Issue #10 - The Hidden Job Market: Finding Roles Before They're Posted
Hey,
Last week we covered how to turn your previous career into your biggest advantage. This week is about where you're looking for jobs in the first place, because for most people, that's the part quietly working against them.
🔥 THIS WEEK'S INSIGHT: You're Fishing Where Everyone Else Is
Here's how most people job hunt. Open LinkedIn or Indeed. Search "Cyber Security Analyst." Hit Easy Apply. Repeat 80 times.
The problem is that everyone else is doing exactly the same thing. By the time a role appears on the big job boards, it can already have hundreds of applicants. You're not competing on skill anymore. You're competing on luck.
There are two ways around that.
1. Search company career sites directly.
Most companies don't build their own careers page. They use an applicant tracking system like Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, or Ashby, and post jobs there first. Plenty of those listings never make it to the big job boards, or show up days later.
Google can search those sites directly using a simple operator: site:
For example:
site:myworkdayjobs.com "SOC Analyst"That one line searches only Workday career pages for SOC Analyst roles. You'll find jobs you've genuinely never seen before, often with far fewer applicants.
2. Find the jobs before they're posted at all.
This is the tactic almost nobody uses. When someone announces on LinkedIn that they've started a new role, their old seat is very likely about to open up, or already has.
Search LinkedIn posts for phrases like "started a new position as SOC Analyst" or "excited to share I've joined" plus your target role. Then send a short, genuine message:
Congratulations on the new role, that's a great move. I'm working toward a [SOC analyst] position myself. Do you know if your previous team will be backfilling your old role? If so, I'd really appreciate an introduction to the hiring manager.
Best case, you get introduced to a hiring manager before the job is even advertised. Worst case, you've made a real connection who now knows your name.
📰 ONE THING HAPPENING THIS WEEK
I've launched a free cybersecurity CV checker. Upload your CV, pick your target role, and it shows you whether an applicant tracking system can actually read your file, how well you match what job postings for that role ask for, and whether your bullet points prove anything or just claim it.
Your CV is analyzed in your browser and never uploaded. It pairs perfectly with this week's tactics: find the hidden roles, then make sure your CV survives the machine before you apply.
Try it here: https://cv.mpcybersecurity.co.uk/
🛠️ FREE TOOL OF THE WEEK: Copy-and-Paste Search Strings
Paste any of these into Google. Then click Tools → Any time → Past week so you only see fresh postings.
SOC Analyst
site:myworkdayjobs.com ("SOC Analyst" OR "Security Analyst") (junior OR "entry level" OR "Tier 1") -seniorGRC Analyst
site:greenhouse.io ("GRC Analyst" OR "Compliance Analyst" OR "IT Risk Analyst") -senior -managerCloud Security
site:jobs.lever.co ("Cloud Security" OR "Security Engineer") (junior OR associate) -seniorIAM
site:myworkdayjobs.com ("IAM Analyst" OR "Identity and Access Management") -senior -managerDFIR
site:greenhouse.io ("Incident Response Analyst" OR "DFIR" OR "Forensic Analyst") -seniorPenetration Testing
site:jobs.ashbyhq.com ("Penetration Tester" OR "Associate Penetration Tester") -seniorDevSecOps / AppSec
site:jobs.lever.co ("DevSecOps" OR "Application Security") (junior OR associate) -seniorHow to get more out of them:
Swap the site. Run each search across all four: myworkdayjobs.com, greenhouse.io, jobs.lever.co, jobs.ashbyhq.com
Add a location. Put remote or your city in quotes at the end
Exclude what you don't want. Add -senior -manager -lead to cut out roles you're not ready for yet
Try side-door titles too. Swap in "IT Support," "Service Desk," or "Compliance Assistant." These roles get you inside a company, close to the security team
💡 CAREER ADVICE FROM THE HIRING TABLE
When a role reaches the big job boards, I'm often reading hundreds of applications. When someone reaches me directly, through a referral or a short, specific message, I'm reading one.
You don't need to be the best candidate in a pile of 400. You need to be in a much smaller pile. Finding the role early, and reaching the right person, does exactly that.
And when you do message someone, keep it short and specific. Name the role, mention one thing you've built that's relevant, and link your GitHub. Four sentences. Never a wall of text.
🎯 YOUR ONE ACTION THIS WEEK
Pick the search string for your path. Run it on two different career sites, filtered to the past week.
Find three roles you'd never have seen on LinkedIn. Save them. Then run your CV through the CV checker against that role before you apply.
🧰 FREE TOOLS, IF YOU HAVEN'T TRIED THEM YET
🧭 Not sure which path to search for? path.mpcybersecurity.co.uk turns your background and working style into one recommended path.
📊 Not sure if you're ready to apply? skills.mpcybersecurity.co.uk shows exactly where you stand against your target role.
🧠 Still working toward Security+? practice.mpcybersecurity.co.uk explains every answer, so you know what to study next.
📄 Applying and hearing nothing? The new CV checker shows you what the machine sees: https://cv.mpcybersecurity.co.uk/
All free. No signup required to see your results.
🔜 WHEN YOU'RE TIRED OF GUESSING ALONE
These tactics will get you in front of more of the right roles. What they can't do is tell you whether your outreach message actually lands, whether your CV matches that specific job, or what to say when a hiring manager replies.
That's what the CTRL+ALT+DEFEND Community on Skool is for.
Weekly live Q&A, direct with me. Bring the roles you've found and the messages you're about to send.
CV and portfolio reviews from someone who reads applications for a living, before you hit apply, not after 80 rejections.
Study groups by career path, so you're sharing job leads and search strings with people heading the same way.
Every digital product I've built, included, from skill matrices to the Job Application Strategy Guide.
No guarantees. Just direct access to someone who's on the other side of the hiring table every week.
👉 Join here: https://www.skool.com/cybersecurity-careers-guide-1773/about
Hit reply and tell me which search string you're running first. I read every one.
See you next week.
Marius Poskus Global VP of Cybersecurity / CISO CTRL+ALT+DEFEND