Can I still get a Sec Clearance for a better IT job?

ITSpectre

Ok I have a question for people that know about this or have a clearance. Long story short I went through the process almost a year ago to get a secret but was denied due to financial reasons... the reasons were listed on my SOR from the DOHA... So because my Interim clearance was revoked I lost my job a year ago. Fast forward to a year later (almost because I was let go toward the end of july) I want to get another chance at a clearance. This is what I have read online....

"Any break in service of 24 months or more requires a new initial investigation regardless of the date of the last investigation. If there is a break in service of less than 24 months and the time since the last investigation is not greater than the interval specified for the periodic reinvestigation, the clearance can be reinstated without an investigation."

So I am not sure if I have to wait till the day I was let go, or I can just find a job that will sponsor me for the full clearance and then get one because I plan to actually pay down the debt this time and not let it sit like i did before...

In the end a lot of jobs in the DC, MD, VA area require clearances or for a person to get a interim then get the full clearance... because I was never granted a full clearance but I was set to go before a judge but then since the job let me go It was not needed.

the_Grinch

To be honest getting the interim clearance doesn't count for a whole lot thus I'm pretty sure you will be starting from the beginning (they do a quick NCIC check for the most part). With all that you're going to have some issues as your finances are a really big deal when it comes to getting a clearance. In my opinion, when they look they'll find enough time has not passed in order to show that you are doing better financially and that there is no longer an issue. Obviously without knowing your entire situation no one could tell you for sure.

GirlyGirl

I will say two things. First, I got out of the military over 5 years ago and when I was put in for a higher level clearance my e-QIP still had the same information. Second thing, Every reinvestigation, addition I have ever had at some point it asked somewhere if I had even been denied a clearance. I say addition because we supported multiple customers in our environment, so each customer you had to do an separate investigation for. The addition also means some customers wanted a Public Trust other customers wanted varying levels of clearances.


Your situation will be different from most being that you were denied a clearance. So, it's hard to compare apples to apples. But like I said above I got a clearance in the military and over 5 years later my info was still in the e-QIP. I am honestly not sure your information will be kept being that it was denied. I really can't answer that question.


I got an Interim (high level) clearance in about 3 weeks, literally. That was less than 2 years ago. The Interim is pretty quick. Being that you know a lot of jobs in that area require clearances, I am sure you're aware a great portion in the DMV have a clearance. It's very competitive. I am going to be honest. I would tell a company, if they decide to sponsor you that you've been denied. Like I said before it's going to come up. You have to ask yourself a question (this may seem harsh) am I going to financially sponsor an individual who has previously been denied.

If I were in your shoes I wouldn't go to the DMV area attempting to get a clearance based on your history. I would go somewhere where someone is willing to take a chance. Somewhere where they need you. You can throw a Frisbee in Northern Virginia, DC and hit 7 people with a clearance. Finding someone with a clearance is fairly easy. Finding a company to pay for a clearance is hard, unless your Intel, or have experience that they need. Although I do wish you the best.

ITSpectre

GirlyGirl wrote: »

I will say two things. First, I got out of the military over 5 years ago and when I was put in for a higher level clearance my e-QIP still had the same information. Second thing, Every reinvestigation, addition I have ever had at some point it asked somewhere if I had even been denied a clearance. I say addition because we supported multiple customers in our environment, so each customer you had to do an separate investigation for. The addition also means some customers wanted a Public Trust other customers wanted varying levels of clearances.


Your situation will be different from most being that you were denied a clearance. So, it's hard to compare apples to apples. But like I said above I got a clearance in the military and over 5 years later my info was still in the e-QIP. I am honestly not sure your information will be kept being that it was denied. I really can't answer that question.


I got an Interim (high level) clearance in about 3 weeks, literally. That was less than 2 years ago. The Interim is pretty quick. Being that you know a lot of jobs in that area require clearances, I am sure you're aware a great portion in the DMV have a clearance. It's very competitive. I am going to be honest. I would tell a company, if they decide to sponsor you that you've been denied. Like I said before it's going to come up. You have to ask yourself a question (this may seem harsh) am I going to financially sponsor an individual who has previously been denied.

If I were in your shoes I wouldn't go to the DMV area attempting to get a clearance based on your history. I would go somewhere where someone is willing to take a chance. Somewhere where they need you. You can throw a Frisbee in Northern Virginia, DC and hit 7 people with a clearance. Finding someone with a clearance is fairly easy. Finding a company to pay for a clearance is hard, unless your Intel, or have experience that they need. Although I do wish you the best.

Well I was not offically denied a clearance though... in order for me to have my clearance denied I needed to go before a judge. I never had to do that because the job let me go. Currently I live in the DMV area and there have been places I applied to that have wanted me to do a clearance (public trust) and I did not follow up because of what happened. So if I have to do the whole process again I want to do that because I have a better chance to do it now

ITSpectre

the_Grinch wrote: »

To be honest getting the interim clearance doesn't count for a whole lot thus I'm pretty sure you will be starting from the beginning (they do a quick NCIC check for the most part). With all that you're going to have some issues as your finances are a really big deal when it comes to getting a clearance. In my opinion, when they look they'll find enough time has not passed in order to show that you are doing better financially and that there is no longer an issue. Obviously without knowing your entire situation no one could tell you for sure.

Right. I agree. My plan would be to apply for jobs that will sponsor me for a clearance but i need to know for sure that the time has passed so that i will have to go through the process again... after I know I will have to go through the process again I should be good because I plan on paying down the debt while I have the job.... something I did not do when I had the job in the past. So if I can get someone to sponsor me which is not hard then I should be good.

