News + Career Advice
Stay current on security-cleared job search tips, trends, and news.
What Sponsoring a Clearance Actually Costs a Company
A Top Secret clearance starts with a Tier 5 background investigation, and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency bills that investigation at $5,355 for a non-DoD agency in fiscal 2025. The number is public and precise. It is also close to useless as a hiring budget, … more
Scattered Castles vs. DISS: The Two Databases That Decide If You Get the Cleared Job
For employersHiring cleared professionals?Post your cleared req where security-cleared candidates already search.Post a Cleared JobFor job seekersHolding a clearance?Browse cleared roles from employers hiring right now.Browse Cleared JobsThe two databases that decide whether your… more
VEVRAA and the Mandatory Job Listing: Why Your Cleared Reqs Must Go to a Veteran-Facing Service
On January 21, 2025, Executive Order 14173 revoked Executive Order 11246, the decades-old rule that had required federal contractors to run race- and sex-based affirmative action programs. Compliance teams read the headline and drew a wide conclusion: the Office of Federal Contra… more
Interim Security Clearance: How It Works, How Long It Takes, and Why It Gets Denied
Federal regulation caps an interim security clearance at one year. Not one year of active work, but one year of validity before the government has to finish the full background investigation or formally extend the temporary grant. That ceiling, written into 32 CFR 117.10, tells y… more
The DoD Hiring Freeze: What It Actually Does (and Does Not Do) to Contractor Hiring
At noon on January 20, 2025, every federal civilian position that sat vacant in the executive branch stopped being fillable. A presidential memorandum froze those billets in place and barred agencies from creating new ones. Defense contractors kept hiring the next morning. Key ta… more