Caroline Wong — Self-care and self-aware for security people

A successful security career can still become unsustainable when work crowds out everything else. Caroline Wong shares the experiences that changed how she thinks about self-care, boundaries, and professional growth. She traces her career through security leadership roles, then describes the costs of neglecting her own needs and the difficulty of recognizing a problem while caught in it. Chris and Robert ask about work-life balance, vacation policies, and how a manager’s response shapes the real culture behind a company’s promises. Caroline offers questions candidates can ask prospective teammates and discusses what happens when personal values and organizational priorities diverge. Her advice encourages both individuals and hiring managers to pay attention to people, communicate honestly, and make deliberate changes.

The Application Security Podcast is brought to you by Security Journey.

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Connect with Caroline Wong:
→ Caroline Wong on LinkedIn

Mentioned in this episode:
→ Cobalt
→ Security Metrics: A Beginner’s Guide

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Chapters:
00:00 Self-care and self-awareness with Caroline Wong
02:19 Caroline’s path into security leadership
11:28 What self-care means and why it matters
18:29 Rethinking work-life balance
21:13 Vacation policies and real workplace culture
25:03 Questions to ask during interviews
26:13 Learning from prospective teammates
28:12 Other pressures that undermine well-being
31:34 When personal and organizational priorities conflict
32:55 Turning awareness into practical changes
33:27 Advice for hiring managers and individuals