Security Clearances? What's been your experience?

Just curious how many of us in the IT field are needing clearances. Funny, you can have a million certs and degrees, but depending on your area...the only jobs available to you might be "clearance required" jobs. That's what I'm finding in my area. I'd say 90% of the jobs I've been called about require clearance. I've been waiting on mine for a while now, and this OPM hack this year has only slowed things down.

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Marv_Bx_718

I went from interim secret to TS/SSBI and eventually SCI in a matter of a year. The main things you have to make sure of is your financial situation, after all most people turn traitors for money and not patriotism right? On the forms (SF86) if you think you owe someone money, put it down as simple as that. It looks better if you tell them about something and it not be on your credit report, than if they find it and you didn’t tell them.
The next big thing is the people you list on your SF86, make sure those people have clean backgrounds because they will also be investigated, and make sure you let them know that people will be calling them to ask them questions about you. Also, be very clear about your timeline… places you have lived, jobs you have had, periods of unemployment, and what you did during those times.

joelsfood

Hard to go backwards and do it, but I highly recommend leaving any old addresses in your Amazon (or another site, if you rpefer) address book. It makes it a ton easier to fill out your SF86 if you've moved several times, as you have all of the addresses available right there. I guess it mostly applies to people like me with bad memories.

bpenn

Ah, clearances. My most hated enemy. Nearly every decent contract where I live requires TS/SCI and no, employers will not sponsor. Nobody wants to pay the exorbitant amount of money it takes to get you a clearance. I got a secret from the military but my Air Force AFSC (MOS) doesn't require a TS so I am having a hard time getting it upgraded. My only is option is to cross-train into a position that requires one or get lucky and get a civil service job that will pay for it.

Fulcrum45

I tried to be as honest as my memory would allow. Unfortunately (or, maybe fortunately) the largest chunk of debt is in my wife's name and not mine. Is it possible her debt would factor into my end result? We're current on everything but its been a struggle for the past few years.

scaredoftests

I don't think that will be a problem, especially if you are current on everything.

joelsfood

http://www.dod.gov/dodgc/doha/industrial/2014.html

This site will give you some idea of why people were denied clearances. Interesting reading

scaredoftests

It is at that.

joelsfood

Crazy what some people think is alright.

But regarding your concerns, Fulcrum, you'll see a lot of entries where people had significant debt but had clearance granted anyway as long as they were honest about having the debt and showed they were working towards fixing it, so if what you say is true, you'll likely be alright.

Fulcrum45

Thanks gang, I feel better about all this.

Marv_Bx_718

Fulcrum45 wrote: »

I tried to be as honest as my memory would allow. Unfortunately (or, maybe fortunately) the largest chunk of debt is in my wife's name and not mine. Is it possible her debt would factor into my end result? We're current on everything but its been a struggle for the past few years.

I can tell you from experience you and your wife are one person when it comes to debt, it is not an issue as long as you report it accurately

Fulcrum45

I forgot to list a job I worked for 3 months about 10 years ago. When I asked if I could update it my recruiter said that I could bring it up during my interview. Is an interview typical for a Secret Clearance? She made it sound like it was just part of the routine.

scaredoftests

Yes, it is part of the routine.

joelsfood

Yep, normal thing, nothing to worry about

roninkai

Yep just re-review your case come interview time. You should have your own copy of what you submitted. My interview took 5 hours but interviewer was really cool. Nothing to worry about.

alan2308

dragonsden wrote: »

I've been waiting on mine for a while now, and this OPM hack this year has only slowed things down.

I'm glad to hear it's not just us. There's a couple of us in my office that have been sitting idle for a month or more waiting. And as you know, there's things that can't actually work without that don't get issued until your BI gets started. Thankfully I have a Books 24x7 account through school that's kept me busy.

aderon

joelsfood wrote: »

http://www.dod.gov/dodgc/doha/industrial/2014.html

This site will give you some idea of why people were denied clearances. Interesting reading

lmao wow... some of these stories are pretty crazy:

Applicant was aware of his brother's plan to rob a convenience store but said nothing to alter those plans. Instead, he froze, and failed to object. He remained in the car while the robbery took place. Applicant was subsequently convicted of armed robbery and use of a firearm during a criminal act. He was sentenced to imprisonment for 84 months (7 years), supervised release for 5 years, and ordered to pay an assessment of $200 and restitution of $1,000. He is currently on supervised release until August 30, 2016. Applicant paid his debt to society. The robbery occurred over 11 years ago, and there has been no recurrence of any criminal conduct. He exhibited remorse for his actions. His family and friends see noticeable maturity in him. Applicant continues to hold a full-time job during the week and a part-time job during weekends. His employers and coworkers speak very favorably about him, and he has been promoted by both employers. Applicant's actions under the circumstances no longer cast doubt on his current reliability, trustworthiness, and good judgment. Eligibility for a position of public trust is granted. CASE NO: 14-05939.h1

Fulcrum45

Does anyone know if you get your interview before the actual clearance or before you get your interim? I cant start my new job until I at least get my interim but I'm kind of in limbo until then. I know I'm not the OP on this thread but all of you have been extremely helpful. My family and I need this job like no one's business

scaredoftests

You get your interview before the actual clearance.

apr911

I went for broke and tried to go straight to a TS-SCI w/ Full-Scope Poly while applying for a GS position in the Government. As my experiences were not for a 3rd-party contractor, was pre-OPM hack and was with an alphabet-soup that does not rely heavily on OPM, my experiences may be different from most.

