Word: processing
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Many who have been through the process have expressed frustration and disillusionment, citing lack of transparency and unreasonable length as main reasons for dissatisfaction. Because it is difficult to predict how long the clearance process may take for a particular recruit, the candidate is reduced to being a powerless bystander, unable to plan a personal life and career, waiting indefinitely for a thumbs-up from the Agency. For those currently holding jobs and looking for a career change into the Agency the hope for a quiet job search is blown as the investigators require interviews from the candidate's current...
Another dilemma for the Agency is that the better qualified the candidate, the lengthier the clearance process becomes. It would be easy to clear Andy Taylor or Barney Fife, as they spent most of their lives in Mayberry. But for the well-traveled, internationally-connected and ultimately more valuable candidate, the CIA has to devote greater time and resources to scrutinizing the past for possible complications. Moreover, with the Aldrich Ames betrayal to the KGB and allegations of espionage by nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee, the CIA may be pressured to conduct even more comprehensive checks on potential employees...
However justified, the lengthy process is not attractive to many Harvard students who want to hit the ground running--whether it is for a summer internship or a permanent job. With promises of international travel and lucrative compensation, the likes of Goldman Sachs and McKinsey overshadow the CIA in terms of commercial appeal. Two things that the CIA relied on to stay competitive--the recruit's commitment to public service and ambition to impact the world--are eroding fast as disillusionment with the recruiting process fills the void...
...Agency's "biggest recruiting drive since the end of the Cold War." Thus, it would serve the CIA well to review its practice of the polygraph (a 30-year CIA veteran expressed to me his dismay over its use) and find ways to efficiently conduct the security clearance process (a new recruit even had to postpone his wedding due to uncertain timeline...
After an application process that involved submitting an essay, a plan of study and four recommendations, as well as undergoing lengthy interviews, the students were notified of their selection by phone last Monday...