VOLUNTEERING
IMPACTS
YOUR CYBER
SECURITY CAREER
We live in a fast-paced world and everyone
has a busy life. Demanding schedules of
work, and family can make it hard to meet
day-to-day obligations yet alone spend
time as a volunteer. However research
indicates that volunteering can offer
tremendous benefits, including finding a
sense of purpose.
Yet with all of these busy lives, you will find
that many, if not most conferences and
programs in the cyber security community
are completely volunteer run. In the cyber
security community, you don’t need to
commit an extraordinary amount of time in
order to reap the benefits. Spending just a
few hours a month has been shown to offer
many substantial benefits such as learning
new skills, building an industry network,
and even finding a new job.
Recently CyberSecJobs.com, assisted by a
network of security conferences globally
including Security BSides, HackInParis and
HackWestCon, conducted a global survey
among industry professionals who spend
time volunteering at cyber security
conferences and other activities in the
cyber security community. The purpose of
this survey was to find out more about
community volunteering efforts, employer
support for volunteering and how
volunteering contributes to the
development of professional skills.
OVER 55%
OF RESPONDENTS HAVE BEEN
OVER
VOLUNTEERING FOR MORE THAN 4 55%
YEARS AND MORE THAN 50% GIVE
AT LEAST 8 HOURS OF THEIR TIME
PER MONTH.

Volunteer activities outside of work and include securing sponsorships, managing

family commitments demand more from
professionals, as these are nonpaid
activities that are done purely to provide
programs and events that add value to the
community.
This level of volunteer commitment is a
clear statement that volunteers find value in
their efforts. When someone is looking to
volunteer, it’s important to think about what
will give you the most satisfaction, what
mission you want to support and who will
you be working with. Look for opportunities
that match your interests, but also maybe
look to support the skills you would like to
develop.
Initially, many professionals tend to stay
within one category of volunteer work such
as security, registration or website design
but there are many other areas to build
confidence and skills that will assist in
career development. These opportunities
volunteers, public speaking and conflict
management.
33.7% WORK WITH AT LEAST
TWO DIFFERENT
ORGANIZATIONS AND 30.7%
WORK WITH FOUR OR MORE.
From local Meetups to national
conferences, there are a wide variety of
organizations that would benefit from your
participation and offer the experience you
desire. Many volunteers start with a local
activity, develop skills and progress to
larger opportunities. Don’t pigeon-hole
yourself; explore all the possibilities.
THE MAJORITY OF VOLUNTEERS, AT 41.6%,
VOLUNTEER THE DAY OF AN EVENT HELPING
WITH SPEAKERS AND LOGISTICS.
It is difficult to put in the time day in and day
out beyond work and family activities, so
many volunteers commit to volunteering just
the ‘day of’. These volunteers provide a
much-needed burst of energy and
enthusiasm to volunteers who have been
working all year long to make an event or
program happen.
62%
82%
OVER 82% ARE EMPLOYED AND
OVER 80% OF THOSE HAVE AN
EMPLOYER WHO KNOWS THEY
SPEND TIME VOLUNTEERING
AND SUPPORTS THEIR
EFFORTS. THE MOST
PREVALENT EMPLOYER
SUPPORT, AT 62.3%, IS IN THE
FORM OF PAID TIME OFF.
If you can’t volunteer other than the ‘day of’,
there are many skills that you can develop
including speaker liaison, registration,
security and network operations. Even with
‘day of’ volunteering you can still develop
skills and progress in your volunteer
development. Research the opportunities
and jump in where you are most comfortable.
Volunteering in the community has become
a must have benefit for employees in the
information security and cyber security
communities.
Savvy employers know that their employees
can build great skills through their volunteer
work. They also know that having their
employees volunteering in the community
reflects well on the employer. This is part of
building their Employer Brand and helps with
retention and recruitment.
Check with your current or future employers
to see if your organization will support your
volunteer time away from the office.
Employers, if you are looking for a way to
retain your employees or recruit great talent,
you may want to re-examine your support of
volunteer activities and organizations.
THE MOST RESPONDENTS SAY SKILLS THAT
THEY TAKE AWAY FROM
VOLUNTEERING INCLUDE

REPORTED TEAMWORK, ORGANIZING,

PLANNING AND COMMUNICATION
SKILLS. WITHOUT SPECIFIC TASKS,

SKILLS IT IS DIFFICULT TO BUILD KEY

NONTECHNICAL SKILLS.