From the date I turned in my SF-86 until I received an initial disposition on status of receiving a security clearance was approximately 8.5 months (which includes December holidays)

From the date I turned in my SF-86 until the "next step" in the process was 4 months, at which point I was called in for the psych eval and poly.

That happened about a month later after which another month went by before I heard from the first local investigator. My friends contacted me the same week to let me know they had been contacted. It seems the first investigator took about 2 weeks to conduct all the local interviews. This was followed by the next investigator in the next location who also took 2 weeks before the 3rd investigator in my current locale contacted me.

The 3rd investigator contacted me at Mid-May and followed up at the beginning of July informing me I needed to write a letter requesting the background investigation be continued/discontinued (I denied access to my current employer while I consulted with my recruiter) and I received notice a week later that I would not be receiving clearance in mid-July.

I have not yet filed the follow-up paperwork to find out why but I already know at a minimum its because I denied the last investigator access to my current employer. I do not know if there was anything else in my background that pinged and required further investigation or review or re-evaluation (aside from foreign contacts, I dont know of any other potential hangups but I did have to restart my polygraph 3 times because of nerves) so how much longer it would have taken for the clearance to be finalized and issued is anyone's guess but Im assuming the timeline likely would have remained about the same.

Ultimately, once the investigation gets going, its all a matter of how much there is to review and how quickly they can setup interviews with listed contacts. If you've only ever had one job (or no job), have only ever had 1 address in the last 10 years, have no foreign contacts and have no foreign travel, completing the background investigation is not likely to require much time or effort.

In many ways, the process penalizes you for moving, traveling, changing jobs and having foreign relations but only in perspective of time it takes to get the clearance; especially if the travel is conducted to questionable locales. More often than not the people who require the most time to get a clearance are the ones targeted as candidates because they are adaptable, aware of the world, may posses key language skills and are more likely to consider an overseas job posting compared to someone who's never left their home town.

ArabianKnight

It has taken me years to get my clearance. I got a new gig back in January and even with my clearance I have been waiting 10 months to actually start working, has been a pain.

scaredoftests

ArabianKnight wrote: »

It has taken me years to get my clearance. I got a new gig back in January and even with my clearance I have been waiting 10 months to actually start working, has been a pain.

Years? That is awful.

Chadius

Anyone know how long it takes for the SF 85P investigation to be completed? (public trust clearance)

Chadius

They told me 2-4 weeks, in case anyone is interested.

Fulcrum45

As everyone mentioned earlier in this thread; my Secret Interim clearance came in almost exactly 2 weeks after I submitted my paperwork. I imagine that's a good sign for getting my full clearance ultimately.

Chadius

That sounds very likely. Man the paperwork for public trust was lengthy. I'd hate to see what is involved with secret and top secret.

scaredoftests

Chadius wrote: »

That sounds very likely. Man the paperwork for public trust was lengthy. I'd hate to see what is involved with secret and top secret.

10X worse for secret. LOL

Fulcrum45

scaredoftests wrote: »

10X worse for secret. LOL

Ugh...by the time I had finished listing contact info for my Uncle's Aerobics Instructor's Nephew's Cousin's son-in-law I was burnt out! I must have had 4+ hours wrapped up in it. Had to take breaks, lol.

ArabianKnight

Just happen to get this in my email today, explains what we are dealing with for clearances now.

As OPM begins rolling out its notifications to personnel affected in the breach of approximately 20 million current or former security clearance holders and applicants, the negative effect on cleared recruiting is already being felt.
In a Clearancejobs survey of recruiters and hiring managers in the cleared space, 77 percent said the breach affected hiring, with 30 percent calling that effect ‘significant.’

In a separate survey of more than 300 cleared job seekers, 9 percent said the OPM breach had significantly affected their job search or online networking activities, 14 percent said it has been affected somewhat, 43 percent said no, and 32 percent were not sure.
“The OPM breach, along with the more than 20 percent reduction in the total number of security-cleared personnel over the last 18 months, have contributed to a roller coaster year in the world of cleared recruiting,” said Evan Lesser, Founder and Managing Director of ClearanceJobs.com. “There are fewer cleared professionals for employers to hire, and since the OPM data breach, we’re seeing many cleared workers flee the industry to pursue a career in the uncleared private sector where their skills are equally in demand.”
Recruiters expressed concern about how security clearance policies would change following the breach, if at all. Many recruiters and hiring managers in the cleared space have federal security clearances themselves, which means their own data was compromised. The data breach and changes to clearance policy have a personal and professional impact.
“It has made cold contacting people very difficult,” said Mike Keith, a recruiter who sources for cleared talent. “Everyone is concerned about CI [counterintelligence] issues.”

