Expert: John Fuller - 9/6/2007

Question
Hello,
Can you tell me if there are any data sources (other than Census data) which may be used for government contractors required to have an AA Plan in place which may be more specific with regards to market availability analysis for DOD security cleared candidates? Our government contracts require that our candidates for all open positions already possess an active DOD security clearance upon hire. Therefore, our pool of available candidates with regards to doing a market availability analysis is actually much much smaller than would be reflected in a general Census data pool.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you may be able to provide.

Kim Hines
Human Resources Department
EOIR Technologies
khines@eoir.com
(703) 490-5292 ext. 12


Answer
Hi Kim,

I know from working in a Fortune 500 company that had many cleared employees, recruiting employees already possessing a DoD security clearance was constantly a challenge.  Census data can be extremely frustrating because it does not contain what specialized industries such as yours require.  There are other avenues to use such as a recruiting firm specializing in the cleared area but the best possible avenue to use is to go to one of the DOL's OFCCP Regional Compliance Assistance Activities

http://www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp/Calendars/caevents.htm

The networking there will be an invaluable source of information for you.  

One major area that you can look into immediately is to be involved with all military bases transitional programs for exiting active duty Veterans.  From your area code I know that you are in close proximity to numerous bases, Fort Belvoir, Bolling Air Force, etc., that have already cleared veterans seeking positions at their transition briefings.  You can actually go to the base and network with officials there at the transition office.  That is the best possible source of already cleared individuals.  As an extension, contact the veterans organizations, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, etc., who can also refer eligible cleared veterans who have just left service recently.

Hope this helps.  If you have another question, let me know.

John