How do I prepare for a secret clearance interview?

What kind of questions are asked during a security clearance interview?

How do I pass a security clearance interview?

What happens during secret clearance interview?

Investigators will seek data about you from federal databases, including those run by the military, FBI and IRS. Your credit is checked. Investigators contact local law enforcement agencies where you lived and worked during the last five years. Investigators corroborate your date and place of birth.

What disqualifies you from secret clearance?

You were dishonorably discharged from the military. You are currently involved in illegal drug use. You have been judged as mentally incompetent or mentally incapacitated by a mental health professional. You have had a clearance revoked for security reasons.

How to Prepare for Security Clearance Interview | Federal Background Check | Get a Federal Job

Do they interview friends for secret clearance?

An investigator may show up to your current employers office. Not sure about your neighbors. I was interviewed by an investigator because I was listed as an associate or friend of a Soldier obtaining a Top Secret Clearance. So friends may be interviewed.

What are red flags for security clearance?

A criminal arrest, financial bankruptcy, unreported foreign travel, drug abuse, mishandling of classified information, serious mental health disease, etc., could result in removal from access, if the government knew.

What does a secret clearance ask?

Credit and criminal history checks will be conducted on all applicants. For a Top Secret security clearance, the background investigation includes additional record checks which can verify citizenship for the applicant and family members, verification of birth, education, employment history, and military history.

How long is a security clearance interview?

The security clearance interview itself tends to last approximately one to two hours, although the duration varies depending on the difficulty of the case. Usually, just one investigator is assigned for the personal interview, but in some cases there can be two investigators.

Is secret clearance hard to get?

Those who have gone through the security clearance process understand the significant headaches involved in both the initial background investigation as well as periodic reinvestigations. Obtaining a security clearance is no easy task, and not everyone who applies will be granted access.

How do you answer security clearance questions?

ClearanceJobs always recommends answering the question that is being asked of you fully and truthfully. If one misdemeanor is all you have on your record from a few years ago, remember that time passed and positive patterns in terms of behavior are mitigating factors.

Who gets interviewed for secret clearance?

For a secret clearance in a national security position, the investigation requires agents to interview people who have lived or worked with the applicant at some point in the past seven years, or sometimes farther back.

What are they looking for in a security clearance?

A security clearance is designed to determine eligibility for access to classified national security information and entails an evaluation of whether an individual is a security threat (e.g., is the person likely to reveal classified information to a foreign government?).

Do they tell you why you fail security clearance?

Presidential Executive Order 12968 requires that denied applicants be provided with a written explanation of their denial and a chance to request a review.

What should I say in a security interview?

Please explain what your responsibilities were in your last security role. How have your previous experiences prepared you for this role? What is your greatest strength as a security officer? What is your greatest weakness as a security officer?

What are the 4 steps for a security clearance?

Although the security clearance process involves a number of stages, the key steps to obtaining and maintaining a security clearance are pre-investigation, investigation, adjudication, and reinvestigation.

Does everyone get interviewed for a security clearance?

The answer – no, not standard protocol. But it's also not out of the ordinary. A number of things can trigger an interview as a part of a Secret clearance investigation.

Do security clearances check Internet history?

Emails, Internet Histories & Other Virtual Assets

Although security clearance background checks can be intensely thorough, the government can't view your emails, Internet browsing history, hard drive data, and other virtual assets without a subpoena or warrant.

Can family members affect security clearance?

Hardly. Previous questions have included if a spouse being listed on the sex offender registry for a decade-old arrest or if a jail stint would affect the applicant's security clearance. Those issues would likely only be an issue of the applicant was involved in some way.

What percentage of people get denied security clearance?

But don't lose heart – 20-30% of all interim security clearances are denied, but that is vastly different than the figure of final clearance denials, which hovers around 1%. Your interim Top Secret security clearance may be denied for a number of reasons.

Does a secret clearance contact current employer?

It is a requirement of a background investigation that your current employer be contacted. We must verify your employment data and make other inquiries concerning your background. If you are a Federal employee, it may be that your current employer needs you to have an investigation for the work you do.

Do references get contacted for secret clearance?

References are less likely to be contacted for a Secret security clearance, but if there are issues, references may be contacted to verify issues. Likewise, if you're less likely to need a personnel subject interview for a Secret clearance determination – unless there are issues an investigator needs to clarify.

How many references do you need for secret clearance?

4 People You Should List as References on Your Security Clearance Application. Like any other application, those applying for security clearance need references—people who can vouch for not just your work ethic, but also your trustworthiness and your likelihood of trying to overthrow the government.

What happens after an interview for security clearance?

Once you complete the the questionnaire, the document is sent to the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) DCSA is responsible for verifying the information and performing the actual background investigation. The level of investigation depends upon the level of access to be granted.

Who makes decision on security clearance?

The Department of Defense provides most background checks and makes fitness decisions about federal personnel and contractors. The Department of Homeland Security generally provides secret clearance to state, local, private sector, territorial, and tribal entities. Governors receive top secret clearance.