Recent studies show a skeptical younger generation, so the CIA has turned up the heat to win over the next generation of recruits. The CIA has an updated its website and increased their social media game, hoping to get candidates to sign on to a year long vetting process. With a generation of candidates who grew up with Jack Bauer from 24 and Jason Bourne, they somehow have to adjust their perspectives to reality. Not only does the CIA have to move past their image issues, they also have to compete for talent with the private sector. With a push for diversity in hiring, the CIA has its eye on increasing its impact in the intelligence community.
Layoffs Impacting the Cleared Industry
| Allegheny Technologies Inc | With a $1.12 billion hit towards the end of 2020, Allegheny Technologies is moving ahead with layoffs in 2021. The commercial airplane ongoing saga and paused defense contracts have placed the Pittsburgh, PA contractor in a leaner year.
“We are optimistic that the worst is behind us and demand will begin to rebound as covid-19 vaccines are increasingly approved and administered around the world,” CEO Bob Wetherbee said in a statement released with the quarterly earnings report. On a call with industry observers and market analysts about Allegheny Technologies Inc’s fourth-quarter earnings, Wetherbee said, “No surprise: We’re glad 2020 is over. It was a challenging year, amplified by significant uncertainty, and yet we made the best of it. Our team persevered and focused on doing the right thing, quickly and decisively, to position ATI to emerge from the crisis stronger, a company focused on aerospace and defense.” |
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Hiring impacting the Cleared Industry
| General Dynamics Electric Boat | General Dynamics Electric Boat has plans to add 2200 jobs. With $39 billion in backlog to get through in Connecticut and Rhode Island, the submarine maker is in hiring mode to get through its largest backlog in history. Increased submarine funding from Congress translates to not only shipyard support hiring, but also engineers and support staff. |
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| Kreative Technologies | Kreative Technologies has plans to create almost 300 more jobs. After just beginning in 2013, the Fairfax County-based, Virginia company is clearly in growth mode, with the support of the state and local community surrounding it. As a small, disadvantaged business, certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program, Kreative Technologies offers information systems and security management for health care, finance, defense, civilian, and commercial markets.
“At Kreative Technologies, we are constantly striving to meet our customers’ missions by transforming their vision into reality, and we empower our clients to shape the future by cultivating creativity and harnessing the power of technology,” said Kreative CEO Adnan Karimi. “Located in the heart of Fairfax, it is critical to our ongoing collaboration to be close to our customer base. The region is well-known for being a hub for tech-savvy talent, both ready and able to take on the challenges of tomorrow. As we continue on our business growth trajectory, we anticipate an expansion in our home base through acquisitions and growing our exceptional relationships with our current clients, while engaging superior talent as a Virginia employer. Kreative has onboarded 38 new employees since our offices closed due to COVID-19 in March 2020. These crucial additions will allow Kreative to deliver even more customer-centric solutions in a region recognized for innovation and dedication to technology.” |
Cleared Employer at Work: Booz Allen
What else keeps clearance-level experts at Booz Allen? They hire for a career, not just a contract, and provide you with room to explore your interests and passions. Booz Allen invests in employees and their careers through training and mentorship, tuition reimbursement, and personalized learning experiences with the goal of helping them grow their careers – and shift the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9upTdes7W-s&feature=emb_logo
Ready to use your security clearance for something meaningful? Explore career opportunities at careers.boozallen.com. Join us. The world can’t wait.
Opportunity to Watch
Recruiting isn’t as straightforward as it used to be. With the U.S. Digital Service (USDS) hiding calls for technologists in the WhiteHouse.gov source code on Inauguration Day, it’s clear that the way to recruit technical talent isn’t done anymore by just posting job openings.
“After the inauguration, we had the most applications within 48 hours than 2017 and 2018 combined,” said Andréa Viza, director of talent at USDS. “We received over 5,000 applications within a 48-hour period.”
Creative recruiting techniques are a hit with the online technology community. Pandemic life has changed so much of the way we operate, but not all of it is bad. Sometimes, situations like we’re currently in can turn up the heat on coming at problems from a different angle. With creative recruiting like the USDS almost unintentional campaign (no one is signing up for responsibility for the decision), recruiters can weed out under-qualified candidates, as well as, locate candidates with a few more soft skills. Show me you can do the job can be more effective than just having a candidate tell you that they can do the job. It also puts them in a real world setting, as opposed to passing a skills test – which will elevate the good test takers in the mix but not necessarily the best candidate for the job.
The CIA has also joined the creative recruiting pool with encouraging Twitter followers to crack a coded puzzle, driving traffic to its career page. Clearly, candidates want to be engaged.
