I’m career local law enforcement and I’ve been seriously looking at a job in this field. I hit the magic day in June and can retire whenever I want to, I just want to have something lined up before I do. I thought I would throw out my qualifications and get an opinion from those already in the field to see if it’s something I have a shot at.
I have 25 years in local law enforcement, 22 of them as a detective. The last five years I’ve supervised a 6 man investigative unit. My agency isn’t big enough, and doesn’t turn over enough, to have a dedicated background investigator for hiring. I’ve done background investigations as needed for about 20 years and still do them, as well as supervise and sign off on other detectives when they’re assigned one. I also do occasional backgrounds for executive positions at other departments.
A few years ago I went through a background investigation sponsored by the FBI for a secret clearance for JTTF information. It involved the NBIB and E-Qip sites and I met with a background investigator at the end. I recently called the security rep I dealt with back then and she told me my clearance is still active as I’m currently serving in the same capacity I was then.
So my main question revolves around something I’ve seen pretty consistently on job announcements in this field, requiring a recent SSIB clearance? Does the process I went through (described above) sound like the same thing they’re asking for? The announcements seem pretty firm on this and so far none of the companies have much guidance or good contact information beyond the job listing.
Also, I’m curious about how the pay typically works with these companies. Is it pure contract work? In other words if you go a month with no new assignments you make nothing, or is there a minimum salary you receive? I appreciate any input. Thanks!
Your clearance is a big olus. Pay to start from what they told me is 20.00 to 25.00 hr to start. But most contract companies are putting new hires on hold. Keep what you have until 100% sure on start date. Good luck!
If you plan on doing contract work you may need some experience before anyone will put you on as an IC. You’ll likely need to go FT in the beginning to get the experience, then switch to 1099 or PT. This is NOT the sort of job anyone just “catches on” to. You really gotta get your hands dirty before you can get the gist of it. Once you get the gist…the changes come out. Good luck, happy hunting.
Thanks for the responses guys, I really appreciate it.
I was hoping to find a full-time gig, so I’m glad to see that’s the best chance of getting on. Unfortunately, right now Securitas was the firm that had an opening in the area I wanted work in. Assuming their hiring freeze is temporary maybe I’ll adopt a wait and see approach.
I wonder if their freeze is related to consolidation of their North American BI operations, workflow related, or an indicator of something worse?
Did you see the recent post about the rumor Keypoint unloading investigators and the NBIB contract? It was by Jennifer Boaz, National Director of Independent Contracts with KeyPoint, who said the rumor’s not true and Keypoint is actually looking for cleared people for positions, including contract investigators. Reach out to her on that other post.
@Md1222 That’s refreshing to hear, IF they ever get around to bringing us on and starting our NIT training… Any idea what would precipitate the sudden hold on starting our training and their lack of communication?
They are a new contractor to this so take that into account your coming in with bumps in the road not everything is perfect, you will see once your in hardly any bumps in the road cause once your in your in. Hang in there they have been on since March this year.
@Md1222 Thank you for the advice and insight. As I read articles from recruiters on signs your being blown off, my alarms started going off. I’ll hold the course then and look for something temporary. I truly appreciate you taking them time to respond.
My pleasure, it is good when you get in. I enjoyed my time in Herndon. Hopefully after 9/30 things can get moving and sorry to hear you and your group has a bump in the road as mentioned. Keep reaching out to hr.
I think you would be a great fit as I have a law enforcement background as well. You do require a bit of a focal shift from criminal focus to one of reasonable background situations. That part was admittedly hard at first. This forum is a fabulous source for the “norm.” Obviously the detective basics of putting an interviewee at ease while carefully observing body language and analyzing answers can reveal much. I make clear I am on their side and they are the only one with skin in the game on their clearance. Their are minimal standards for all categories, but they are reasonable. Make sure they under stand the repercussions in the future for falsifying an SF86. We have lost 7 or 8 employees who weren’t fully honest on their Secret BI, and were much more honest on their TS BI. The discrepancies quickly showed up and caused revocations. So the focus is different but it remains ferreting out information.