But for HR professionals, recruiters and hiring managers, the combination of high demand and a high number of job seekers has translated into a sort of Wild West of opportunity in the space, requiring a substantial amount of time weeding through applicants and attempting to validate skills.
The SANS Institute is looking to streamline the recruitment process with the launch of SANS CyberTalent Assessments, a new “recruiting and talent management system” that helps to validate the skills of information security professionals. It also lets hiring managers compare an applicant’s skill levels against other applicants.
The SANS CyberTalent Assessments leverages Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC)-based exam questions to provide benchmarks across many information security domains, including communications security, internet security, networking concepts and operating systems security.
“A typical recruitment process for a skilled information security professional is a complex and time consuming task, even if the recruiter is a subject-matter expert,” said Tom Carver, director for SANS CyberTalent. “CyberTalent Assessments help recruiters address many of today's challenges, including the global shortage of skilled professionals and the exponential growth demand for information security skills. It also helps reduce the administrative burden of curriculum vitae (CV) or resume review, short listing and first interviewing.”
He added, “Most importantly, CyberTalent Assessments offer the best way to accurately verify a job applicant’s technical knowledge while providing information in an easy-to-read format that allows an applicant’s skill levels to be easily compared against other applicants.”
SANS CyberTalent Assessments are web-based affairs, so organizations can send the assessment link to candidates regardless of location. Upon completion of the timed assessments, results are immediately available to the recruiting manager and can be used to compare and contrast the participant’s results in a variety of formats, including online, in PDF, or Excel.
“Typically recruiters look for key words on a resume or CV, or if not, a particular certification or training qualification,” explained Carver. “However, with this tool you can widen the criteria as the assessment will drill down to actual practical infosec knowledge and cut straight to those suitable for the job, whether they have the words or qualification on their CV or not.”