I am interviewing for a job that requires top secret clearance - anyone here know much about it?

[The Straight Story]

yeah, I googled it already - but I am looking for real input from real people.

What could cause a denial of it? I have no criminal history but my credit history sucks in some ways.

I don't know what all they ask of other people or what they are fishing for. If you have been through this process I would welcome any thoughts on your experience so I know what to expect.

Have to run and get my daughter in bed, but will check back in a spell. I am really nervous about this job but I am confident I can do it. Most I have ever had is an FBI background check when I worked for a bank.

-Thanks!

[Democrat 4 Ever]

1. Don't know how high of a clearance you will need but my daughter

had a FBI investigation that had her neighbors from years ago interviewed. They came to see me, asked me a million questions. Called her grandmother and her sisters. They even went to the subdivision where we lived when she was little and asked around. They checked out past jobs, did a through credit check, wanted to know what clubs she belonged to and other activities. For some reason because she was a rape crisis advocate (she met rape victims at the hospital and stay with them through the whole legal process) concerned the FBI.

She passed and went to work for the Treasury Department at the U. S. Mint building in DC. When she left that job for a position with a contractor for the Mint she went through the same thing all over again because the FBI is a client. (I truly want her job - fantastic pay - much better than a GS rating, works out of her home with clients all over the world, she travels overseas 2-3 times a year and goes to DC, California and Canada on a regular basis.)

My brother and two sons-in-law were all in military intelligence and had a pretty extensive check. And finally, my niece applied for a job with the FBI lab in DC last year. They did a search on her that was very through even though both of her parents are retired Air Force officers and her husband is an Air Force officer working in the Pentagon. (She had lived a lot of her younger life overseas and her background check took over eight months because they checked each place. She attended high school and college in Ohio but apparently they were worried she hung out with unsavory characters as a second grader in Germany. The FBI did ask her who she voted for in the last presidential election and she is just a lowly lab rat working on her Phd! She refused to answer but still got the job. Go figure.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

9. This is typical for Fed's

we go through it every few years -- they send FBI to all of our neighbors and ask about what kind of people we are... It is always a treat.

[LeftyFingerPop]

2. Hello SS, nice to see you...here's some info...

I held a clearance for many years, and here are some of the things you can expect.

1) You will have to complete a bio that is about an inch thick. Be prepared to list all of your past addresses and employers, including dates.

2) Answer all questions honestly to the best of your ability.

3) Credit history is important to them in the following regard. A person who is financially challenged is more likely to succumb to a bribe for information while under financial pressure. Saying this however, nearly all people have had financial difficulties in their lives. Whether your clearance would be at risk would depend on the severity of the problems and whether they are ongoing.

4) Expect them to interview your neighbors and ask them personal questions about your daily habits. This is standard procedure.

Any other questions, please let me know. :hi: :thumbsup:

[Tian Zhuangzhuang]

3. And your posting to this site? D'oh

Here is the funny thing they will interview your neighbors. Have you met your neighbors? Nah me neither. Now they will tell your neighbors that they are FBI and that they have a "few" questions about your comings and goings.

They will not tell your neighbors it's for a job security clearance.

So be prepared to have your neighbors stare at you funny and hide their children from you until you explain.


Hope this helps. (and yes I know this from experience.)

[swimboy]

4. And I imagine they will read everything you have posted here

and compare it to the biographical information you submit.

[DBoon]

6. not necessarily

but you may need to disclose membership in all organizations you have joined since adulthood.

[DBoon]

5. In some cases a lifestyle polygraph is required

I have heard the questions can be intrusive and rather strange.

I believe that having close relatives who are non-citizens (or of non-US birth) is a big issue. One guy I know had his clearance held up for a long time because his fiancee was Australian

I only have a secret clearance, so I am not speaking from experience

[Connonym]

7. I took a polygraph once

as a preemployment screening and it's all intrusive and rather strange. Creepy actually.

[Pierre.Suave]

8. I could tell you, but...

since you dont have the clearance yet, I would have to kill you...:spank:

jk, I had one a long time ago for the military and they will ask everyone questions about you.

[DS1]

10. I know you're already talking about it too much

[Midlodemocrat]

11. .

:thumbsup:

[LibDemAlways]

12. Spouse has to go through it every five years.

It's incredibly invasive. They dig into everything. Spouse says the guy who conducts the investigation is always a moron. He comes around and asks the neighbors a lot of questions. Last time he called spouse back to find out why we didn't know our neighbors. Spouse told him because we have nothing in common with said neighbors and everyone in this neighborhood pretty much keeps to themselves. He didn't like that answer.

Also, you have to provide names of friends and acquaintences they can interview. Spouse provided name and contact info including addresses. Moron investigator couldn't read, went to a wrong house, and badgered a stranger about why she claimed not to know us.

In spouse's line of work they look unfavorably on anyone who has sought any type of counseling, including marriage counseling. Also, any medical issues could present a problem.

They will run a credit check on you and you will have to explain anything that doesn't reflect a perfect record.

It's all largely bullshit, and spouse believes the bureaucracy exists just as make-work for idiots who couldn't get a real job. Good luck. By the time the procedure is over, you will feel like you need a long, hot shower.

[noamnety]

13. the guy conducting it IS always a moron.

They will sit out in the rain for a week solid waiting for a reference to appear at their house, then get mad at you because the neighbor "moved."

When you explain that they were on vacation for a week, and ask why they didn't just call and schedule an appointment instead of wasting a week and taking a salary for sitting in front of someone's house all that time, they'll tell you they didn't have their phone number.

Me: "You're an investigator. You couldn't figure out to look them up in the phone book?"
Them: silence.

-------------------

This was rivaled by the scene where they decided they had to interview my coworker in private, with no one else there, for her clearance.

Me, answering the phone at work: "You will need to talk to her through a relay center. She's deaf.
Them: "We can't use a relay service, and you can't set up an appointment for her, we need to do that with her directly.
Me: Okay, fine then. (Handing phone to deaf woman, rolling my eyes.)

Them: talking.
Her: silence. She can't hear them. She's deaf.

-----------------------
The actual interview where they met with her in person, refused a translator, and realized "she's deaf" was too funny.

I would love to respect them, but the ones I ran into were complete goobers.

[Xithras]

14. It really depends on the level of clearance you're getting.

I went through it seven or eight years ago when I was consulting on a project for United Defense (BAE Systems). For me it was just a brief interview, a criminal history check, and a credit check, followed by this cheesy video on protecting important information and the legal penalties for violating or spreading national secrets (here's a suggestion...don't ever post anything secret on DU, or you'll spend lots of time in an undersized concrete room). I then had to take and pass a test. Nobody ever talked to my neighbors or my family.

I was suprised at the ease, but it was later explained to me that the thoroughness of the check is dependent on what you're accessing and for how long. People with permanent access to critical secret documents get a thorough check. People like me, who were short term consultants getting access to secret information that would eventually be made public anyway get a lesser check (I helped to develop an in-vehicle maintenance tracking system for an M113 variant that was never produced).