News + Career Advice
Stay current on security-cleared job search tips, trends, and news.
Public Trust and Marijuana: Read the SF-85P Before Assuming State Law Controls
Public Trust review and marijuana use intersect in the SF-85P's federal-law questions: state permission alone does not answer them. The form asks about illegal drug use and activity under federal law, including conduct permitted by a state. Build an accurate history, then ask the… more
Expired Clearance Recovery: When Reactivation Becomes a New Investigation
If your security clearance has expired, renewing it starts with a sponsoring employer's review of your prior record, not a personal renewal application. The next step may be acceptance of existing eligibility, additional investigative checks or a new eligibility determination. �… more
Keeping a Clearance Current During a Job Search: What You Can and Cannot Do
You cannot keep security clearance access active merely by continuing your job search. Access must end when the need for it ends. What you can do is complete your departure correctly, preserve permitted contact and date information, and give a prospective employer an accurate acc… more
Reading Clearance Acronyms on Defense Job Postings Without Self-Screening Out
TS/SCI means Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information. On a defense job posting, it combines a clearance level with an intelligence access requirement; it does not tell you, by itself, whether you must already hold the required eligibility to apply. Read the timing language… more
Yankee White Clearance: What Presidential Support Jobs Actually Require
Yankee White clearance is a common name for screening tied to Department of Defense presidential-support duties. The governing instruction calls Yankee White an administrative nickname used on investigative requests. It is not a classification level above Top Secret, and holding … more