Archives October 2021

Getting a security clearance can increase your opportunity as an IT professional.

A security clearance can help whether you’re looking for a temporary contract position or long-term employment. Acquiring a security clearance can broaden your job opportunities, raise your earning potential, and allow you to gain access to high-profile positions.

What is a Security Clearance?

A security clearance is a status granted to select individuals by the federal government that permits them to access classified information or locations.

In general, security clearances measure whether an individual is a loyal U.S. citizen who is honest, trustworthy, mentally sound, and not involved in criminal activity or foreign intelligence efforts.

Individuals cannot start the security clearance application process on their own. A government agency must sponsor an individual to begin the process.

When Do You Need a Security Clearance?

Federal and state employees, military personnel, and government contractors are some of the kinds of workers who typically receive a clearance to do their jobs.

An active clearance may be required to be considered at all for certain jobs. Many positions require you to obtain one as soon as you have a conditional offer in hand.

What Are the Types of Security Clearances?

There are three tiers of security clearances: confidential, secret, and top secret.

• Confidential security clearances permit access to information that, if disclosed, may cause damage to national security.
• Secret security clearances allow access to information that could cause serious damage.
• Top secret security clearances are the highest level: they permit access to information that could cause exceptionally grave damage to U.S. security.

How Do You Get a Security Clearance?

You will be invited to fill out an application to seek a clearance, once you are sponsored by a government agency.

If the application is accepted, it triggers the investigation stage. Government agents will conduct a background check. This check includes a close examination of current and past relatives, employers, neighbors, friends, and other contacts.

Agents will evaluate the findings for approval and next steps.

Get Cleared for Your Next Job with ABBTECH

Working with ABBTECH can be an easy step in the right direction. ABBTECH can help you gain the clearance you need and access the best employment opportunities possible.

ABBTECH is a staffing agency in the Washington, D.C. area that connects IT personnel to jobs in government and other industries. We are prepared to help you get cleared for your next position.

A different way to diversify your business’s recruitment and hiring program is blind hiring.

In 2021, many businesses choose to implement some version of this process. The goal being to remove bias from hiring and diversifying their employee pools. Read on to learn about what this practice is and whether it is the best choice for your company.

How Does Blind Hiring Work?

Certain pieces of demographic and personal information about individual job candidates can be hidden using software or third-party entities. This process most often occurs during the initial screening.

The process operates on the belief that by hiding details such as a candidate’s name, age, gender, address, and educational background, businesses can eliminate the subtle forms of discrimination that commonly occur.

Pros to Blind Hiring

A huge benefit of working without demographic information is that it can filter out clear sources of bias among recruiters and hiring managers. Whether aware of it or not, hiring teams often have an idea of a “good candidate” in mind. This bias can lead to a homogenized workplace.

The problem is widely reported in tech, a field historically dominated by men. Studies show that 48% of women in STEM professions encounter discrimination in the hiring and recruitment process.

A blind hiring process gives companies an opportunity to takes a skills-based approach to hiring talent. This allows employers to narrow their field of candidates based on aptitude alone, rather than degrees or previous work experience.

Cons to Blind Hiring

While blind hiring can present certain advantages to a company, it also has its drawbacks.

Even hiding major demographic information won’t necessarily stop hiring teams from consciously or subconsciously making biased presumptions. These presumptions are based on the content of an applicant’s resume or cover letter.

The process can be implemented easily during resume review. Once a candidate has reached the interview stage it can be difficult to maintain an unbiased viewpoint. Most companies are forced to revert to their usual method.

Is it Right for Your Business?

Every business’s hiring process is different. Blind hiring helps one business achieve its goals; while being much less effective for another.

At the end of the day, weighing the pros and cons of this process is critical to determining if it’s going to be a good fit for your company.

Build Your Team with ABBTECH

Recruitment, hiring, and onboarding are all key to the success of your business. ABBTECH will help you bring in talent that strengthens your workforce. This you the time of vetting candidates on your own.

ABBTECH helps you discover and hire qualified tech professionals to fill your open positions. Contact ABBTECH to learn how our talent acquisition services can work with your business.

Considering leaving your quitting Your Job and starting fresh elsewhere? It’s not just you. In a recent survey by Bankrate of people in the U.S. workforce, 55% of respondents said they were likely to search for a new job in the next twelve months. Here are 5 questions to ask yourself before walking out.

Once the thought of leaving your job has taken root, it can be tempting to start the process right away. However, there are several key questions you should ask yourself before taking the leap.

Can I Afford to Quit Now?

When leaving your job, it is ideal to have enough savings to cover several months’ expenses. If it’s possible that changing jobs will lead to a pay cut, you will also need to determine how to adjust your budget to accommodate.

Is There Anything That Can Make Me Stay?

Before you put in your notice, it’s worth asking yourself whether there is anything that would convince you to stay at your current workplace.

If a pay raise, a schedule change, or a shift in work environment could convince you to stay, you may want to consider negotiating with your company to improve your current situation instead of heading into unknown territory.

Where Will I Go From Here?

Any career coach will tell you that lining up a new job before you quit your current one is the best practice. This helps ensure you won’t take a significant financial hit or acquire a gap on your resume due to a longer-than-expected job search process.

For those willing to risk quitting without a set plan, it’s advisable to research the options available in your field of choice. Consider whether you’ll need additional training to land your ideal career and whether you’ll have good opportunities to choose from.

How Can I Leave on Good Terms?

No matter how you feel about your job, it’s best to be polite and considerate when quitting. Besides being a professional courtesy to your manager and coworkers, it will serve you well if you ever need your former employer as a professional reference,

Giving at least two weeks’ notice before leaving is standard, depending on your job, you may want to give more. You can also make a good impression by offering to train someone to take your spot or document your work processes to ease the transition.

ABBTECH is your Job Search Partner

Whether you are looking to take the next step on your current career path or searching for a fresh start in a different field, ABBTECH can help!  Our staffing and recruiting team will connect you to positions in businesses, organizations, and government agencies of all sizes.

Throughout your job search, ABBTECH will provide the support, assistance, and advice you need to ensure success in finding your next position.