Some recruiters in the national security space also serve as active-duty military spouses or mentors, and being a part of the military family ecosystem can influence the way they recruit in a positive way, but also lend insight into some of the no-nos that happen in the cleared networking space – perhaps due to educational gaps that service members are unaware of when reaching out to recruiters; things that are just not taught in Transition Assistance Programs (TAP).
Tips from a Technical REcruiter
Jessica Reynolds currently serves as a technical recruiter in the cleared space, but also supports the U.S. Navy as a Command Ombudsman, transition consultant, and a mentor for our friends at Hiring our Heroes. With her experience as a military spouse and working with service members, we dive into some tips to help guide those transitioning and veterans that might be navigating the job seeking journey on this episode of ClearedCast.
ENSURE YOU ARE REACHING OUT TO THE CORRECT RECRUITER
Some candidates, especially those transitioning out of the military, may not know the difference between different types of recruiters in the civilian workforce. Some recruiters who have only supported small contractors or just one company may also not know the difference. Doing the research on the type of recruiter and what requisitions they handle will help you to craft a message that saves time and energy and will help you land on the next step in the hiring process.
- Staffing Recruiter: Staffing agency recruiters identify and match candidates with clients that have openings outside of the staffing agency.
- Sourcing Specialist: While every recruiter can source resumes, sourcing specialists takes this recruiting function to a whole new level.
- Full Life-cycle Recruiter: Handles sourcing, phone screens, interviewing, and offer for a variety of roles in the organization.
- Executive Recruiter: These TA types are handling what is called the “Hidden Job Market”; usually c-suite level executives that positions aren’t posted far and wide.
ClearanceJobs makes this part of the job seeking process easy, where some recruiters are listed under requisitions on the platform.
TOP RECRUITING MYTHS THAT SERVICE MEMBERS BELIEVE
It’s easy to fall for the myths and conspiracy theories out there. Here are two myths that service members believe.
1. Recruiters are always trying to lowball candidates.
This common misconception couldn’t be further from the truth. Lowballing a candidate is not something easily done in a market with a low cleared talent pool. Recruiters are NEVER choosing the salary offered, and staffing recruiters actually make less if they lowball you because commissions are based on a candidate’s salary offered.
2. The ATS is eating your resume.
Recruiters at some of the largest government contractors agree that their ATS doesn’t employ AI capabilities that are rejecting resumes based on lack of keywords. If companies were to do this, they would be missing out on qualified talent. Reynolds notes that most of the time a candidate is immediately receiving a rejection email, it’s due to the candidate answering knock-out questions incorrectly.
For more information on the military transition, guidance for mil spouses, or anything regarding the cleared job search you can visit news.clearancejobs.com.
