NETWORKING
It means everything to have a good alliance with someone who knows their business, so they can help you strategize and know your market... A counterpart who's trying to make your organization better or more efficient and not just sell you something.LEYLA BALASKAS RECRUITING DIRECTOR, GENERAL DYNAMICS IT
The intelligence division of GDIT provides enterprise solutions and services including cloud solutions, big data analytics, and network engineering. They’re sourcing in highly sought-after fields with strong commercial sector competition. And all professionals must have an active federal security clearance.
“ClearanceJobs is the biggest database we have access to for cleared personnel and where we find the most candidates,” said Leyla Balaskas, recruiting director at General Dynamics IT.
“We don’t really use a lot of other sites, and when we do, we have to go searching [for clearance and salary data],” said Balaskas.
She notes that on ClearanceJobs candidates are required to disclose their exact clearance level including expiration date, along with a salary range. Because that information is much more likely to be accurate compared to other sites, it makes it much easier to make a hire.
“It’s more trusted,” she said.
Many GDIT recruiters are ‘purple unicorn hunters’ – searching for those incredibly hard to source candidates. On ClearanceJobs, a sourcing team can easily see when the candidate was last online as well as information about who on their team may have already contacted them. That’s incredibly helpful in a large team working across multiple time zones.
Because GDIT has such a large sourcing team with a high volume of open positions at any given time, the ability to quickly scan resume data is important, noted Balaskas. On ClearanceJobs, candidate information is more comprehensive and also readily available at the top of the profile – clearance, salary, when the candidate was in the military or what department he or she may have worked in – that’s critical information for a sourcing team looking to qualify leads, she said.
Recruiters use various ClearanceJobs tools – including groups, broadcast messaging and other communications – to keep candidates ‘warm.’
“We can communicate and keep them up to date about opportunities at the same time,” said Balaskas. “It’s a way of keeping them interested.”
Unlike traditional job boards, Balaskas noted that with ClearanceJobs, she has been able to build a relationship.
“I love my [sales] rep,” she noted. “It means everything to have a good alliance with someone who knows their business, so they can help you strategize and know your market…A counterpart who’s trying to make your organization better or more efficient and not just sell you something.”