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NEWS + ADVICE
Our May Podcasts: Four Recruiters and Great Intel
Security Cleared Jobs: Who’s Hiring & How is brought to you by ClearedJobs.Net and hosted by Kathleen Smith and Rachel Bozeman. Our May guests included: Meg Duba, talent acquisition professional with Idaho National Laboratory; Joshua Ewell, Director of Human Resources at LSINC; Kitty Maves, Technical Recruiter and Talent Management Leader with GeoLogics; and Amy Rau, Director of Recruiting for Shield Consulting Solutions.
With our second month of podcasts complete, our excitement grows as we deliver new information that is beneficial for cleared job seekers. Our guests continue to bring timely details on opportunities that are available and tips to make your search more productive. These conversations can assist with targeting your job-hunting and help you land the job of your dreams.
Idaho National Laboratory | Meg Duba
Meg is living proof that failing at something can be a good thing. But she’s quick to point out that she manages to fail in the right direction. When something doesn’t work, it’s usually for a good reason – you move on to better opportunities. Meg has been at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for four years and loves it. It’s contagious when a recruiter loves the company they work for.
INL as an employer is like a mix of working for the government and working for a private company. Meg recruits typically for cyber security jobs that focus on industrial control systems, SCADA and cyber physical systems.
If you’ve got a Secret or Top Secret those clearances easily transfer to a DOE L or Q clearance, which INL requires. Not to worry, they have a department that helps you slide smoothly through the process.
And, wow, the relocation package is out of this world, including no dollar cap. Once Meg gets someone on the phone and walks them through the work they do at the lab and their mission, it’s easy to get people to come to Idaho. INL will coordinate household shipping that includes cars and motorcycles, there is a real estate partner that will manage your home sale or buy you out of your lease, and the per diem is amazingly generous. When can you start?
LSINC | Joshua Ewell
LSINC is a defense contractor based in Huntsville, AL and as the Director of HR, recruiting is one of Joshua’s responsibilities. It’s is a woman-owned business that discovered the need for consulting services and they now work with organizations like the Missile Defense Agency, the FDA and NASA.
Joshua advocates for having a plan when you step out of uniform. Ask yourself, “What do you want to do when you grow up? Have a plan and have fun through the transition.” Be prepared, and when you interview, ask about everything. You especially should want to know if your contract allows for escalation. Are there increases in compensation or opportunities for advancement? Be sure you ask and understand how the contract works.
Tips for transitioning include: you are not your title. Don’t just focus on what you have done but look at the skills you have and how to apply those to your next career. The road may be bumpy but your time in service will bolster you. Adapt, overcome, and just push through.
GeoLogics | Kitty Maves
Kitty has worked in a variety of industries but in her role at GeoLogics she helps clients in the fields of space and intelligence, mostly classified roles. Many of the positions deal with safeguarding current world events. Also, operational roles from architect to systems administrator. Many positions are one-year contracts, but some are longer.
GeoLogics has opportunities in Colorado, Dallas, and DC. Heads up: their remote positions are often filled within 12 hours. If working remote is your goal, be prepared to jump on these opportunities.
Kitty thinks there are advantages to working for a subcontractor, sometimes including the ability to get paid for the hours you work rather than on an exempt level with a flat salary that doesn’t pay for additional hours. Other perks might be offered or negotiated. Flexibility is a plus and subcontract work can be good experience used as a career stepping stone. This might be the path for you.
Shield Consulting Solutions | Amy Rau
Shield is a veteran-owned small business that supports a variety of contracts that include IT infrastructure, systems administration, engineering to software development, and everything in between. All their work is within the Fort Meade customer space in direct support of the Maryland customer. Positions are based in Linthicum, Laurel, Columbia – all pretty much within a 15-minute radius of the main campus.
Amy loves that Shield is so transparent with candidates taking away the guess work. They lay out the job requirements and how much they can pay. Labor categories are really important with the Maryland customer. It comes down to: does the candidate have the right clearance and can they meet the labor category requirements?
You don’t have to feel weird or hide the fact you might be talking to other employers when you’re chatting with Amy. Transparency and honesty are Amy’s bread and butter. This dynamic helps to lay out the details so candidates can decide if it’s a good fit and the right opportunity for them to pursue. Time to run with the ball.
Tune In for More Episodes
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 ways to contact each recruiter via https://clearedjobs.net/podcast. Or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and other popular podcast directories.
