CareerHackingVillage.net - DEF CON 29 (2021) Schedule

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DEF CON 29 (2021) Schedule

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Schedule
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Time	Session Title	Presenter(s)
Friday, August 6th
11:00am	Village Discord Opens
12:00pm	F**k You, Pay Me - Knowing your worth and getting paid (abstract)	Alyssa Miller, Liana McCrea
	Resume Reviewing starts
	Career Coaching starts
1:00pm	Hacking Your Career: The Options (abstract)	Jennifer Haverman, Chris Sperry, Deb Herrity
2:00pm	Making the Leap - Changing Careers (abstract)	Danyelle Davis
3:00pm	This Job Ad Sucks (abstract)	Kirsten Renner
4:30pm	Village Discord Closes
Saturday, August 7th
11:00am	Village Discord Opens
12:00pm	National Service Panel (abstract)	Joe Billingsley, Amelie Koran, Teri Williams, Elizabeth Schweinsberg
	Resume Reviewing starts
	Career Coaching starts
1:00pm	Selling Yourself as a Security Professional (abstract)	Preston Pierce
2:00pm	Career Hacking: Tips and Tricks to Making the Most of your Career (abstract)	Andy Piazza
4:30pm	Village Discord Closes

Abstracts

F**k You, Pay Me - Knowing your worth and getting paid
In any job search, you’ll no doubt be asked some variation of the inevitable question, “What are your salary expectations?” For many this question induces anxiety. What should I get paid? What’s a fair salary? It can be a hard question of how to maximize earnings without pricing ourselves out of a potential role. Then the offer comes and it’s less than you asked for. Can you negotiate, should you negotiate, how should you negotiate for better compensation? What other things like bonuses, time off, benefits, etc. are on the table? Let’s talk about real-world strategies for knowing your worth in each job you apply for, how to position yourself for getting the pay you deserve, and considerations to account for in the negotiation process. You’ll hear about lessons learned that every job seeker should be aware of before submitting that first application or sending in a resume. The discussion will even cover how to know when what your prospective employer is saying is a legitimate constraint versus posturing for negotiating purposes. Ultimately, you’ll walk away ready to go into your next job search with the same bravado as Paulie from Goodfellas and be ready to tell them “F**k you, pay me”.

Hacking Your Career: The Options
One common theme in the community: a lack of understanding over what jobs exist in the career field that encompasses Infosec, Information Assurance, Cyber Security, and related fields; and what it’s like to work and live in them. What’s right for you; what career path you create: there is no “right” answer or limits: knowing the options and leveraging your “why” will help guide your way. This presentation abstract proposes a small panel of sages, diverse on purpose, with those that have a combination of career experience in government, military, industry sharing their career path experiences; their “whys” of where they worked and why they are where they are now; but with the focus on giving attendees ideas and options they might not have considered before.

Making the Leap - Changing Careers
Cyber Security, Research, H4x0r, or that stuff in the place with the thing. Regardless of what you call it, many people end up here after starting down a different career path. I was one of those people. I found myself, a 26 year old, black, female, manual software tester with learning disabilities, in an automated world. I refused to be stuck in a dead end job for the rest of my life. I decided it was time for a switch. Like any transition - some things worked well and some needed improvement. My challenges in maintaining one career while transitioning to another can provide insights as you plan your own.

This Job Ad Sucks
I'm mostly kidding, but not really. I have taught managers for years how to write better descriptions and candidates how to write better resumes, and I will continue to do that. I even spoke at multiple conferences over the last few years for that purpose. But the key is to have a way of getting around and through bad descriptions (and other road blocks), because I don't think we can ever really fix that problem completely. In other words, even though those obstacles exist and likely always will, there are ways to get through it, and that is what I will be presenting. In the same way that a poorly written resume is not a fair depiction of the potential a candidate has to offer, it just take a bit of coaching and, well, hacking, to get around road blocks in the system to make good matches between the opportunities and talent. This presentation isn’t going to offer a solution to making employers do a better job advertising for and determining the best fits for their openings - there's plenty of content out there for them to do that. It will however tell [the candidates] how to make it through bad descriptions, as well as less than effective interviewers and maybe it will even help them see the light! Looking for a job is an engineering problem. Gather the requirements, do some QA, launch (get out there) and keep updating!

National Service Panel
What background do you need to work with different federal agencies? Which ones have authorities for enforcing regulations, protecting different areas, or engaging adversaries? How do you get hired into the organization? Whether someone is just entering the workforce or wants to consider the options as part of career planning, our panel helps provide the insights and answer the questions you have. We draw from the US Digital Service, DHS CISA, NASA, Marine Corps Cyber Auxiliary, NSA, and other federal agencies. Join us on the Defcon Forums and let us know what questions you have for our panel.

Selling Yourself as a Security Professional
What is the key to advancing your career in cybersecurity? The answer is SALES. No, you don't have to go make cold calls worry about CAN-SPAM laws, but you need to learn how to sell yourself. Many security professionals treat the industry like a chess tournament, expecting the most skilled player to come out on top and relying on skills alone to make the difference. This is not the reality of the world we live in. Most estimates say over half of jobs are filled through networking. Sometimes, who you know will matter as much as what you know in seeking a job. Leave the job boards and online postings and learn from one who has spent a decade in cybersecurity in recruiting (including running a cybersecurity recruiting agency) and sales how best to sell yourself for your next career move. This is going to be a tactical, practical discussion. How do you approach finding a new role from an outbound vs. inbound approach? What are the best places to put yourself out there in the market? What does it really mean to network to find your next job? How can you create a pipeline of job opportunities? Join to learn how to create more demand for YOU in the marketplace, find more job opportunities, and become a sought after person in our industry.

Career Hacking: Tips and Tricks to Making the Most of your Career
At some point in your infosec career, you’ll hit a point of “now what?”. You may experience this as soon as you land your first role, or you’ll experience it as a seasoned veteran of the field. There are plenty of talks out there now for “getting into infosec”, but where is the advice for managing and maintaining a career? This is my attempt to fill that gap. This talk will discuss several key areas for building an awesome career, including actionable takeaways for becoming a better analyst, teammate, and leader. Most importantly, I’ll break down the How and Why behind each concept presented and include specific examples based on real experiences.