My TS/SCI timeline for a DoD contractor thus far is as follows:
CJO 4/24
SF-86 Submitted 5/24
Interview w/ investigator 12/24
Investigation finalized and sent to adjudication 3/25
According to FSO, status has been “In Process” since
Here’s my dilemma. I was laid off from my previous DoD contractor job that didn’t require clearance at the end of April due to funding drying up. I really want the new cleared job but have since received another job offer in a different industry. It’s a great offer but less convenient and comes with some other negatives. I obviously need to make money and, after reading some of the stories here, have no idea how long adjudication will take. Everyone, including the new non-DoD company suggested taking the job until clearance is finalized, but the contractor said they would be legally required to pull my clearance application if I take the other job, even temporarily. If I ever want to go for a cleared job I’ll have to start all over.
Are some companies just more strict about following this rule? I have read accounts (obviously anecdotal) by others in my position who were encouraged by the FSO to accept another temporary job until their clearance came through. Is this really a legal issue for the contractor?
Never heard of that before. Are you sure you fully understood their response? That sounds like what they would say only if your other job would be a conflict of interest (like same role with same customer but for a different company).
Yes, I actually called back to clarify the reason they would have to withdraw the application. I asked if it was a legal issue and they said yes, though the way they answered left it a bit ambiguous. As I reflect on it I did most of the talking and they didn’t offer up any real clarity on what the legality would be.
One of the things they initially suggested was to have the new company pick up the clearance application in DISS so all wouldn’t be lost, but then said the security office wasn’t entirely comfortable with that when I called back to clarify.
The other offer is not with a competitor. Parts of the business handle DoD contracts but the job I was offered is in a core business and not contract funded. Totally unrelated to the space in which the cleared job exists. It doesn’t require clearance either so they weren’t willing to pick up the application.
I have read many other threads between this site and the security clearance subreddit of people in somewhat similar circumstances taking other jobs while they wait so I’m leaning more towards the idea that this is a tactic. I’m not convinced their FSOs are particularly experienced with this process as they told me to do something on my SF-86 that is a common issue that causes investigation delays, which it did in my case. Also, it turns out they normally don’t hire uncleared candidates.
You said other job was in a different industry which led me to believe non-cleared/non-gov job. Now it sounds like you would need to get the same clearance for this other job? If so, then they will probably tell the customer you no longer need this clearance. Then you would need to re-apply for a clearance with the other company. They SOMETIMES forget or don’t get to it before the process completes and you get it anyway. But don’t count on that.
No, I’m sorry. I put a lot in there and wasn’t clear.
First offer I’ve been waiting on for over a year with company A requires clearance.
Second offer from company B is in a different industry and does not require clearance. I asked company B if they would be willing to pick up the clearance application and hold it for me, but they said they can’t do it since the position doesn’t require clearance.
That is correct. “parking” a clearance is technically not allowed. However! But back to my original point. I’ve never heard of a contract company saying this before. You can ABSOLUTELY get another non-cleared job while you wait for the clearance process to complete. MOST contract companies encourage this practice knowing that the process can take over a year. In fact, (unless I’m remembering wrong) you can even apply for 2 cleared jobs that require different clearance types and have both BIs running concurrently. and still get another non-cleared job while you wait for both.
You can do two things at once here. You can work a non cleared job while you wait on adjudication but once adjudicated you must accept that position to keep the clearance.
Bottom line, if you can wait for the cleared job and don’t need money in the meantime, great! If you can’t, then take this other job while you wait for the clearance and just report it to the sec officer. Don’t even bother telling HR. It’s none of their beeswax until they give you a FJO and start date.
Well, the other weird thing was that it seemed like the FSO was the one who claimed I couldn’t take another job. The internal recruiter was just sort of relaying the info.
I may reach out to the hiring manager to get his take. We had good rapport and he isn’t the corporate type so I think he may have some good insight.
Recruiters will say whatever they think will help them get their bonuses or commissions. If you still aren’t sure what to do and you know the name of the FSO, call him/her directly. Otherwise, go up the HR chain.