6 strategies for employers hiring candidates who are early in their security careers

There are important short- and long-term benefits for employers to hire students, recent graduates, and others early in their careers for security roles. We reached out to six hiring experts to get their thoughts:

• Offer On-Site Experience Before Formal Interviews
• Implement Apprenticeships for Skill Development
• Create Internal Security Talent Academy
• Provide Comprehensive Training and Certifications
• Build Mission-Driven Mentorship Programs
• Use Simulation Tests and Behavioral Interviews

Offer On-Site Experience Before Formal Interviews

I’ve hired 20 people since 2008 and noticed something crucial: early career candidates in security are often intimidated by complex systems they’ve never touched. Most employers expect them to learn on the job, but that’s backwards.

We started bringing potential hires to active job sites where they can see our team installing CCTV systems or programming access control panels in real buildings. These are not staged demos, but actual work environments where they watch us troubleshoot a 300-camera system or integrate door locks with intercoms. This immediately separates candidates who get excited about problem-solving from those who don’t.

The game-changer was offering unpaid “shadow days” before formal interviews. Candidates spend half a day with our technicians on sites like high-rise apartment buildings or licensed clubs. They see the complexity, the teamwork required, and whether they’re genuinely interested in the technical side. About 40% of people who do shadow days end up being hired, compared to maybe 15% from traditional interviews.

Most security companies hire based on resumes and hope for the best. But watching someone react to real equipment malfunctions or seeing how they ask questions when our team explains fiber optic installations tells you everything about their potential.

Dave Symons, Managing Director, DASH Symons Group

Implement Apprenticeships for Skill Development

If you’re looking to hire early-career candidates at scale, apprenticeships are one of the most powerful tools available. We’ve learned how formal, hands-on training develops both competence and confidence in recruits. Rather than expecting applicants to come with experience, we allow them to gain experience through contributing to actual projects as guided by experienced engineers.

This model succeeds because it provides more than mere technical training. It engenders loyalty. Apprentices feel cared for and supported, which has a direct effect on retention and performance. You also determine how they see compliance, quality, and what great customer service is all about, things that are so important to this business but not always taught in school.

Apprenticeships allow us to identify talent early and help them grow into long-term team members. Some of our best engineers started out this way. For any company trying to scale its early-career hiring, I’d recommend making apprenticeships central to your strategy.

Lisa Clark, Director, Bell Fire and Security

Create Internal Security Talent Academy

With over 10 years of experience specializing in information security, I constantly navigate the immense demand for skilled cyber talent. For dozens or hundreds of early career candidates, relying solely on external recruitment is often unsustainable and yields candidates lacking practical, job-ready skills.

My recommended strategy is to build a robust, structured internal “Security Talent Academy” or apprenticeship program. Similar to our “Employee Education” services for clients, this approach focuses on rapid upskilling of candidates with strong foundational IT or even transferable skills.

This academy should go beyond basic certifications, mirroring our Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) services by providing comprehensive, hands-on “threat detection” and “incident response” training in simulated environments. Partner with a specialized training platform or develop your own immersive labs to teach real-world network security, dark web monitoring, and penetration testing techniques.

Ryan Miller, Managing Partner, Sundance Networks

Provide Comprehensive Training and Certifications

Offer them a comprehensive training plan, paid industry association memberships, and certifications based on the training plan.

Jim McConnell, Principal Owner, Ask McConnell, LLC

Build Mission-Driven Mentorship Programs

One of the biggest lessons I learned from two decades in law enforcement is that people join this kind of work because they want to belong to something bigger than themselves. If an employer wants to bring in dozens or even hundreds of early-career candidates into security roles, they need to show those candidates what that purpose looks like in real terms. The mistake I see most often is focusing on the job description and pay scale. Young candidates are looking for a clear mission and someone willing to invest in them. 

I tell leaders to open the doors early. Go into community colleges, trade schools, and even high schools with mentorship programs that let students try their hand at real scenarios under safe supervision. When people can see and feel what the work is, it changes the way they think about a career in security. That experience builds trust long before an application ever shows up. When I joined my company, I saw the same thing on an international level. If you give people a mission they can connect with, they are eager to be trained and grow with you. Recruiting becomes a byproduct of that investment.

Joshua Schirard, Director, Byrna

Use Simulation Tests and Behavioral Interviews

I suggest that it is based on a recruiting plan that involves simulation-based tests and designed behavioral interviews. The candidates are directed to positions depending on their capability to ensure strict compliance measures and demonstrate evidence of excellent security fundamentals.

After onboarding, they participate in a mentorship program where they are matched with experienced professionals who focus on the aspects of accountability and traceability. This will help early-career recruits quickly understand the discipline of operations and learn the lesson that security is a culture rather than a chore.

This process engenders a team that appreciates the aspects of thoroughness and reliable performance in our environment.

Gene Genin, CEO, OEM Source