How CISA Builds Up its Workforce Through Career and Hiring Events

In a rapidly evolving job market, staying informed about career opportunities is essential. Jose Edwards is the Recruiting Events Manager at CISA. “We do branding and awareness events and recruitment events,” he shared. “Within the recruitment events, we do career and hiring events.”

Career events serve as a platform to inform potential candidates about the nation’s security needs and the specific divisions within the organization. The emphasis is on creating awareness about job announcements tailored to each hiring event. “When we do hiring events,” Edwards explained, “we introduce the job announcements that are catered to the hiring events.”

Attendees get the opportunity for one-on-one interaction with hiring managers. This personalized connection allows candidates to gain a deeper understanding of CISA’s goals and requirements. “On top of that, we also have engagement sessions which allows the candidates to really learn more about CISA and the federal government,” he shared. This includes workshops on the benefits offered to federal employees.

While CISA hires people from all different backgrounds, Edwards spoke to some of the current openings. “We want individuals who have a cybersecurity background. Those individuals who are threat hunters, vulnerability management, red team, blue team, ethical hackers, data scientists. Individuals who have experience with artificial intelligence is another big one, computer science individuals, individuals who have experience with Python.”

Outside of IT, Edwards shared how CISA also needs those with administrative experience that can take a project from point a to point b, or even those who have experience with chemical security or external affairs.

If you live outside of the Washington, D.C. metro area, you aren’t excluded from career and hiring events. “Most of our events are virtual,” he explained, discussing how they offer remote, on-site and hybrid roles. Edwards also expressed that although many jobs are tied to specific hiring events, you should always apply to a position associated with the hiring event.

“Even though the hiring event may be done, there may be an opening that just freed up after the hiring event, and the hiring managers look at those candidates that attended the hiring event and make a selection from there, months after the hiring event.”

Visit cisa.gov/careers to check out upcoming career and hiring events, along with recruiters posting jobs on social media and ClearanceJobs.com.

“I like educating individuals that CISA is heavy on cybersecurity, but we’re so much more. When I inform people, I see their faces light up.”