Survey responses from cleared candidates reinforced the difficulty for recruiters trying to reach new talent. Only 3 percent of cleared candidates surveyed said they would respond to an unsolicited email from a recruiter, 22 percent said they would ignore it. Seventy percent said they would look up the recruiter before replying. Dozens of respondents indicated they would delete any email without opening it, and several said they report unsolicited emails from a recruiter to their security officer.
Many recruiters pointed to the uncertainty around the OPM breach as a factor. Notifications to the second round of victims – the approximately 20 million current or former clearance holders whose information was breached – didn’t begin until early October. Many individuals who believe they have been affected say they still haven’t received any notification.

“Information is not forthcoming,” said one security clearance holder surveyed. “I don’t understand what happened and how I am impacted.”
Recruiters said the slow pace of response means they expect to be dealing with the aftermath of the breach for months, if not years, to follow.

GOING OFFLINE
The problem for many recruiters is the need to ‘cold call’ candidates – candidates who are now more security conscious than ever.
“I removed all security clearance and specific government contract information from all public resumes on all job sites (except ClearanceJobs.com),” said one survey respondent. “I am much more circumspect about sharing information with potential ‘employers’ online,” noted another.

Several said they would no longer submit resume details to applicant tracking systems typically used by defense companies, because they don’t want that information compromised.

When asked specifically about LinkedIn, 20 percent said they do not consider LinkedIn a good place to connect with recruiters. Thirty-seven percent were not sure how they felt about the site.

“I consider LinkedIn just as risky as any other portal such as Monster.com, etc,” said one respondent. “There is no validation process for people that establish accounts.”
“It is not secure. Anyone can data mine,” noted another.

LinkedIn has been the source of several spear phishing and data mining operations from nefarious actors, just in the past month alone. An October 7 CNN report noted Iran-based hackers are setting up fake profiles on LinkedIn, specifically to data mine professionals in the cleared and government space. “The fake personas fell into two groups: one set that were fully developed profiles posing as recruiters for major worldwide government contractors and international corporations, and another set that were less developed and designed to lend legitimacy to the primary accounts through endorsements and connections,” the CNN report stated. For employers, this means that security-conscious candidates are not likely to click ‘accept’ the next time an unknown recruiter reaches out.

When it comes to company reputation, post-OPM breach, that’s an increasingly high concern for security clearance holders – only 26 percent of those surveyed said they would apply for a job if they’d never heard of the company. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they would not apply for a job if they hadn’t heard of the company.

For smaller companies wondering how they can assure security conscious candidates, the survey pointed to one area employers have direct control over – their company profiles. Forty-eight percent of respondents said they would be more likely to connect with a recruiter if that recruiter had a completed profile on a site like ClearanceJobs.com.

AN ONGOING PROBLEM: PROCESSING DELAYS
For both recruiters and job seekers, there is one issue with implications beyond trust and accountability – and that’s lengthening delays in security clearance processing times. Seventy-nine percent of recruiters surveyed said processing delays are affecting their ability to hire. Thirty-six percent of the already-cleared respondents said reinvestigations were taking longer than usual.
“The OPM breach has delayed my reinvestigation several times for over a year now (including a period of unemployment). I was finally able to re-submit (4th time) my SF-86 for a final adjudication last week. Still crossing my fingers for no more delays!” said one respondent.

Several recruiters complained that being unable to place candidates into contracts due to security clearance processing delays resulted in corporate fines due to contract requirements not being met. Defense contractors are literally paying the price for the OPM breach in some cases, as they wait for personnel to be cleared and able to work. The federal government is also feeling the effect – delays in security clearance processing times have been blamed at least in part for Customers and Border Protection’s national staffing shortage. The agency had received approval to hire 2,000 customs officers by the end of the year, but has only been able to fill 800 positions.

“It takes as long as 12 to 18 months to get a clearance. That’s insane,” said U.S. Senator John McCain said during a recent visit to Tucson. A number of the current openings are in McCain’s home state of Arizona.

THE END RESULT: FEWER QUALIFIED CANDIDATES
The bigger issue for the federal government is the problem with recruiting talented cleared professionals. In the midst of a severe STEM and cyber skills shortage, the OPM breach is making many currently cleared candidates move to commercial careers, where a hiring boom is underway.

“I will no longer seek employment that requires a security clearance because of poor handling of data by defense contractors and the United States Government,” said one respondent. “They were warned of this over 5 years ago. They show that they cannot be trusted with even the simplest things – like the protection of personal information.”

jeromelongj

I saw that article I think on clearancejobs.com also. I've been waiting since the late part of May and still haven't heard a word about mine. I work for the military so they just say "hurry up and wait" seems about right.

zcarenow

odds of getting one being a non-military person is not good.