INSIDE THE 
NEWS + ADVICE
June Podcast Roundup: Loads of Job Search Intel and Clearance What Ifs Answered
Security Cleared Jobs: Who’s Hiring & How is brought to you by ClearedJobs.Net and hosted by Kathleen Smith and Rachel Bozeman. Our June guests included:
- Jen Riemenschneider, Talent Acquisition Director for the SAIC Space Business Unit
- Shannon Donovan, Partner with BDO Public Sector
- Kate Copley, Manager of Talent Acquisition at Odyssey Systems Consulting Group
- Anthony Kuhn, Managing Partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC
- Jada Fowler, Technical Recruiter with DTSI
With three months of podcasts under our belt, we feel like we are hitting our stride with guests who deliver great information for cleared candidates about their career goals. In June we learned about positions open across the nation, the growing opportunities for remote work, and how to navigate a variety of security clearance issues. Tune in to fine tune your career path.
SAIC Space Business Unit | Jen Riemenschneider
At the SAIC Business Unit, Jen recruits for a full range of cleared positions from virtual training and unmanned flight, to software and robotics. They also work with missions at NASA and the US Space Force. Three key accounts were brought together so employees have an opportunity to work across multiple customers, whether it is for a long-term assignment or search support. A plus for candidates seeking variety is that the company continues to transform.
Jen feels the company’s core values are vital to the way they conduct business. Those values are: Passion, Innovation, Inclusion, Integrity and Empowerment. These values keep the company accountable.
Retention is important at SAIC so they have improved their compensation package to attract and retain the best talent. They offer teleworking and hybrid options, a four-day work week or other alternative work schedules. They have also increased family leave, offering 240 hours for a life event. Even more innovative is their back-up employee childcare and elder care opportunities.
In 2021, Forbes names SAIC as a best place for veterans to work and they have over 6,000 military veterans on staff. If you want to be included in that circle, you can reach out to Jen through LinkedIn. She tries to reply quickly to all inquiries.
BDO Public Sector | Shannon Donovan
Seven years ago, Shannon joined BDO Public Sector and helped them expand to include an intelligence component into the practice. Not just defense intelligence, but also work for civilian agencies. They have a footprint with dozens of federal clients, including the Pentagon, with a presence across all federal verticals: civilian, defense, and intel.
Their hiring includes clearance levels from Public Trust all the way through Top Secret clearance and they do have the flexibility to clear folks or even upgrade. Shannon says he is seeing a lot more clients being open to putting people forward.
All new employees at BDO are provided with a career advisor. This is a senior person who will work with the new recruit to help navigate their growth/direction through the years. Shannon says the company wants employees to think of BDO as the place to build their career. This role gives employees someone to confide in and get honest feedback.
If BDO sounds like the place for you, please know that Shannon wants to see candidates that display impact – not just activity, but rather what was the impact of that activity. Be prepared to talk about what you contributed, not just professionally but also in your community. He can be reached via LinkedIn.
Odyssey Systems Consulting Group | Kate Copley
What Kate likes about her role at Odyssey is that though they are a small company they have their fingers in a little bit of everything. She likes talking with candidates to discuss their journey and how she can offer a diversified portfolio of contracts, everything from special ops to medical research and development to avionics engineers. Program managers, engineers, and cyber sec roles, too!
Odyssey supports 53 sites across the globe. If you have your eye on a certain geographic location, Kate probably has an opportunity for you.
Kate likes working with vets transitioning back into the private sector, helping these candidates find the right fit. If she doesn’t have something, she often will refer candidates to mission partners so they can be successful in their second career. Be sure to stay in touch. You can find Odyssey opportunities on their website at odysseyconsult.com, on LinkedIn or on ClearedJobs.Net.
Tully Rinckey PLLC | Anthony Kuhn
In this special security-clearance focused episode, Anthony Kuhn talks about his work at Tully Rinckey PLLC practicing military and national security law. He talks about continuous evaluation and its impact.
Anthony suggests responding to all Statements of Reason in writing because you get to control the narrative and you are creating a written record of mitigating the issues.
Involved in a bar fight, a DUI or a one-night stand with a foreign national? Then you’ve got to listen to this episode!
Anthony has extensive experience in navigating clearance suspensions and revocations. You can reach him at [email protected].
Diversified Technical Services, Inc. | Jada Fowler
DTSI started their company with small projects for the Department of Interior and over the years have built relationships with the Army, Navy, the FAA, and 30 years later is still doing software development for the Air Force. Jada recruits IT positions across the nation in a variety of cleared roles, many of them working remotely.
Wanting to make onboarding a good experience, Jada stays in constant communication with candidates. After hiring, their program, First Four, touches base with new recruits every 30-60-90 days to make sure the onboarding is smooth. It also gives the new employee an opportunity for open, honest communication.
DTSI targets emerging tech and relevant tech because that creates growth opportunities for candidates. They work hard to secure contracts that will offer candidates the next best step in their career. If IT is your cleared career path, reach out to Jada either through LinkedIn or email her at [email protected].
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.
