get hired, people are looking at your personal social media.

I know they say they’re not. But they are.

If your resume is pristine and your skills check out, but you still can’t get hired, take a look at what’s on your personal profiles. They may not want to see you twerking, popping bottles, or being flashy. They just want to know: are you a good person that I’d want on my team? Someone my team would want to work with?

Here’s what you should be doing instead:

LinkedIn is your professional storefront. Keep it active. Comment on posts. Share what you’re learning. Write short posts about your lab work, certifications you’re studying for, or insights from meetups you’ve attended. You don’t need to be an influencer — you need to be visible.

Start a blog or a YouTube channel. It doesn’t have to be polished. Document your learning journey. Write up CTF walkthroughs. Record yourself working through a TryHackMe room. This is how you show the basketball court that you can ball.

Speak at a conference. Seriously. Go to bsides.org, find a local BSides conference, and submit a talk. I sit on the advisory board of BSides NoVA. There are 20 to 30 of us grading submissions. We see your names. We do research on you. Sometimes your talk doesn’t get accepted, but we remember you. Next year, when your name comes up again, it’s “Oh yeah, I remember that person. I did research on them. They need a job? Let’s go.”

Comment on LinkedIn posts. Appear in YouTube comments. Attend meetups. Go and engage where your industry lives. This is your way to show that you can ball.

What you’ll take away:

• Before hiring, people research your social media — keep it professional and thoughtful
• LinkedIn is your professional storefront — stay active, visible, and engaged
• Document your learning: blog posts, YouTube videos, CTF walkthroughs show you’re serious
• Speaking at conferences gets you noticed by decision-makers and hiring managers

Something to think about:

What’s one way you could make yourself more visible in the cybersecurity community this month? Start small — a LinkedIn comment, a Discord discussion, a lab writeup?

– Tyrone

Ready to go deeper? Intro to Cyber picks up where this conversation leaves off — with hands-on labs, real tools, and a structured path from beginner to job-ready. #Intro2Cyber