INSIDE THE

10 Most Listened to Podcast Episodes

If you paid attention to your Spotify Wrapped list in 2023, there’s a good chance there were some Taylor Swift hits for some of you. While it’s hard to compete with the most-streamed artist worldwide, we had several episodes of Security Cleared Jobs: Who’s Hiring & How in 2023 that were chart-topping for security-cleared job seekers.

If you missed them the first time, be sure to take a listen to our top 10 most played podcast episodes of 2023:

10. Amentum: Diverse Cleared Opportunities Worldwide | Brian Heffernan

“We all want to beat our chests,” says Brian Heffernan, Army veteran and Global Manager – DEI & Military Programs for Amentum. “And we all want to say everything that we’ve done and accomplished. But when you’re building a resume targeted to a specific job, the only thing that company cares about is, what did you do in your job in relation to that job you’re applying for?”

9. BAE Systems: Run Toward Problems, Not Away from Them | David Reynolds

“Retaining top talent really starts even before they walk in the door,” explains David Reynolds, VP in BAE System’s Intelligence & Security sector. “And so even in interviews with candidates, I think it’s important to stress not just what the job is that you’re hiring for, but what a career pathway can look like. We’ve done a lot of work internally on finding those career pathways…How can we create a career pathway to ensure that over the next 10, 15, 20 years, we’re ensuring the top talent gets those experiences, so that they’re positioned to be successful and that we’re positioned to be successful?”

8. Security Clearances: Foreign Influence and Preference | Tony Kuhn, Tully Rinckey

“You don’t ever want to travel through the United States on a foreign passport,” warns Tony Kuhn, Managing Partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC. “This is something that confuses even department counsel occasionally and some adjudicators occasionally. The issue is whether you use that passport to travel to the United States. If you use a foreign passport to travel into the United States, and you own or possess a US passport, you’re showing preference for that foreign country over the United States. And that’s going to be very difficult to overcome or to mitigate.”

7. Peraton: 40k Applications a Month – How Do You Stand Out | Aaron Turner

“We have a Family First Program that focuses on projects that are coming to an end,” shares Aaron Turner, Talent Acquisition Senior Director at Peraton. “The people that are going to be displaced are the most important people to help on their next opportunity. We put an emphasis on putting them first, so that if they apply to roles, or if there are openings within the company that are a fit, we want to make sure that they get viewed and talked to before any external candidates.”

6. Employment Scams in the Cleared Community

“Just listen to yourself,” urges Kris Rides, CEO and co-founder of Tiro Security. “It doesn’t matter how exciting the job is or how badly you actually want that job. If you’ve been laid off, that changes the pressures. Listen to your gut. If something’s telling you that it’s off, then hold back. Wait. All these scams that we’re aware of like the standard phishing scams, they rely on pace, on not giving you a chance to think.”

5. Omega Minds: Interview Process and Questions, a Menu of Cleared Jobs | Alison Flanigan

“What’s something that you learned in this past year that really made you excited,” asks Omega Minds CEO Alison Flanigan. “That helps me understand how that person thinks about continuous growth. And then, what are they thinking about for the next part of their career? I really like to hear what makes people passionate, because that also helps us with our matchmaking process. From there, I like to learn what they do in their spare time. We like to play hard, as well as work hard. Understanding what makes them passionate outside of work, helps me to know where I can align some of the things that we offer at Omega Minds.”

4. Security Clearance Continuous Vetting: What You Need to Know | Ryan Dennis, DCSA

“Security is always too much, until it’s not enough,” explains Ryan Dennis, the Deputy Assistant Director of Continuous Vetting at the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). “I understand the security clearance process is not fun, but it’s important. And if we think about it in context of what happened at the Washington Navy Yard and other events, which have impacted people, property, information and missions, self-reporting and continuous vetting provide the best opportunity for early intervention.”

3. Master Your Personal Introduction

“Include your security clearance when appropriate,” recommends Rachel Bozeman, host of Security Cleared Jobs: Who’s Hiring and How. “It matters friends. You did an awful lot to get it, let’s make sure you highlight it. So while you wouldn’t throw your security clearance around in all conversations, do include it when you’re talking to a recruiter or a hiring manager with a cleared facilities employer.”

2. Lockheed Martin Space: SCIF Life Balance & 1k+ Job Openings | Melissa Foley

“One of the things that we’re working on is SCIF-life balance,” says Melissa Foley, Director of Mission Systems Capabilities for the Mission Solutions Line of Business within Lockheed Martin Space. “Something we’ve done in one of our Colorado offices is, they put a projector or TV where it shows the weather in real-time outside. When you’re walking down the hallway, it’s almost as if you have a window. We’re really looking to try to better bring people to the outside and connecting the outside world to that SCIF life, because it is so important.”

1. BlueHalo: Active Company Culture Results in >50% Referrals | Sarah Williamson

“I’ve always said, you build the best teams inside the building by building the best teams outside the building,” suggests Sarah Williamson, Division Lead for the Intel Sector at BlueHalo. “Who doesn’t want to go to work with their friends every day? Things are hard. The mission is hard. The projects we do are hard. And if you’re doing them with people you enjoy being around and solving those hard missions with, it just makes everything that much better.”

Follow our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms, or find more episodes on ClearedJobs.Net.