Passkeys Are a Trap: Turn It Into a Job Interview Win

There's a Substack post titled "Passkeys are a trap. Do not use them." Short, sharp, and actually argued. It did what most tech content fails to do: sparked a real debate among people who know their stuff. That's exactly what makes it gold for job-search networking.

Most networking advice sounds like: "Be curious, ask questions, show enthusiasm." Great. But what exactly do you write in a LinkedIn message? What do you say in the first five minutes with a stranger? That's where you need a specific topic. And this passkeys piece is specific, controversial, technically dense. In other words, ideal.

What the article actually says, and why it works

The author argues passkeys aren't the silver bullet Google and Apple are selling. The issues: device lock-in, broken recovery flows, enterprise environments where everything falls apart, and the general illusion that "passwordless" equals "secure." The arguments are specific, not just contrarian noise.

Here's why it works as a topic: it forces the other person to have an opinion. They either agree and want to talk about how to fix it. Or they disagree and want to argue. Either way, you have a conversation, not a resume exchange.

Step 1: Form your own position before messaging anyone

The worst thing you can do is forward the link with "interesting article, what do you think?" That reads as "help me pretend I know what I'm talking about." Instead, spend 15 minutes forming your own take. Do you agree? Disagree? With which specific part?

• Read the article fully, not diagonally. There are nuances in there.
• Write one sentence: "I agree / disagree with the author because..." and fill it in.
• Think: how does this relate to your experience? Have you seen passkeys in production? Do you have a case?
• If you're not a security specialist, that's fine. A backend dev's or DevOps engineer's view on auth flows is equally valid.

When you have a position, the message takes two minutes to write. Without it, you're just another LinkedIn stranger.

Step 2: Who to message and how to find them

The passkeys / auth / passwordless topic is relevant to specific roles. No need to message everyone. Here's where to find people who'll actually care:

• LinkedIn: search for "security engineer", "identity platform", "IAM", "authentication" plus the company or city you're targeting.
• Twitter / X: who commented on the original post or similar threads about passkeys, FIDO2, WebAuthn. That's a warm audience.
• Hacker News: the article has likely been discussed there. Find people with substantive comments.
• Telegram security or backend communities: Ukrainian channels with active discussions.

Step 3: A message template that doesn't look like a template

There's a difference between a message that "starts a conversation" and one that "asks for help." The first is interesting. The second is a burden. Here's the structure of the first:

1. 1One sentence about the article you might both know. Not "have you read it?", but "came across this Substack post about passkeys - the author is pretty harsh on recovery flows."
2. 2Your position in one sentence. "I partially agree, especially on the enterprise side, but I think the author undersells the UX gain for regular users."
3. 3Ask for opinion, not help. "Curious to hear from someone who's seen this in production. What's your take?"

Three sentences. No job request. No attached resume. That's exactly how it should look.

Step 4: If the conversation takes off, what next

Honestly, most won't reply. That's fine. But those who did have already shown they care about the topic, which means they find you interesting too. From here, just don't ruin it.

• Respond to their argument, don't immediately pivot to "by the way, I'm job hunting." Keep the conversation going for 1-2 more messages.
• If they ask about you, answer briefly and redirect to a question about them. People love talking about themselves.
• If you sense openness, suggest a short call. "Would be great to chat for 20 minutes if you have time next week." Not "connect and explore opportunities." Just talk.

And yes, the job topic will come up naturally. Either they'll bring something up, or you'll mention it gently. But that's step three, not step one.

Why this works specifically now, in 2026

The market isn't what it was. Sending 50 applications and waiting is a strategy that works worse every year. Most open roles are filled through referrals or people the recruiter already knows. Especially in security, backend, DevOps.

For Ukrainian IT specialists, this is even more relevant. If you've relocated and are job hunting abroad, your resume often competes with people who have a local network. The only way to level that is to build your own, and technical conversations are one of the fastest paths.

And while you're building that network, it helps if your CV isn't letting you down in parallel. AI CV Analyzer will show you where it breaks before a recruiter does.

What if you're not a security specialist

Look, the passkeys topic doesn't require you to be a CISO. A backend dev who's implemented OAuth has something to say about auth. A frontend engineer who's integrated WebAuthn - same. A QA engineer who tested a passwordless flow - even more so.

The key is not pretending to be someone you're not. If you're backend, just say: "I'm looking at this more from the implementation side than security, but from my experience..." That's honest and more interesting than pretending to be a security architect.

One more thing. If you want to prepare for what you'll say on a call after these conversations, AI Coach can help you rehearse, including questions about your technical background and how to frame it.