Rebekah has recently accepted a position in Manhattan, New York as a Financial Intelligence Analyst for NY/NJ High Intensity Financial Crime Area (HIFCA) under Homeland Security Investigations. This was entirely coincidental as her previous neighbor in New Brunswick had a connection who is the Director of NY/NJ HIFCA and gave him a recommendation to interview her when a position opened up. She is coming from Arlington, Virginia as a Program Assistant III at the Foreign Service Institute. Rebekah was recommended to FSI by her Graduate Program Director, Eric Davis and started the application process in May of 2019. To summarize the process, it essentially happened in three steps. 1. The phone screening, 2. Qualification interview, and 3. The final panel interview. During this time, she was going through her background check, which was a lengthy one—primarily due to the required Secret Security Clearance. It took about four months from start to finish for this process to complete and for Rebekah to be hired. As for the New York position, Rebekah was only required to submit a resume and attend a panel interview—she will go through the background check process during her employment. The best advice she can offer is to apply anywhere you can as long as it interests you and to keep your options open. Also, make as many connections as you can, because ultimately, those connections are really what help you land a job that can eventually lead to a career. It’s no understatement that it is very difficult to find jobs in our field and at our age, but it is possible if you know the right people and don’t give up on applying.
