The right personality, skills and experience may not be enough to land you that dream job if you’re missing one other crucial piece of the puzzle. Photo: skynesher.
One burning question surfaced for Guy Earnshaw in the years after establishing his recruitment firm, Really Awesome People.
“What’s the biggest challenge hiring managers run into?” he asks.
Spoiler alert: it’s not a lack of talent or employment opportunities.
Bucking trends during the widely reported skills shortage that followed COVID, his team never had problems finding the perfect candidate for a job, nor has there been a lack of jobs for them.
“Time and again, the barrier has been the security clearance,” he says.
It makes sense for a recruitment firm with roots in Canberra, where public sector clients are looking for talent, to reach across NSW, Victoria and Queensland, a breeding ground for qualified candidates with private sector backgrounds. That can be a problem.
“If you’re coming from a capital city outside of the ACT, as so many awesome candidates do, then you’re probably coming from a private sector background and have never needed a security clearance,” Guy says.
“You could be the best possible person for a job – the exact person a government or department needs with the right character, experience and skills – but if you don’t have the security clearance required, it can mean automatic exclusion from consideration.”
Guy Earnshaw says the biggest problem facing the recruitment industry is neither a lack of the perfect candidates nor great employment opportunities. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Really Awesome People’s mission is fiendishly simple: find the most talented people and connect them to jobs they love in an organisation they believe in.
A security clearance has become an increasingly pivotal component of success in that mission.
“It’s even more important these days because, increasingly, our computer systems are less about the information that goes in and more about the people who use them,” Guy says.
“More and more, hiring managers are requiring a pre-existing security clearance for contract roles. It’s a straightforward thing to get – just a licensing process – but it takes six months to a year to complete. So a client might really want you but can’t risk project delays and can’t afford to leave their internal teams swamped in the meantime.
“It’s heartbreaking to see a candidate who’s the perfect fit except for this one thing … so we thought if that’s our biggest problem, let’s fix it.”
Really Awesome People helps candidates initiate or upgrade their Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) security clearance to Baseline, NV1 or NV2 where eligible.
They’ve created a comprehensive guide to walk candidates through the process and also offer a full suite of services to help them on their way wherever they need it.
This includes low-interest loans to pay for the licensing process so that candidates can get on the front foot for the roles they’re made for without the upfront outlay.
“We’re responding to what we think is a market failure in the recruitment industry,” Guy says.
“Governments need clearance to ensure the integrity of every position’s occupant, and we can invest in our really awesome people. It opens up so many doors for them.
“It’s not a revenue stream for us, this is about process improvement because clients are getting a constant stream of the best people, and with a little bit of planning, we have rid them of a barrier. A win-win!”
Contact Really Awesome People for more information.
Original Article published by Dione David on Riotact.
