Security Clearance Careers Podcast

Alisha Jordan, education director at the National Cryptologic Foundation chats with ClearanceJobs about the role of the Foundation and their current efforts to help attract young people into cybersecurity and codebreaking careers.  Cyber Saturday  took place June 10, and brought together young people, mentors, and cybersecurity pros to help inspire the next generation. Learn more about t...

“I wonder if when my family is talking about the deep state, if they realize that they are actually talking about me.” – Cadie Hopkins As someone who supported the Intelligence Community (IC), the “deep state” started to come up in conversations more and more as the IC was the center of news headlines, and extended family gatherings made Hopkins wonder if her family realized that they were discuss...

Domestic violence is one of several 'shadow pandemics' that began to rise following the COVID-19 lockdowns, mental health strain, and adjustments in daily life. And domestic violence is one area that can and has come up for security clearance holders and applicants. Local laws can sometimes make domestic violence issues more confusing and troublesome for applicants, who wonder if an arrest is actu...

Bill Merck is a veteran, leadership expert & author who shares tips and advice on improving mental health in the workplace for both employers and employees on this episode of the Security Clearance Careers Podcast. He discusses how to utilize your previous experiences through childhood to enhance career development and mental health. Mental health in the workplace goes beyond a stressful...

The security clearance application asks for a lot of information - and requires security clearance holders to name names. And those names can cause a lot of anxiety if you have shady relatives, neighbors, and friends. When do security clearance holders need to worry about their associations - and when are they okay? It's worth noting that the form asks for references, relatives, and individuals to...

Every week, ClearanceJobs writes the Ask CJ column which answers questions asked on the ClearanceJobsBlog, an ecosystem where background investigators, Facility Security Officers (FSO) and other stakeholders in personnel vetting have discussed hot topics over the years.  Today's episode of ClearedCast is a rundown on the highest viewed and engaged questions on the blog. Hosted on Acast. See a...

Tune in to How Having the Freedom to Fail Makes the US Cyber Threat Ready What does the future of the cyber threat landscape look like in the next year? Or decade? We don’t know for sure how consequential it is, but we know the implications are heave with adversarial threats like China and Russia. To comment, ClearanceJobs welcomes ex-employee of the National Security Agency (NSA), William “Hutch”...

Critics are saying there are too many people with access to classified information - but is that really the case? And when it comes to leaks, is creating fewer individuals who are close to classified information - but not vetted to see it - really the solution? ClearanceJobs sat down with Charles Phalen, former acting director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), and curr...

ClearanceJobs offers security clearance holders the annual Security Clearance Compensation report where we survey 50,000+ clearance holders in a variety of jobs, locations, agencies, and fields, to inform you on what the market is offering for your next salary negotiation. Interested in learning what the top paying jobs are on ClearanceJobs.com are today? Tune in to learn what companies are offeri...

Security clearances are in the news - and not in a good way. Whether you know national security or don't know what eligibility to access classified information is, the Jake Teixeira leak created a new wave of questions and issues around the security clearance process. Some critics questioned why a 21-year-old had a security clearance. Others are wondering if it's time to start monitoring social me...

Heather Mongilio is a reporter with United States Naval Institute (USNI) news. She has covered local courts, crime, health, military affairs, and the Naval Academy, and recently published an article on the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigating a former Navy non-commissioned officer for her role in social media accounts that posted a series of leaked Pentagon documents. Sarah Bils is a former a...

Kortney Calano joins the Security Clearance Careers Podcast to discuss her journey through the Defense Industrial Base. She is a US Army veteran, turned contractor, turned govvie. Currently, she is a small business owner that is a provider of IT Consulting services to government clients, and prior to that she was the Acting Director and Branch Chief for the Program Management Division of USDA...

Lynn Burns, president of NCMS and Sarah Turner, member of the board of directors, NCMS, discuss the upcoming NCMS 2023 Annual Seminar on this episode of Security Clearance Insecurity. NCMS is a professional security organization that has existed for more than 50 years, helping to train, certify, and advance the security profession. Burns and Turner discussed what can be expected at this year's tra...

He notes that we spend billions through the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to combat the sale of sometimes legal substances. We have the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to again, stop the sale of legal items. The 13th amendment deems 100% of human trafficking illegal. Where is the organization to fight this? Nic McKinley, is the founder of nonprofit DeliverFund, an organizat...

The transformative effort to improve the security clearance process has been underway for the past several years, with significant new benchmarks announced just this month at the recent U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill. Jason Miller, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget and chair of the Performance Accountability Council Program Management Offi...

LTG (R) Vince Stewart sat down to discuss his life of service this February, as he prepared to accept the 2023 William Oliver Baker Award, an annual award given by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance. Stewart, who served as the Deputy Director of Cyber Command and the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was a trailblazer, innovator, and amazing human being. In this interview,...

Carin Sendra is a US Air Force Veteran, has supported the defense industrial base as a contractor, and is currently seeking a new career in the uncleared job market. On this episode of the Security Clearance Careers Podcast, we discuss her past experience, the journey of the military transition, and tips for those currently job seeking and what your candidate online brand can do for you through th...

A new security clearance application process is coming your way. Learn more about this year's rollout of eApp, the online application process for security clearance applicants. It replaces everyone's favorite eQIP online security clearance, offering an improved candidate experience with better technology, and more secure data storage powered by the National Background Investigation Services. Hoste...

Remote cleared jobs are in high demand, no matter if you have a secret or TS / SCI or if you're looking to be full-time remote or work in a hybrid capacity. There is a large number of defense contractor hiring for hybrid roles in this day in age, and almost 2,000 listed on ClearanceJobs requiring a variety of skills. Here are our top five companies that are offering remote / hybrid jobs in the cle...

On this episode of ClearedCast, we invite Jessica Reynolds back on the line, one of our recruiters that you can find on ClearanceJobs.com, and we discuss one of those government acronyms, OFCCP compliance. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is a part of the US Department of Labor, and this program is responsible for ensuring that employers that are doing business with the federal g...

Cyber hygiene, CMMC, and ransomware – oh my! – we unpack the state of the current cyber threat landscape with Kurtis Minder, CEO and founder of GroupSense, a digital risk protection agency with expertise across a variety of digital risk arenas. A variety of factors contributed to the steep rise in ransomware attacks across the past several years, including the growth in cryptocurrency and a global...

There are rules of engagement when networking or job searching in the civilian world that service members are just not privy to while supporting the armed forces. It’s a new game, a new challenge, and a new battlefield as they are seeking employment following their military transition. This episode of ClearedCast focuses on the military transition and a few reasons why it’s important to get things...

If an employer sponsors your security clearance, you may wonder if they could require you to stay with them for a certain term of service following obtaining that clearance. While it's rare, it is possible for companies to request specific terms of employment for personnel after obtaining a clearance or an upgrade. It's rare - and may be difficult to enforce thanks to the complexity of employment...

How do you get a a top secret security clearance, or land the interview for the job and break into the federal careers space? The Security Clearance Careers podcast was joined by Monique, who runs a writing and editing consulting company called RedInkdLLC. But before starting her own business, she was able to upgrade from a public trust to a TS / SCI, starting as a greener candidate fresh out of c...

The security field is ever changing. ClearanceJobs chatted with Amy Grossman, security manager at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory. Grossman has worked in the security field since 2005, and she shared more about her experiences in what can be a male-dominated profession, along with lessons learned and advice she gives to others considering starting or growing within a security field. Hosted on Acast. See...