You shake hands and the interviewer tells you to expect a job offer letter. Pending, he says, on the results of your drug screening and your success in obtaining a security clearance. He then refers you to another office to begin that process.

Your prospective employer, a private company working under contract with the Federal Government, is filling positions that require some level of security clearance as part and parcel of the job requirements. The point person for that process is the Security Officer. He or she will start you on completing the Electronic Questionnaire for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) or Standard Form 86.

Private contractors are subject to the same clearance procedures as direct government employees. While the process is the same, you may notice some minor differences in procedure, if you’ve worked directly for the Federal Government in the past. Before moving your security clearance forward, the contractor must inform their government customer – the sponsoring agency of the security clearance – that you require access to classified materials. Once the contractor receives the final determination, the security clearance process can be formally initiated.

As stated before, an individual cannot obtain a security clearance on his or her own. A government contractor also can’t hire an individual for cleared work unless he or she is working in support of a federal agency or has an agency-sanctioned need to access classified information.

Prepare for the on-line completion of this form before sitting down at the computer. E-QIP preparations will ensure the fastest investigation with the fewest complications. Start on paper and ask your future employer’s Security Officer for help. Prepare, prepare, prepare. How to Prepare for a Security Clearance Background Investigation is another resource for tips on the process.

Who pays for a background check? Usually it is the federal agency contracting with your prospective employer. Less than one percent of federal contractors pay for their own checks. It can be costly, too. The highest level clearances cost about $5,000 while the most basic can be done for under $500.

What Can I Do to Speed Up the Security Clearance Process? is an article that spells out nine significant areas that could hold up a clearance and offers tips to avoid delays. If you complete the e-QIP accurately and completely, it will take less time than if investigators have to interview you or chase down missing information. Your future employer’s  Security Officer will have the best feel for the time involved.

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Charles Simmins brings thirty years of accounting and management experience to his coverage of the news. An upstate New Yorker, he is a freelance journalist, former volunteer firefighter and EMT, and is owned by a wife and four cats.