81% | TEAMWORK 79% | ORGANIZING

74% | PLANNING 75% | COMMUNICATION

While most professionals are looking to build their technical skills, there is an abundance of
nontechnical skills employees and employers are looking for. Through volunteering,
professionals are learning valuable skills sometimes without even knowing it.

The “got to get the job done” mentality with all volunteering efforts requires individuals to learn
new skills so that everyone benefits. And these are skills valuable in your career search. Be sure
to outline your volunteer work and responsibilities on your resume and social media profiles, and
include in your interviews key opportunities where you learned a new valuable skill that makes
you perfect for that next job.
 2%

55.4%
98%

44.6%

WHILE SLIGHTLY OVER 50% FIND

VOLUNTEERING STRESSFUL, A
WHOPPING 98% SAY THEY FIND
VOLUNTEERING FULFILLING.

As we all deal with stress in our lives, volunteering provides both stress and fulfillment. The
camaraderie, the enthusiasm and feeling of an accomplishment help make volunteering fulfilling.
Many times, we do not find this fulfillment in our work and it is a nice break to find this
satisfaction elsewhere.

The friendships and networks that are built through volunteering help bridge many of the
impacts of isolation that may be experienced in the information security community. Any project
will come with a bit of stress but can you say that the stress you encounter professionally is
always fulfilling? Be sure to look at volunteering to complement your professional life to add
diversity into your normal routine.
 95% BELIEVE THAT
VOLUNTEERING IMPROVES
NETWORKING AND SOCIAL
SKILLS

6%
94%
WHILE 94% FEEL THAT THEIR
VOLUNTEER WORK HAS A
POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE
INDUSTRY.

Without even knowing it, volunteering provides numerous professional and personal
skills that job seekers hope to develop. Many of the personal stories include
professionals who considered themselves introverts but were able to finally come out
on their own with gained confidence.

Having a variety of opportunities to interact and learn new duties provides numerous
skill-building moments. Everyone wants to make a difference. Volunteering gives you
the opportunity to meet that goal. And while you may not be looking for a job at the
moment, the time will come when an expanded industry network will benefit your
career growth.
 AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THESE RESULTS,
VOLUNTEERING IN THE COMMUNITY HAS AN IMPACT
ON YOUR CAREER AND CAN PROVIDE OVERALL
PERSONAL FULFILLMENT.

The professional fulfillment
is threefold:
1. You can take pride in
contributing to the industry
that has shaped your
professional life. Your
efforts help many others
grow in new ways and you
will build relationships that
last a lifetime.
2. You benefit from
contributing to projects
that fuel your career
trajectory by developing
qualities that include
leadership, persistence,
time management,
delegation, project
management, and problem
solving.
3. The network that you build
through volunteering can
support you in your career
search and development.
If you are an employer who
would like to retain and
recruit talent in the cyber
security community,
consider these tips for your
employees:
• Encourage volunteering
by providing paid time off
for community activities.
• Find out which activities or
events your employees
attend or support and then
look into sponsoring these
activities.
• Provide support for your
employees who want to
submit proposals and
speak at conferences.
44%
To help jump start your
volunteer work, here are a
few organizations that
could use your time and
offer a rewarding
experience:
• BSides is a
community-driven
framework for building
events for and by
information security
community members.
• Wreaths Across America 
has a mission to
remember, honor and
teach.
• The Diana Initiative is a
computer security
conference aimed at
supporting women in cyber
security.
• HackWest is the newest
hacker/infosec convention
based in the West.

56%

NEARLY 60% STAY WITH THEIR CURRENT

EMPLOYER BECAUSE OF VOLUNTEERING SUPPORT