US Investigations Services Associate Investigator Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Feb 2012 (took a day)

Wow is all I can say. I applied online for the position of Associate Investigator and received an email from the recruiter two days later. The intitial screening interview is conducted over the phone with the recruiter and then you are passed to a team leader in the area where you apply. After speaking to the recruiter I can understand why so many poor reviews are posted here about USIS. After discussing the position briefly the recruiter told me that qualifications above the minimum posted are not factored into job offers. They seem to pride themselves on the fact that you are offered a personal use car in exchange for a poor salary. The starting salary for an associate investigator is $41,000. A senior investigator makes about $53,000. An associate investigator is someone with no skill set what so ever. And let's be clear, you're not an investigator.... you are a fact checker, meaning you confirm the information provided by the candidate looking for a security clearance.

For whatever reason they require the applicant to live within 20 miles of a location listed in the job posting even though that listed location may not be where the actual work is performed. As the crow flies I live 19 miles from the listed location but the distance by road travel is 29 miles. I was asked if I would be willing to move 9 miles closer to the listed location.... when I said no the interview was over. So rather than excercise sound judgement and refer an obviously otherwise qualified candidate for further interview they are willing to let the candidate go because everything is interpreted literally.

Here's the bottom line with USIS, they are a government contractor whose bread and butter comes from producing timely results no matter what the cost to low level workers. Low level employees are expendable because there's always someone else willing to jump into the position. Pay is low and morale among workers is even lower. I've been around government work my whole life so I'm not surprised it's all about money to ownership. The less they pay the baseline worker the more profit that is left over. After speaking to the recruiter I am certain I would have turned any offer down because my resume puts me at the investigation director level not as an associate investigator. If you have nothing else going for you then take the job until you find something better..... It's always better to have a job while you're looking for a job. If you don't need the job then pass on USIS.