Hurry up and Wait: Security Clearance Wait Times Still Frustrate Hiring Managers and Candidates
Only 19% of Hiring Managers Benefit from Improved Government Processing Times
DES MOINES, Iowa, Aug. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Practices for recruiting America's security-cleared positions remain unchanged for the majority of hiring managers and recruiters working in government agencies, government contractors, recruiting firms, technology services companies and the defense industry, according to a new survey from ClearanceJobs.com, the leading career network dedicated to matching security-cleared professionals with the best hiring companies.
Despite declines in the government processing times to obtain security clearances, 63 percent of respondents said their recruiting practices have not changed, while 19 percent said improved processing times had sparked changes to recruiting practices, including hiring non-cleared candidates when their firms can afford to wait.
Still, current recruiting practices continue to favor hiring candidates with existing clearances. Today, 17 percent of hiring managers only recruit individuals with active clearances for their open positions that require a clearance, while more than half (56%) noted the majority of professionals must have current clearances. Another 18 percent noted the minority of candidates have active clearances and just nine percent said they have no preference related to security clearance related to their hiring challenges.
"Improved wait times must be accompanied by consistency to substantially change recruiting practices," said Evan Lesser, founder and Managing Director of ClearanceJobs.com. "While we've seen advancements, Top Secret clearances are still taking two to three times as long as Secret clearances for end-to-end processing. Even within clearance levels, hiring managers tell us wait times are haphazard and without rhyme or reason."
Certainty may be in short supply today in the defense industry, but hiring managers whose practices haven't changed are firm in what's needed on processing times. Nearly half (46%) said final clearances would need to be received in one month or less for their firms to evaluate changing their recruiting practices.
Delays in obtaining clearances is not a burden borne only by the employer, as highly qualified applicants withdraw themselves from consideration due to wait times. In fact, nearly half (48%) of hiring managers and recruiters say they've lost great candidates specifically due to wait times.
Methodology
The survey was conducted between July 24, 2012 and July 27, 2012. Participants had to recruit for a position in 2012 that required a security clearance, with 472 hiring managers and recruiters qualifying from government entities, government contractors, recruiting and staffing firms, technology services companies, and defense firms.
Table 1: Has the improvement in processing times changed your recruiting practices related to positions that require security clearance?
| Yes |
19% |
| No |
63% |
| I don't know |
18% |
Table 2: Which answer most accurately describes your current recruiting practices related to positions requiring clearance?
| We only recruit individuals with current, active security clearance |
17% |
| The majority of professionals we recruit have current, active clearance |
56% |
| The minority of professionals we recruit have current, active clearance |
18% |
| We have no preference related to security clearance in our recruitment |
9% |
Table 3: What time frame would final clearance need to be received to change your recruiting practices?
(Only Respondents who indicated no change in recruiting practices)
| One Month or Less |
46% |
| Two Months or Less |
19% |
| Three Months or Less |
13% |
| One Year to Three Months (aggregated) |
12% |
| Other |
10% |
Table 4: Have you lost highly qualified applicants who've withdrawn themselves from consideration for positions due to wait times?
| Yes |
48% |
| No |
43% |
| I don't know |
9% |
About ClearanceJobs.com
ClearanceJobs.com, a Dice Holdings, Inc. service, is the leading Internet-based career network dedicated to matching security-cleared professionals with the best hiring companies searching for new employees. Authorized U.S. government contractors, federal agencies, national laboratories and universities utilize The Cleared Network to quickly and easily find candidates with specific, active security clearance requirements to fill open jobs in a range of disciplines. For more information, please visit www.ClearanceJobs.com
SOURCE ClearanceJobs.com
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