How to Effectively Display a Security Clearance on Resume

What is a security clearance?

Security clearance is a government-issued status that allows an individual access to classified information or areas. Most roles that require this authorization are either in the military or government, but it isn’t exclusive. Clearances apply to high-ranking officials but are also necessary for anyone with access to sensitive information or facilities, such as cleaning crew, cooks, and any other professional who works closely with confidential data.

This thorough screening process includes a deep background check and verifies someone’s trustworthiness, responsibility, and dependableness.

Types of security clearances

Security clearances are sorted into tiers, each with their own access privileges. The three most common types are federal government clearance levels, including:

• Confidential: The lowest tier of clearance, offering access to sensitive information that carries a moderate risk.
• Secret: The middle tier of clearance, providing access to data that holds a serious risk.
• Top Secret: The highest clearance tier, which offers access to information that carries a severe risk, with the potential to cause irreparable damage to security.

Each tier requires a different vetting process, each more strict than the last. This background check involves researching career and personal history, financial background, and credit.

Importance of security clearances

Security clearance protects sensitive data and classified information, ensuring it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, cause panic, or expose countries to detrimental cyber threats. It’s an essential part of many recruitment processes, including government agencies and military services. 

Deciding to include security clearance on your resume

A resume with security clearance is helpful to some applications and essential to others. Even with unrelated roles, adding your security clearance shows reliability and trustworthiness, much like a declaration in a resume.

Let’s go over these top considerations to help you decide whether or not to list your security clearance.

When to list a security clearance on your resume

Building a security clearance resume is best when it’s relevant to the job post you’re targeting. Including your security clearance when applying to government jobs shows your relevance and may even open you up to unique opportunities beyond other candidates.

This is also important when transferring from one classified role to another, so ensure to mention it if you’re applying to a new role within your current company.

Mentioning security clearance on resumes for unrelated roles isn’t the top choice for listing this information, but it can highlight desirable competencies and soft skills, like integrity.

Factors to consider before including security clearance

Consider the role you’re applying for and whether or not you have comparable security clearance. Do you have tier one clearance, and the role requires tier three? It may not be a good match.

Read the job description carefully to determine which level the employer needs and which type of information you’ll be handling. Let’s say you’re looking at an attorney role that regularly works on tier-one classified cases – this is a great time to include your clearance on your lawyer resume.

How to determine which level you need

Consider the type of classified information involved and whether your security level is relevant. Research the job role and company, and review the job description to give you more insights.

If you can’t discover which level you need, play it safe and truthfully list your clearance level on your resume and include a mention in your cover letter. Be honest with the hiring manager, tell them about your clearance, and let them decide if it matches their needs.

How to specify the type of security clearance you have

Specify your tier of security clearance by name to ensure clarity. This can be done in a variety of ways – here’s an example of a resume header:

However, you don’t need to add “level” instead, just use the tier name as an adjective. Here’s a quick example:

This example also showcases the date you received it and how long it will be active. This is crucial information for recruiters and shows your clearance is still in effect.

Where to put security clearance on your resume

Now, let’s learn how to add security clearance to resumes. There are four primary areas where it’s effective and appropriate to discuss security clearance, including your resume summary, work experience, header, or a new, additional section.

Knowing how to weave qualifications into your resume is a powerful skill to hone. Check out our resume examples for a variety of ways to smoothly incorporate certificates, licenses, and achievements into job applications.

Resume header

Adding security clearance to your resume header is a great way to catch the hiring manager’s eye. Telling them you have certain qualifications immediately sets the tone for the rest of your resume. This means they’ll understand the context behind your experience and interpret achievements in a more positive way because they’ll already understand the reliability of your professional history.

Resume summary

Similar to a resume header, adding security clearance to your summary grabs attention right away. It doesn’t provide the information as quickly as the header, but it allows you to highlight your clearance and include additional information to highlight its importance.

Work experience

Including security clearance in your work history section is a great way to showcase your expertise and describe related achievements. While this method doesn’t provide the information immediately, it allows you to describe your experience and specific responsibilities that required your clearance.

Note: Be sure to take care when listing responsibilities. Don’t include any sensitive information on your resume.

Additional sections

Optional resume sections give you space to include additional context and details. This is helpful if you’ve held multiple clearances throughout your career or if you have relevant certificates and licenses. 

Ensure you use a flexible, customizable resume template in order to accommodate extra sections. This helps you personalize your resume and really make it your own while maintaining a professional look.

Best practices for listing security clearance

Let’s take a look at the top do’s and don’ts of listing security clearance on resumes. This is a great quick reference when building a resume, so it’s best to bookmark it so it’s easy to come back to at any time.

Here are our best practices for providing security clearance in a job application:

• Include your security clearance level and the date you received it.
• Don’t disclose any sensitive or classified details. Stick to general information, such as “Handled data securely and ensured client safety.”
• Mention any relevant training, such as security expertise certificates.
• Never exaggerate or misrepresent your security clearance. It isn’t professional and will show up in a background check, exposing that you lied on your resume and harming your reputation.
• List your clearance clearly and concisely, ensuring it’s easy to read and understand.
• Add your clearance to your resume header beneath your name, even if you intend to add it to your summary or work experience sections. This gives the hiring manager a quick reference point and ensures they see it.
• Consider using special formatting, like italics, to make special details stand out from the rest of the text.
• Prepare to discuss your security clearance in job interviews, as hiring managers will definitely want to know more after seeing it in your application.
• Provide concise context for your security clearance to ensure recruiters know what it means.
• Add your clearance when applying to private sector roles, as it’s useful in many industries, such as data security or medicine.

Examples of effective security clearance listings

To finish up, let’s look at a few realistic examples of listing security clearance on resumes. We’ll start with an example of security clearance in a resume summary:

Here’s another example in a work experience section:

And one final example of a separate Security Clearance section:

Whichever way you choose, we always recommend a brief mention in your resume header. This is a quick, simple way to ensure your potential employer sees a vital qualification.

“Including your security clearance when applying to government jobs shows your relevance and may even open you up to unique opportunities beyond other candidates.”

Show integrity with security clearance on resumes

Displaying your official security clearance on your job application doesn’t just show your qualifications, but it also implies your reliability and trustworthiness. Follow our best practices for a successful resume:

• Add your security level and the date you received it
• Don’t include sensitive data and details
• Include past security clearances, even if they’re expired
• Always add your clearance to your resume header to catch the recruiter’s eye
• Try weaving your clearance into different areas, such as your summary or work experience
• Create a new section for security clearance if you want to provide more depth or you simply have multiple clearances

Build your best security clearance resume today with CVwizard’s resume maker. Easily incorporate it into any area, or quickly create a brand-new header just for security clearance in just a few clicks.