INSIDE THE

Interview with Recruiting Manager Duane Everson, DCCA

My background is in both agency as well as corporate recruiting, and I hold a TS/SCI with a poly, which makes me a bit unique in the recruiting community. I also manage two full-time recruiters at our headquarters in Ellicott City, Maryland. DCCA was founded in 1982 and we currently have over 200 employees in five offices including our headquarters office in Ellicott City; Santa Maria, CA; Columbia, MD; Columbus, OH; and Columbia, SC.

DCCA has both cleared contracts supporting the Intel and DoD Community as well as non-cleared Health IT contracts supporting Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). That diversity brings strength to our organization and is what attracted me to join the company over five years ago.

Why DCCA

Beyond the aforementioned stability and due to the breadth of our contracts, that diversity also allows an individual to grow within the company. In fact, we have a number of folks who have been with DCCA for 20 plus years. That’s amazing, and a testament to the quality and stability of DCCA as an employer.

If you want to learn more about why DCCA is a great place to work, we’re hosting an IT Hiring Event at Café Joe in Annapolis Junction, MD on Thursday, March 15 from 3pm – 6pm. We’re be there to fill current positions as well as to build relationships with professionals in the cleared community for our future openings. You can RSVP by sending a resume to [email protected].

Our event on March 15^th is an opportunity to meet face-to-face with some of our great hiring managers who can provide as much insight as possible on our contracts and what’s happening in the future with DCCA. It’s also a chance to meet and talk to some of our senior management team.

The DCCA hiring process

As is typical we start with a phone-screen interview, talking about the opportunity with our company and the candidate’s skill set, salary requirements, etc.

The next step is an in-person interview with the Program Manager and/or Technical Team at DCCA. If we’re the prime for the opportunity, within 48 hours we should have the interview evaluation back from the hiring manager, letting us know whether or not they would like to proceed with an offer. If we’re the sub on an opportunity, then there could be another interview with the prime contractor. Then we’d proceed with the normal clearance processing.

New employee orientation and onboarding is conducted to ensure all employees are properly educated and welcomed into the DCCA culture and feel a valued part of the team. Typically, orientations are conducted on Mondays, however, we have the flexibility to start professionals on any day of the work week.

What types of cleared positions do you fill

We have positions from Public Trust, Secret, Top Secret, TS/SCI to TS/SCI with a poly. A lot of Secret work is done in support of our Air Force customer in Santa Maria, CA. For some of our CMS/non-cleared positions the job seeker must be able to obtain a Public Trust clearance, which is open to both U.S. Citizens and U.S. Permanent Residents.

Our cleared jobs are primarily IT positions with a mix of the above-referenced clearance types. That includes Software Engineers at all levels with Java and J2EE; Oracle DBAs; System Administrators, Systems Engineers, Software Test Engineers, Network Engineers. Help Desk (Tiers I, II and III), and Business Analysts, just to name a few skills sets.

Based on customer needs and in certain instances, we have the ability to clear highly qualified individuals, based on skill set. For example, if a talented Software Engineer has a solid Java/J2EE background, based on our customer’s approval, we’d then be able to consider clearing the professional.  In this particular case, the individual would be provided a contingent offer until the clearance process is completed, which could take a year or sometimes longer.

Some of the more challenging positions for us to fill in the cleared environment include Software Engineers with Java J2EE skills. We have a contract that allows someone with a TS/SCI with a poly and some technical ability to start in an entry-level Help Desk position.

View DCCA jobs on ClearedJobs.Net

Where do you find most of your new hires

Upfront and honest communication is the hallmark of the DCCA recruiting philosophy, and most of our new hires come from referrals through the cleared community.

During the hiring process we appreciate when candidates keep us updated if they receive other offers. In turn we keep them in the loop through every step in the hiring process.

Letting someone know they didn’t get the job is as important as letting them know they did get the job. For example, when candidates interview with us, we call them whether they are offered a position or not. I’ve gotten just as many referrals from people who didn’t get the job as with people that we did hire.

Treat people as you’d like to be treated throughout the hiring process and once they are on board. That’s our goal at DCCA.