I am currently making a career change and see BI as a potential first step into the field. Since January of this year, I’ve applied for more than 18 BI jobs across 3 of the major contractors (SCIS, CACI, and ISN). I’ve not been given any consideration for every single one. In many cases, my application is no longer considered within days of submitting.
What is the issue here? Do the contractors only look at applicants who live in the city the position is posted for? Do they only look at applicants with current clearances? Though, for example, CACI says must be able to obtain a clearance. I take it to mean that a clearance is not currently required of an applicant. Am I incorrect here?
I more than qualify for the basic job requirements that are listed for these entry-level positions. (Anyone who holds a bachelors degree and several years of work experience would.) I am curious as to what the deal is in not receiving any consideration for any of these positions.
And the funny thing is, these positions are re-posted over and over and over. What’s the deal?
Same here. I applied to 7-8 entry-level positions across multiple contractors and was not asked to interview for any. I have a BS, many years work experience, and even have a recent favorable SSBI, so they wouldn’t even need to do a BI on me. My only theory is they deduced from my SSBI and no active clearance that I’m adjudicated for a position at a gov agency (who ordered the SSBI) and they think I’ll leave the job soon after I start to take a different job.
You do not need a clearance to become a BI, most do not have one to start. Like any job, most people that apply will not get the job. If it’s something you’re interested, keep applying. What cities are you applying to? It’s possible that they have more qualified applicants. Many BIs have prior military or law enforcement experience. Though I will say that 18 applications and no hits seems very odd. Have you applied to other positions recently?
I’ve applied for multiple other positions, not just BI jobs. Though I think getting a BI job will be one of the easiest routes to enter the security field.
I’ve noticed three of the recent CACI jobs I’ve applied for, and have been declined selection for, have been re-posted. They must be pretty picky, despite their basic qualifications listing.
A contractor called Perspecta (formerly known as KeyPoint) is hiring for BI in my area. Curious to try them and see how they respond.
Have you received a call back yet? If not, where you able to find the reason? I applied and was accepted a month later. I was able to pick from FTE or contractor.
I did receive a call back from Perspecta. Have not heard a word from CSRA, SCIS, ISN Corp. (none of those four even sent an email saying “thank you, but no”). CACI declines me for every position I’ve applied with them, and continues to re-post most of them. Odd.
With Perspecta, I made it to the in-person interview (this is one step beyond the “Video Interview”). I declined any further progress on the interview process past that point, as the interviewer clearly did not want to be there, was very grouchy and borderline rude in their manner, and when I asked questions regarding the job (i.e., Benefits, time off, where is the training, overtime expectations, etc.) the interviewer answered all of my questions with, “I don’t know”.
Either the interviewer was incredibly stupid (not the case, I looked up that interviewer across social media accounts and they had worked for Perspecta/KeyPoint for more than 6 years - they would know the answers), or Perspecta had told the interviewer to not answer certain questions from applicants. Too may red flags for me. And the $17/hr. wage is pitiful in relation to the cost of living in the city I had applied to.
It starts out at $17.34 an hour. Benefits include vacation time, 401k, tuition assistance etc. I’ve enjoyed my time at KGS/Perspecta so far. Can’t complain too much.
Word of advice… stay away from Perspecta. If you want to get into the BI field, get on Linkedin if you aren’t already, get in contact with a recruiter that is hiring for one of those top companies. Let them know what you are looking for. So many applications go across their desks, they don’t really look into all of them, or so I’ve been told. I think they look at applicants sent to them by recruiters first. Try that route before giving into Perspecta. If you cant find any other way into the field, go to Perspecta as a last resort just to get your first year in. Then switch companies as soon as possible.
I can’t speak for everyone who has worked for Perspecta but I’ve enjoyed my time with them. I’ve worked way worse jobs and to be honest I thought I was a tiny bit in over my head when I first started well over a year ago. The work load did seem crazy but once you get into a good groove it’s easily manageable and numbers are easy to hit. The flexible schedule and working from home is a huge plus, as I’ve actively been looking for other jobs now that I have some investigative experience under my belt. Although, I haven’t been able to find anything as flexible as this job yet. I recently turned down an investigative position last week because the commute was too long and there was no flexibility in the schedule. Plus when I went for an interview, all the other investigators looked miserable, stuck in their offices.
I have been a BI for years. My advice to you: Increase your skills and possibly continue your education in technology. If you ever want to leave this position, there are not many jobs out there that you can transfer these skills, unless you are younger and plan on using this experience in your resume for an 1811 position in the future. I am in the middle of a career change myself, trying to get out of the BI world. I recently graduated with my Master’s Degree in Digital Forensics and Cyber Investigation. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a job yet due to not yet having my IT certifications, which I am working on. So my advice to your, go into technology, obtain your certifications and go that route. If I could do it all over again, this is the path I would have taken. I would stay away from becoming a Background Investigator. It will suck the life out of you. Good luck!
Its not what you know, its who you know. I’m an AF veteran, have a BS in cyber sec, and have held a TS, secret, BI, MBI and NACI, and I have been turned down as well. I have around 20 years experience in physical security and cyber combined. Maybe you’re not tailoring your resume for key words based on the job posting. Applicant tracking systems are horrible. You are better off joining a group on meetup.com and networking with group members.
The moderator will not let me answer this question. I guess they don’t like my answer lol. Anyway, I have that avatar because it server as a trigger for the left wing psychopaths.