Getting In The Door
David Herbert has an exceedingly depressing dispatch up at NationalJournal.com about how the security clearance process is preventing interns from even starting their jobs at the State Department. This is disastrous for several reasons. First and most obviously, internships are a great way to find motivated candidates for permanent jobs, and if interns never get to start their internships, the State Department never gets to know them, and I can't imagine those interns will ever want to apply for permanent jobs at State. Second, the clearance process is a different part of a job application that most people won't experience but they go job hunting. But the perception that going through clearance requires an extraordinary amount of effort makes it harder to convince potential interns that it's worth even getting in the game. Herbert writes:
"It requires constant checking up and babysitting," said Buniewicz, who recently graduated from Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies. While the State Department doesn't keep statistics on how many of its 1,000 summer interns experience delays, the department certainly accounts for it. Laura Tischler, a State Department spokeswoman, said bureaus accept more interns than they need, expecting that some won't survive the process.
Security clearances are important, there's no question about that. But the simple process of going through one shouldn't be a deciding factor about whether someone can make it into a job or an internship. State--and the federal government as a whole--need to develop resources commensurate to the clearance process's importance so the job can get done.
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Government Executive Editor in Chief Tom Shoop, along with other editors and staff correspondents, take a fresh look at news affecting the management and operations of the federal bureaucracy.
Security clearances need more automation. The way it works is for the applying agency to send the ID data to OPM, who then sends it out for an all-agencies check. The other agencies process the request according to their resources and priorities. The whole thing is only as good as the worst agency process. OPM needs to be able to directly access all agency records--perhaps without viewing details, only for a hit/no hit signal. That would speed the hiring/clearance process enormously.
Ted Bean Posted Thursday, August 27, 2009 12:44 PMDon't we have various security clearance levels? It seems that interns would not be working on top security stuff and would not need a top level clearance. The lower level clearances should not take as long.
Alyssa, GovtExec had an article this summer that the government only converts about 6% of its interns to permanent positions. I don't know what the conversion rate is at State, but if it's that low, it would explain why they are not worried about interns never coming back.
Susan Posted Thursday, August 27, 2009 4:24 PMWhy are we worried about security clearances for summer interns when we have avowed communists in the administration, we have a congress that has no idea of what security is and spends much of its time sticking its tongue out to it opponents, not to mention the aclu taking pictures of cia agents and showing them to terrorists for future use in lawsuits. What a mismanaged administration.....
rick Posted Friday, August 28, 2009 6:54 AM