I have 20 years of experience in my field with 7 years directly in defense/aerospace. However, all of my defense experience has been on programs that do not require clearance. I recently lost my job and there are many open NG positions in my area. But, other than jobs for recent college grads, they all require an active clearance.
Will NG not sponsor incoming experienced professionals for positions that require clearance?
Is hard I understand, but you should say you are are a freelance engineer instead of being unemployed. I hope everything turned turned well for you. Best luck
So I finally found a posting for an experienced position at NG that didn't require an active clearance. Now I think I know why NG doesn't sponsor experienced professionals for clearances: according to the NG recruiter, the process takes up to 11 months. I can't see many hiring managers willing to wait around for 11 months before their new employee shows up for their first day of work.
Also, I have to say, I'm not sure WTF NG is thinking when they hire these recruiters. The recruiter who contacted me was some 25-year old kid a few years out of college who couldn't get a job in her major (finance). I guess she just thought she had a knack for recruiting. She had no idea about any engineering terminology and her favorite catchphrase was, "I understand where you're coming from" (must have said that about 10 times in a 20-minute phone screen).
Her first question to me was, "tell me about your current job responsibilities." Obviously, she didn't bother to read my resume or candidate profile, as I clearly stated in both that I was currently unemployed. As soon as I told her that (about three minutes into the interview), she was looking for any excuse to get off the phone. I don't think she expected me to give her answers like, "yes, I will have no problem passing a background check because of A, B, and C", and, "yes, I am willing to wait up to 11 months for the completion of the background check."