How to get placed into a entry level cybersecurity job

[u/Competitive_Leg4227]

I graduated with a BCA in May 2026 and I'm trying to break into cybersecurity. I'd appreciate some advice on how to improve my chances of getting placed in an entry-level security role.

Current background:

• BCA graduate
• Pursuing CompTIA Security+(exam is scheduled on the second week of june)
• Cisco Introduction to Cybersecurity certificate
• Ethical Hacking course from TuteDude
• Familiar with Kali Linux
• Basic networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, routing, etc.)

Projects:

1. OWASP Top 5 Vulnerability Scanner
2. Network Traffic Analyzer
3. AI/ML-based Thyroid Disease Detection and Classification System

I'm interested in roles such as:

• SOC Analyst
• Security Analyst
• Junior Penetration Tester
• Vulnerability Management Analyst

A few questions:

1. What should my next step be after Security+?
2. Should I focus on certifications, CTFs, bug bounty hunting, or home labs?
3. Are my current projects enough to get interviews, or should I build more security-focused projects?
4. How can I make my resume stand out despite having no professional experience?
5. What skills do recruiters usually expect from freshers applying for cybersecurity roles?

Any feedback on my profile or roadmap would be greatly appreciated.

Linkedln:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-jose-725595279/
Github:https://github.com/JoelJose681

[u/my_peen_is_clean]

security+ then focus on labs and home soc / blue team projects, ctfs on weekends. make a small homelab, document everything on github and linkedin. tailor resume to each jd. entry security roles are rare now, hiring’s super slow

[u/Competitive_Leg4227 → u/my_peen_is_clean]

i am doing tryhackme labs also,home lab in the sense wazuh?

[u/Scubber]

Put tryhackme on your resume. Show off as much as you can. Go to conferences, that's where recruiting happens now, there's too much AI slop and resume filtering. Talking in person greatly increases your chances.

Focus your lab on AI work and get claude certifications or other AI automations, because AI Engineers are replacing SOC analysts right now.

[u/AddendumWorking9756]

Your projects lean tooling and offensive, which is fine but most entry roles hiring right now are SOC and they want to see you can investigate, not just scan. Add a couple of real incident cases to that list, the ones on CyberDefenders are built from genuine attack data so a writeup actually reads like the job.