My situation is I have a clean background but my credit sucks... in order to improve it I need to pay down some debt... some of the debt that was listed on the statement of reasons to deny my clearance has already been paid. So I have proof that it has been paid I just need to make sure I have to go through the process again. And not have to go before the judge first.

GirlyGirl

but was denied due to financial reasons
Well I was not offically denied a clearance though
i need to know for sure that the time has passed so that i will have to go through the process again

​You have to be careful with your wordplay. I will say that I am confused. If you haven't been "officially" denied what's stopping you from following through with it? The worst they can say is no. I frequent clearancejobs.com and it stated a few weeks ago that debt is the main reason for denial, not sure how accurate that is. From a companies perspective someone who is in debt is more at risk to do things to get (illegal) money. I seen you on the Vectrus overseas forums. What really is it that you want to do? You have to ask yourself that.

Currently I live in the DMV area and there have been places I applied to that have wanted me to do a clearance (public trust) and I did not follow up because of what happened

Did they know your circumstances beforehand?

TranceSoulBrother

For the financial reasons for denial, you would have to show cause of improvement in your financial status. If you get an OPM interview, you can show documents or steps to fix what was broken. We don't need to get in your personal life, but if it's debt, are you structuring payments with your creditors? If it's bankruptcy, that's a different story. The main thing is that you have to prove that you will not be an insider threat risk or a liability based on financial hardship.
We had a staff sergeant before who had to fill out 52 pages of additional comments to address various things that he did in his previous life. He eventually qualified for a TS and was assigned somewhere in the DC area.
My 0.02 pesos.

kiki162

Having a clearance is great, however there are still PLENTY of other jobs within the DMV that do not require a clearance. If you REALLY want a better job, you need to work on certs and your education. That way your experience looks more attractive to prospective employers, and you don't have to compete with the rest of the population in DMV.

You'll have to re-do your SF-86 paperwork regardless after 2 years of being out. Getting yourself a job that doesn't require a clearance with give you some time to show DOHA that you have cleaned up your credit and are not considered a risk. Note that there are "Excepted Service" position out there that do not require a clearance, only a standard background check.

ITSpectre

GirlyGirl wrote: »

but was denied due to financial reasons
Well I was not offically denied a clearance though
i need to know for sure that the time has passed so that i will have to go through the process again

​You have to be careful with your wordplay. I will say that I am confused. If you haven't been "officially" denied what's stopping you from following through with it? The worst they can say is no. I frequent clearancejobs.com and it stated a few weeks ago that debt is the main reason for denial, not sure how accurate that is. From a companies perspective someone who is in debt is more at risk to do things to get (illegal) money. I seen you on the Vectrus overseas forums. What really is it that you want to do? You have to ask yourself that.

Currently I live in the DMV area and there have been places I applied to that have wanted me to do a clearance (public trust) and I did not follow up because of what happened

Did they know your circumstances beforehand?

No they did not know. I did not follow up because of what happened.
Long story short GirlyGirl I got a job working for the DoD and got my interim clearance.... a year went by and then I got a call stating my Interim clearance was revoked and I had to leave. When I left I got a SOR statement of reasons from the DOHA stating why they intend to deny me a full clearance... My employer at the time dicked around and would not give me the packet so I had to call OPM myself and they said right now everything is frozen and when I get another job that sponsors me it will continue from where it left off....

What is stopping me is if I continue with the process now I will have to go before a judge and prove that I have mitigated some of the issues... I have mitigated some but not as much as I could have. That is the reason I wanted to see if I can start over... and go through the whole process again. If that can be done then I will have a better shot at getting one then picking up from where I left off at.

ITSpectre

kiki162 wrote: »

Having a clearance is great, however there are still PLENTY of other jobs within the DMV that do not require a clearance. If you REALLY want a better job, you need to work on certs and your education. That way your experience looks more attractive to prospective employers, and you don't have to compete with the rest of the population in DMV.

You'll have to re-do your SF-86 paperwork regardless after 2 years of being out. Getting yourself a job that doesn't require a clearance with give you some time to show DOHA that you have cleaned up your credit and are not considered a risk. Note that there are "Excepted Service" position out there that do not require a clearance, only a standard background check.

I agree. It just sucks that I have to deal with so many recruiters.

SaSkiller

Just an FYI, a clearance is currently according to individuals, taking up to or more than a year currently.

BobFrmAccounting

All clearance levels? SaSkiller?

GirlyGirl

SaSkiller wrote: »

Just an FYI, a clearance is currently according to individuals, taking up to or more than a year currently.

Literally. I was contacted by an Investigator recently concerning my investigation. I had a person tell me they sat down with an investigator on my behalf. They called my mom yesterday "friends" a few weeks ago. I will vouch for it taking over a year and it being a very slow process. I actually forgot all about it. An Interm you get back in a few weeks a fully adjudicated one takes a while. I am talking about higher level clearances, which took over a year to hear anything. I can't speak for lower lever clearances. The investigation is time consuming as well. It has been more than a year for me. I did some roundabout math and it took about a year and three months for the investigator to call.

Suggestion:
Keep a good rapport with everyone you come in contact with. You never know when you need someone to speak on your behalf. Trying to find one person per each of your employment and one per every address can be difficult. I forgot if you needed someone to vouch for your education as well. Either way if you change jobs every few years and move every few years the number of people you have to add to the application just got longer. I don't even tell my family who I work for, so I am forced to find someone from prior employment to vouch for my work history. Once you submit the e-QIP make sure you are paying off debt. It's to late to start paying off debt when they call when your DTI is at 80% and your savings account has 100 dollars in it. By the time they called me my process had already started.