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Cleared Intel Recruiting with Navy Veteran Marisol Maloney

Navy veteran and former Nurse Corps officer turned intel professional and recruiter, Marisol Maloney joins Albert to pull back the curtain on cleared hiring. From must have requirements to ATS myths, she explains exactly how veterans and career changers can position themselves for success. Marisol also runs Secret Squirrel Consulting LLC, where she coaches veterans on resumes, LinkedIn, and transitions.

What you’ll learn

• When cleared roles really require 100 percent of the must haves and when 80 percent can still work
• How knockout questions in applications trigger instant rejections
• Why tailoring beats tricks like pasting the JD in white font
• How to translate military experience and avoid over scrubbing intel work
• The right way to use LinkedIn so recruiters actually call you
• Interview prep that wins offers: STAR storytelling, humility, and self awareness
• Smart use of certs and training for project management, cyber, and intel paths
• How to track applications and versions so you are ready when the call comes
• Ghosting clarified: what it is and what it is not
• Veteran specific tips on clearances, polys, relocation, and post service reset

Highlights

• Marisol’s path: emergency nursing officer to intel, to speechwriter for a four star, to analyst, then recruiter.
• Why she started Secret Squirrel Consulting and how coaching led to a client getting an interview and offer in days.
• Cleared hiring reality: read the job description closely. Many DoD contracts require the clearance level, degree, and years of experience as written.
• Knockout mechanics: application questions like Do you have a TS SCI with poly can auto reject.
• Tailoring example: if a JD wants hot dog experience, show the metric for hot dog outcomes. Swap to hamburger for the next role.
• ATS myth busting: keyword graders and white text tricks are not the win. Being qualified and clearly communicating it is.
• Recruiter screen value: it fills gaps a resume misses and lets an advocate push you forward.
• Interview fails to avoid: arrogance, winging it, claiming you never failed your team, not knowing your own resume.
• Application strategy: fewer targeted applications beat 2000 spray and pray submissions. Track every JD and the exact resume you used.
• Certifications: choose what JDs repeatedly ask for. Do not collect certs you will not use.
• Veteran transition: take care of health, research roles, do informational interviews, and be realistic about market pay and doer vs leader expectations.
• Location tradeoffs: clearances often tie to place. Be ready to relocate or pivot to non cleared work if needed.
• Networking and follow ups: engage with recruiters’ content, ask good questions, and follow up even after rejection.

Resources mentioned

• Onward to Opportunity
• Vets in Tech
• Vets2Industry
• ACT NOW Education
• Coursera and similar low cost learning options

About Marisol

(3) Marisol Maloney | LinkedIn

Calendly - 🐿 Secret Squirrel Consulting 🐿

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