How Do You Attract Top Talent for Security Clearance Jobs?

Attracting Candidates for Security Jobs

Hiring for security clearance jobs is crucial if your company intends to submit an RFP (Request for Proposal) for government contracts. Often in the guidance for submitting proposals, the complexity of the project will require you to have staff with a high level of clearance. Thus, having cleared staff opens new doors and is a crucial asset when submitting proposals.

In this article, we cover how you can attract candidates with a high level of clearance for your security jobs.

Recruiting Cleared Staff for Your Security Jobs

Many federal contracts require staff with clearance, and in the US over 5 million people have security-cleared jobs. There is a growing demand for cleared personnel to handle more complex projects.

However, hiring cleared staff for security jobs is often difficult. Gaining clearance is not easy, and therefore the competition to hire security-cleared talent is tough. Here are some great tactics you can employ to improve your recruitment process for security jobs.

·      Advertise on Specialist Job Boards

Most professionals don’t publicize their level of clearance on generic job boards or social media platforms like LinkedIn. This makes it harder to search for talent with the clearance you need.

The candidate pool for clearance jobs is not that large. However, those looking for clearance roles will typically stick to the niche job boards. Access to these is limited to those employers with the authority to hire cleared staff.

By utilizing these job boards, you can find a variety of qualified candidates in one place. You will see fewer applications but a much higher quality of candidate than when posting on other, more generic job boards.

·      Reaching Out to Veterans

A great talent pipeline to tap to recruit security-cleared staff is military veterans. Many candidates with military experience will already have some level of clearance, but they often lack the knowledge of how to seek security jobs.

Military careers often last for a long time. Those exiting the military may not have had to look for a job in 10 or 20 years. Therefore, a simple tactic like connecting with them on LinkedIn, while they are still in service or nearing the end of their service career, can help you recruit before a competitor gets to them.

·      Use a Specialist Recruiter

As you can see, recruiting for security jobs presents many challenges. There is a highly competitive market, and all candidates need to be properly vetted. You need to be 100% sure that the candidate you select can be trusted with sensitive information, and that they will keep the reputation of your company intact.

Using a specialist recruiter can speed up and smooth out the process of hiring the right candidate. Recruiters have spent years building up a trusted network of candidates. Building this kind of network in the talent pool takes time, and you can tap into this resource – specially to satisfy immediate recruitment needs.

The cleared recruitment environment is unique. You will find that tactics that work for hiring other types of employees don’t work here. Top candidates are often weighing up multiple options. Specialist recruiters have the experience in the industry to navigate the hiring process more effectively than most general HR teams.

·      Post Clear Job Descriptions

You may be receiving many applicants for your security jobs, but few, if any, are the caliber you need. This may be because your job description unclear.

Security jobs have skills and requirements that are non-negotiable. Unlike other jobs, where candidates may apply if they have 70%+ of the requirements, make your post clear in the description what the non-negotiable skills are. This will slow the flow of underqualified candidates and make your task of finding qualified and security-cleared talent easier.

To Sum Up

Having cleared staff in your security jobs is essential for landing government contracts. However, finding cleared candidates can be tough. Post a well-defined job description on specialist job boards, use specialist recruiters, and start building your network to help you find the top candidates you need to fill your jobs.

For help recruiting cleared staff for your security jobs, contact Loyal Source today.

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