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NEWS | June 7, 2018

USCYBERCOM is hiring, more to come

By U.S. Cyber Comand Public Affairs U.S. Cyber Command

U.S. Cyber Command teamed up with the Air Force Personnel Center for the command’s first-ever public hiring event May 8 in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The event, co-hosted by USCYBERCOM and AFPC’s Air Force Civilian Service talent acquisitions team, featured on-site resume reviews and interviews, with multiple qualified individuals receiving job offers. Over 400 people attended the event with 500 more candidates registering online.

USCYBERCOM hiring managers pre-screened more than 300 resumes, resulting in day-of interviews for 70 people and 18 on-the-spot job offers. Positions hired include those for cyber operations, acquisitions and support. Officials expect more offers to come as they review the remaining resumes.

The two organizations followed up at the Fort Meade Community Job Fair on May 23 held here. At the event, USCYBERCOM recruiters talked to prospective candidates and collected over 200 resumes to consider for current and future positions. Two other cyber-related organizations, Joint Force Headquarters – Department of Defense Information Network (JFHQ-DoDIN) and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), also recruited at the job fair.

“These were an enormous success for the command and an important milestone as we just elevated to a combatant command on May 4,” said Air Force Col. Bill Norton, USCYBERCOM director of manpower and personnel. “This is absolutely huge for the command, as the competition of cyber talent is hyper-competitive.”

The Cyber Excepted Service


The question for many job seekers familiar with applying for federal jobs would be “How is this even possible?” The answer would be the Cyber Excepted Service (CES).

The CES gives hiring managers the discretion to exercise direct-hire authority and make on-the-spot job offers through agile recruitment sourcing outside the traditional confines of the USAJobs platform.

Authorized in the Fiscal 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, the CES granted the Secretary of Defense the authority to establish Title 10 civilian cyber workforce to carry out the responsibilities of USCYBERCOM and other organizations within the DoD.

This initiative includes USCYBERCOM, JFHQ-DoDIN, DoD Chief Information Officer for Cybersecurity, DISA and the service cyber components. The CES maintains Title 5 provisions such as appeal rights, attained career status, protections, federal benefits, retirement, and performance management.

Under the CES, USCYBERCOM now brings on new hires under the excepted service (GG grades) instead of the competitive service (GS grade). Experience is highly valued in the CES, which transcends the typical time-based approach in the competitive service. Promotions in the CES are qualification-based with no time-grade requirements required for advancement.

Not Done with Hiring

USCYBERCOM is far from finished with the CES hiring.

Looking forward, USCYBERCOM will be recruiting at the San Antonio CyberTexas Job Fair on Aug. 14, again on Fort Meade on Sept. 12, and in Baltimore at the Cyber Maryland Job Fair on Oct. 9.

“The cyber field is in-demand and growing daily. The CES offers a fast-tracked route to join USCYBERCOM and jump into a dynamic operating environment with unique challenges,” said Norton.

To register or learn more about hiring events, please visit https://www.afciviliancareers.com or email your resume or questions to cyber_recruiting@cybercom.mil.