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Security Cleared Jobs: Who’s Hiring & How is brought to you by ClearedJobs.Net and hosted by Kathleen Smith and Rachel Bozeman. Our April guests included: Kirsten Renner, head of recruiting for the National Security Portfolio at Accenture Federal Services, Mike Barnum, Senior Recruiter at Raytheon Technologies, and Bill Branstetter, Director of Recruiting at 9^th Way Insignia.

April was an exciting month for us. We launched our podcast with a terrific group of guests who delivered valuable information for cleared job seekers. If you’re navigating the job market, or plan to start job hunting in the near future, you should be tuning in to hear this timely information. Informed job seekers quickly turn the term “seeker” into “employee.”

Accenture Federal Services | Kirsten Renner

Kirsten Renner, whose employer Novetta was recently acquired by Accenture Federal Services (AFS), talks about why she is excited for the merger. After almost 20 years in the industry she is very impressed with the long tenure of AFS employees. In talking with new colleagues, she discovered that answers to her query, “Why have you stayed so long?”, were pretty consistent. Employees were drawn to the core values of the company. For anyone who has ever been disappointed by an employer’s failure to accomplish their mission, this makes AFS a company to seek out.

Kirsten is always recruiting for a full scope of opportunities, but mentions the need for software engineers, systems engineers, data scientists, field service engineers – with availabilities all over the world. Really. Stateside positions are in demand in the DC area, North Carolina, Tampa, St. Louis, San Antonio, and Boston. Globally you might find the right position in Qatar, Hawaii or Iraq. If this hits your skills hotspot or your geographic dream, be sure to send your resume to Kirsten.

If you are transitioning from the military, Kirsten can’t say enough good things about the SkillBridge program. SkillBridge offers opportunities for military personnel to participate in training and development with industry employers who are seeking high-quality skills often developed through military service. You can get more information at their website by clicking here.

Listen to the episode here >>>

Raytheon Technologies | Mike Barnum

Great opportunities are waiting for talented candidates at Raytheon Technologies. Mike Barnum tells us that they will be hiring 5,000 – 7,000 new employees this year. Wow! He promises ample opportunity to learn and grow and encourages candidates not to get discouraged but to keep applying. If the first attempt wasn’t a success, he believes the right opportunity might be coming along just behind it.

Mike talks about the importance of coming prepared to an interview. Pull together a list of 10-15 questions, and queue up the five most important ones. Candidates need to be prepared to impress with good questions relating to the work, and to rehearse selling themselves. Think about those abilities that can’t be taught, like hard work, adaptability, and communication skills.

Listen to the episode here >>>

9^th Way Insignia | Bill Branstetter

Bill Branstetter talks passionately about the importance of a great resume; not just an okay or even good resume, but one that lands you on the top of the stack. While many candidates cut and paste from their job descriptions, they are not setting themselves apart from the pack. Successful job seekers catch a recruiter’s eye when they feature accomplishments. Use numbers to detail the size of budget you manage, or the amount of servers you are responsible for, or maybe how many end-users you support. Dazzle with specific, quantifiable accomplishments.

There are on-going conversations in the recruiting world about listing salary ranges on job postings. Bill is in favor of this. He believes this signals to candidates that the employer is transparent. If this transparency is not apparent job seekers may wonder what are they are hiding. Listing no salary range also puts job seekers in an awkward position. If they come in too high with their expectations, they can price themselves out of a job. If they come in too low, they can be leaving money on the table. Posting a compensation range eliminates some of the tap dancing.

Listen to the episode here >>>

Stay Tuned for More Episodes

If you have more questions about job hunting in the world of cleared jobs, then keep tuning in to our weekly podcast. The world of recruitment is constantly shifting and we will be bringing you guests that will keep you informed and motivated with timely information. Opportunities? Tips? Connections? We’ve got you covered.

Don’t miss out on new episodes filled with invaluable career intel each Wednesday. You can access each episode, notes about the show, transcripts and more via https://clearedjobs.net/podcast. Or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and other popular podcast directories.