Domini Clark, founder and CEO of Blackmere Consulting, told Business Insider that "it's not terribly important" for entry-level candidates to have the most well-known names on their résumés. In fact, working for small companies can sometimes help provide a broader understanding of the space.
But as you climb the career ladder, Clark said a well-known company can provide "credibility" and indicate strong leadership experience exposure to handling enterprise problems.
While success in some tech career paths can be closely tied to the major tech giants or FAANG companies, cybersecurity can offer more versatility since it's integrated across almost every industry. Many companies have their own internal cybersecurity teams, for example, which means professionals in the field aren't limited to working at firms specializing in cybersecurity.
Business Insider spoke to six cybersecurity recruiting experts to hear which companies are considered the most powerful names to have on your résumé. Several mentioned that while there are big names in the industry, the right skills and experience are the top indicators of talent.
Recruiters also told BI that what is considered a top name depends largely on the sector of cybersecurity.
"A chemical company would be less interested in someone coming from Meta," said Brent Stokes, director of recruiting at staff company Blue Signal Search. In that case, an industry-specific company like Westlake would be of more interest.
Here's what recruiters said.
Palo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks was a top company mentioned by recruiters BI spoke to.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
Palo Alto Networks was mentioned by most recruiters BI spoke to. It partners with a number of companies worldwide, including Google, to help them cloud and AI adoption securely.
Janelle Bieler, the head of US tech talent at global tech talent and engineering company Akkodis, said that the company is "focused on complex defense strategies" and is known to operate in a "very active environment" which many employers in the space find attractive.
However, it's worth noting that different companies have different specialties. If a candidate is interested in working on the product side of cybersecurity, Palo Alto is considered a top name, Stokes told BI. If they want to be on the consulting side, then a Big Four firm may be a better fit, he added.
CiscoArt Zeile, CEO of tech careers marketplace Dice, told BI that Cisco does "cutting-edge work" with securing networks.
Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters
Cisco is a leading technology company offering companies software, networking security, and computing solutions. The company's security business has recently experienced significant growth, specifically with products like Cisco Secure Access, a "zero trust" security solution.
Art Zeile, CEO of tech careers marketplace Dice, told BI that big names like Cisco are doing "cutting-edge work when it comes to securing networks of all sizes."
But it's the skills you learned at the job and how you used them that are the most important, he added.
CrowdstrikeCrowdstrike is one of the biggest names in cybersecurity.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Crowdstrike is one of the most well-known companies in the cybersecurity space, and it's used by Big Tech companies like Microsoft.
Last year, Crowdstrike made headlines when a global IT outage resulted in worldwide disruptions to travel, banks, and supermarkets, causing potentially billions of dollars in damage. The company seems to have maintained a strong reputation in the space though, as it made the top of the list for most recruiters BI spoke to.
While the Crowdstrike outage was the kind of incident cybersecurity firms want to avoid, in general, exposure to challenges in the field is considered beneficial for candidates. Clark told BI that "cyber leaders who have walked through the fire" make for the most compelling candidates.
"Someone who has successfully navigated a company through a breach or major security event has invaluable experience and perspective," Clark said.
Federal agencies and contractorsGovernment agencies like the NSA and DHS have solid reputations in the cybersecurity field.
sassy1902/Getty Images
A number of cybersecurity executives BI has spoken to came from government agencies, including the military, prior to joining the corporate world. Some have said that it provided a way to get hands-on experience right out of the gate.
Patricia Karam, founder of employment agency Mission Recruit, told BI that experience with agencies like the National Security Agency or Department of Homeland Security can carry a lot of weight.
"The NSA historically has a tremendous program," Stuart Mitchell, founder and recruiter at Hampton North, told BI.
Additionally, Karam said companies that contract for the Department of Defense, like Raytheon or Lockheed Martin, are also highly regarded for their "threat intelligence and operating in high-compliance environments."
Big TechRecruiters said the Big Tech companies are solid names to have on your résumé.
Business Insider
Mitchell told BI that "the real prestige in security is mostly in tech."
"Particularly Netflix, Apple, and Google, have tremendous reputations in security," Mitchell said. "If I could rank it I'd probably say Apple, Netflix, Google."
Microsoft was also mentioned by several of the recruiters BI spoke to. Stokes, at Blue Signal Search, told BI that when a hiring manager sees a candidate from Microsoft or Amazon's AWS, "there's an assumption that the candidate has been vetted, trained, and exposed to mature and complex environments."
However, the big logos aren't everything and Stokes said some hiring managers also want to know that a candidate can wear multiple hats or adapt to a small team environment.
The Big Four consulting firmsJoe Ucuzoglu, Janet Truncale, Bill Thomas, and Mohamed Kande — the leaders of the Big Four.
Jim Spellman/Getty Images/ EY / World Economic Forum/ Kike Rincon/Europa Press via Getty Images
Some recruiters BI spoke to said they consider the big consulting firms a strong indicator of solid experience on a cybersecurity résumé. The Big Four references the largest accounting and consulting firms, which are EY, Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC.
Clark, from Blackmere Consulting, said she's seen some candidates come out of the cyber divisions at the major consulting firms, including Deloitte and EY.
"With those firms, a candidate has the opportunity to see the problems in multiple environments," Clark said. "It serves as sort of a crash course on the different types of issues in different industries, regions, tech stacks, etc."