Title:Your Security Clearance Is Valuable To Civilian Employers
Author:Barbara Adams, CPRW, CEIP, CMRC, CFRW
Date:May 2012
Source:www.militaryresumewriters.com and www.careerproplus.com
When you were issued a security clearance for your military job specialty, you were given a passport to future job positions. Both civilian and Federal employers are currently in great need of people with various levels of security clearances for a wide variety of jobs. As you seek to make the military transition into the civilian world, you certainly want to consider this rich field of hot civilian and Federal jobs.
The type of Federal jobs available are indeed many and varied. These openings range from government jobs in Homeland Security and extend to the CIA, DIA, NSA, DoD, and other agencies. The types of positions these agencies are looking to fill include linguists, network administrators, intelligence analysts, intrusion analysts, and many more. This certainly means that there is probably room for someone with your clearance in a Federal job.
In addition to the line of Federal jobs, there is also a whole world of civilian job employers who could use your expertise along with your security clearance. These include defense contractors, companies and agencies that need facilities protection and security, medical records, software engineering firms, and many more. Specific in-demand jobs include engineers, biometrics, security, records, IT, intelligence analysts, network administrators, and more.
Your security clearance is valuable to you. One good reason is that with it you can get a job with an automatic increase of a minimum of $5,000 per year. This amount may go up to about $15,000 simply for having the clearance. Of course, clearances do quickly expire, but the employer requiring them will take steps to see that it stays effective if you apply within about 24 months.
Corporations and government agencies know that it can take a long time and become quite costly to give a Top Secret security clearance to someone who does not have one. In fact, it could take up to a year to go through the whole background investigation process. This is partly because of a backlog of about half a million people who are waiting in line for approval. If someone already had one, though, they could move swiftly into the desired position. The hiring company would also greatly appreciate the chance to save money by avoiding the long and tedious process of investigating someone's background.
Clearances that have already expired, though, can also be renewed. If the process begins within 24 months, then only a part of the process is needed to reestablish a security clearance, depending on the level. This means that if you have already made a military transition back into civilian life, your clearance can still make you a sought-after candidate for a classified Federal job or civilian job.
One thing you will need to do, though, as you look for a job requiring a security clearance, is to prepare a military resume. Your best bet is to hire a professional resume writer to help you highlight your training, experience, and qualifications. Keywords related to the job position will also be built in, giving you a resume that will stand out among other candidates'. A professional military resume writer knows what your prospective employer is looking for and can help you fit the bill perfectly.
