The Impact of Military Recruiting Challenges on the Future Cleared Candidate Pool

The U.S. military is experiencing recruiting challenges, and that means the next 10-20 years could have a smaller cleared candidate pool. Now, I’m not saying you can only get a security clearance by serving in the military because you can certainly gain one if you have an in demand skillset and find an employer that is willing to sponsor.

The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) was recently under scrutiny regarding recruitment goals. A member of the House Armed Services Committee questioned Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro last week regarding the Navy’s strategy to address its recruitment challenges. This comes after the Navy failed to meet its recruitment targets for the first time in fiscal year 2023.

The ongoing struggles to attract new recruits have led to an anticipated shortfall of around 6,700 sailors against the Navy’s goal of just over 40,000 new recruits for this FY. While the other branches achieved at least 90% of their recruitment objectives in the first half of FY 2024, the U.S. Navy fell short, reaching less than 70% of its recruitment targets during that period.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LIFE OUTSIDE THE MILITARY AS A RECRUITMENT TOOL

Military influencers are nothing new, but the importance of highlighting the ability to concurrently serve in the U.S. military AND have a life outside of it is key to reaching new talent. As the daughter of an RN, I had zero idea about what life in the military looked like as I was so removed from what military families experienced. For all I knew, life in the military didn’t mean it was just your employer, it meant you were shackled singing “first to fight for the right and to build a nation’s might” before sleeping in the barracks with other soldiers and never see your family. Perhaps many who don’t have family serving believe the same for the U.S. Navy (except on a big boat).

Enter influencers like Military Fresh Network, a platform created to show and prove to the world that service members can be sailors, yet remain unique individuals, or Kellie Hall Sbrocchi, U.S. Naval Academy graduate, current U.S. Navy HR officer, and host of the MissUnderstood Podcast. Both platforms showcase that you can truly do both – serve in the U.S. Navy, but also not let that dictate your entire identity.

Just as important as these content creators, recruiters need to push this narrative for their own selfish reasons… if the U.S. Armed Forces (one of the biggest sponsors of security clearances) has less and less transitioning out each year, that’s a smaller candidate pool to tap into for contractor staffing.

CONTRACT RECRUITERS MUST ALSO BECOME CONTENT CREATORS

As the labor market continues to foster a candidate pool that is passively looking for work (yawn, it’s been this way the last decade or so), recruiters should really understand that there’s value in engaging a candidate, even if you don’t make a hire. This means being a content creator, recruitment marketer, or expert salesperson on your company, and posting non-jobs content is not just “okay” but preferred in this tight market.

Evan Lesser says, “Getting to know people, gaining their trust, learning about them more personally; Those are the human ways we gain opportunities, via interpersonal connections.”

We need to demote and destroy the transactional nature of job hunting and recruiting, and hoping to change the perception that recruiters don’t just call and email… They must be content creators. Because engagement on content is the best candidate lead gen tool in such a passive market.

Be the recruiter that is a catalyst who will turn content visions into victories, and hiring challenges into triumphs.