When applying to a Hybrid Pentest, you are expected to provide a written motivation explaining your background and why you believe you are the best suited for the pentest. Displayed alongside your leaderboard rank and submission stats, writing a compelling motivation is the easiest way to make your application stand out.
A good motivation will show the customer that you are interested in their program and have the necessary skills to do a great job. In many ways, it’s the most important element of your application!
Do
Create a customised motivation for each Hybrid Program. This is also your time to mention if you are an expert in one of the areas of the program or are very passionate about some of the technologies in scope. For example, if you are an expert and have a track record in hacking mobile apps, make sure you’re letting the customer know in your application for a Mobile App Hybrid!
Make the most of markdown! For most Hybrid Pentests, you will be competing against other researchers. Why not use markdown to make your application stand out from the rest? You can also use Markdown to add hyperlinks to relevant sites such as your X handle or your GitHub page.
Mention your certifications! Some customers might prefer researchers with certifications such as OSCP, so if you have these, make sure to mention it, as well as add them to your Intigriti profile by going to Preferences -> Certifications.
Experience is highly valued by our Hybrid customers! If you’ve been pentesting/hacking for a few years, mention it! If you’ve run Hybrid Pentests with us before, it will also help your case.
Ensure your grammar and spelling is on point - many customers highly value a well-written report, and this is your chance to show them! If you’re struggling with this, you can use tools like Grammarly to help double check your reports.
If the company has an active Bug Bounty where you’ve participated, make sure to mention your contributions!
Don’t
Leave the motivation empty, or just add a one-liner. This is your chance to show the customer that you are excited to work with them! Even though the section is limited to only 500 characters, make sure that you aren’t writing irrelevant information to pad out your motivation, be concise and precise.
Use a rigid/boring language structure. Remember you’re talking directly to the customer, so try to be engaging.
Write everything in a single paragraph block. Use markdown formatting and line breaks to your advantage and try to space out the different sections in the motivation so it’s all easier to read. Bullet points can be extremely helpful for this.
Copy and paste motivations from previous Hybrid Programs – motivations should be specific for the program you are applying for.