Will My Employer Find Out if I’ve Applied Somewhere Else?

Ever experienced the whiplash of a current employer learning that you are seeking (professional) love in other places? Talk about some emotional injury. Jealous tendencies of creating work productivity issues out of thin air, your manager giving you the cold shoulder, or maybe some serious documentation of a performance improvement plan (PIP) put in place when you feel like it may not be warranted.

As you submit your application for a security clearance, is there any discretion to the organization who has gainfully employed you?

One ClearanceJobsBlog subscriber asks:

“Had a quick question: I’m doing the process for IRS MBS investigation which is already going to take probably +6 months. The job is contingent on completing this process successfully. So my question is when they get my current employer info and reach out to them this will tip my employer off that I’m potentially leaving, but knowing it will take months for the investigation to complete what if they let me go over knowing I’m potentially leaving? Then I’m jobless waiting on the investigation to finish and of course have to seek new employment during the wait time. Seems like I may need to decline this opportunity if I have to take on all those risks. It’d be different if I was at least working with them while the process was on-going.”

For those wondering, this is regarding the Money Services Business (MSB) division of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). I actually used to staff their IT talent as a contractor.

Will My Employer Find Out if I’ve Applied Somewhere Else?

Like other DoD and IC components, as you fill out either Standard Form for a job requiring a security clearance, you submit to the fact that investigators are going to reach out to your current company to verify employment. I thought this was pretty hard and fast, and frankly, everyone SHOULD expect this communication. However, the State Department does note, “If you do not want your current employer contacted, you need to advise the Clearance Coordinator who contacts you regarding the completion of your SF-86, and/or annotate it on the SF-86 under that employment entry. While efforts will be made to work with you before contacting any current employment references, it is required that your current employment is verified.”

Understand that if you leave off (really, lie about) former employment, you’re simply making the job of your background investigator harder. The absence of an employment verification will result in your case being adjudicated without satisfying investigative standards. Any agency would be compelled to err on the side of national security and deny access.

Advice? Lindy Kyzer says it well, “The best advice is generally to be up front. If you’re working in a non-government position, you can relay how you applied for this other position (possibly months ago), and that you are still awaiting a successful background investigation – which may or may not lead to a job, or you accepting the job.”

If you think your current employer will retaliate under the timeframe of the investigation, get documentation of any written warnings, PIPs, etc. An investigator on another thread says, “If the HR rep makes up stories they need show in writing what action was taken. If they cannot produce a write up? It didn’t happen. Relax. Human nature makes us all petty at times. I would recommend sitting with your boss and talking it out…but I understand if the relationship isn’t there. Been there.”