@akankshamalik
I have mentored quite a few university students who ask this exact question when trying to break into the cybersecurity industry. The answer to this question varies depending on how much experience you have, but in general I would recommend focusing on 3 main areas:
- Technical skills - focus on building your technical skills through hands-on projects or certifications. Try to share what you learn with others through presenting at events, writing a blog post, or posting on GitHub... there's always someone a couple of steps behind you in the learning journey who would find your insights useful.
- "Soft" skills - even more important than technical skills is a strong can-do attitude and skills like communication, teamwork and adaptability. There are many people in cybersecurity who are technical wizards, but are very weak at communicating the value or impact of their work to a non-technical audience. This combination of technical and communication skills is highly sought after by companies.
- Community contributions - one of my favourite aspects of working in cybersecurity is the community - there are a huge variety of CTFs, meetups and conferences. Volunteering or presenting at events is a great way to give back to the community and stand out from the crowd.
