The pandemic changed the game when it comes to hybrid teleworking opportunities within national security, but is there ever a fully remote opportunity when you’re working with classified information? Likely not, with professionals having the option to telework, but needing to travel onsite to a SCIF to get the job done.
Candidates are complaining that recruiters are advertising roles as 100% remote, but candidates must be based in a specific city. If in-person meetings are required, then it is most certainly not fully remote.
Advertising an Open Billet as Fully Remote When It Isn’t
If recruiters are trying to pull a bait and switch by luring in candidates to the interview process, only to learn that they must be able to travel for the job, they may tarnish their reputation as not being fully transparent in job descriptions.
Here are a few tips when you are advertising your opportunities that may have a remote work component:
- Advertise an open billet as remote but add in the travel percentage in the job details: “Fully” remote means something different than “mostly” remote. If a monthly or quarterly meeting is required at the contractor HQ, remote with 25% travel required may be more appropriate. If candidates will be required to go into a SCIF 3 days a week, note that explicitly in the job description.
- Payroll or tax purposes for requiring candidates in a particular state: Some contractors may want candidates from a state due to time zone preferences or compensation – which is often tied to where job seekers live regardless of its remote. For example, high cost of living areas vs. low may have different salary band options that your leadership wants you to work within.
- Corporate hiring vs. billable recruiting: If you are a small HUBZone (historically underutilized business zone) business, perhaps you are trying to make your 35% required numbers of employees residing in one of these areas. Be forthright about the regional areas you are looking to hire in and get creative in how you list that requirement or source candidates.
Fully remote gigs are few and far between in this industry. Cleared candidates likely know that, so there is no reason to try and lie about it to receive more applications. If a candidate takes a “fully remote job” and is told it is changing to a hybrid structure just before the start date, you’ll probably have to start back at the recruiting drawing board to backfill their slot anyway.
THE CLEARED RECRUITING CHRONICLES: YOUR WEEKLY DoD RECRUITING TIPS TO OUT COMPETE THE NEXT NATIONAL SECURITY STAFFER.
