Ok your standard question

[garnetblack31]

first off i would appreciate any help anyone can give me. Im have a conditional offer from the CIA... ok i was just sent my sf86 and am about to fill it out when i started reading some of the posts here and else where and i was wondering if any of you had any insite on whether or not i should even go through the process.... essentially will it be a waste of my time..... here is my history... i smoked pot my freshman year in college and was in a dorm room where a bunch of people were arrested by campus police for possestion.... i was not one of those people but since i was on campus and there i had to go pass a drug test... i took the test passed and was not disiplined by the university... also the police never arrested me and let me go that night... since then i have smoked twice my junior year... its been almost 3 years and havent touched a drug since... ok so thats my drug history... as far as anything else goes im your every day red blooded american... i know some people have said they ask about cheating on a test.... well i did that as well in high school once and was caught and never did again.... i have never stolen anything but once accepted some money that somebody stole from somebody and have never been involved in something like that again.... my point is is that im not jesus christ, and i do have some skeletons in the closet if you will, and i imagine people the CIA hire ever day are just like me... but im not going to lie about it on my sf86..... so can any of you that have experance in this tell me if this is just going to be a fruitless process.....or any advice on if you got through with a few minor things like i mentioned... thanks again..

[anxietyguy]

You have nothing to wory about, you are an angel compared to most people I know.

[yatittle]

I don't think those will keep you from being employed.

I will however say that those things will leave you open to a tough polygraph session (simply put they are angles for people to dig at). But stick to your story, tell the truth upfront in the SF86, and look forward to a long and rewarding career!

Randy

[Ruckover]

You're fine.  Just be honest.  As long as you own up to anything they asking you before the poly, you're fine.  Its amazing what they will let you in with, as long as you are honest about it.

[garnetblack31]

great... thanks for the advice.... i was really worried about the polygraph .... there was no question ofwhether i was going to tell them the truth or not.... i always tell the truth but i was worried that they would like what i had to say.... so thanks for the advice.... also do you know if we can tell friends and family about the job conditional offer... because i told a few close friends and family.... thanks again....

                          regards,
                              

[yatittle]

Nah that's alright. But I would keep it to myself here on out. Safer than sorry is probably the best approach.

Randy

[garnetblack31]

also just another question is one drug looked at in a different eye then any others... because for example i forgot that i did once and only one smoke a joint with cocain laced into it.... i actually didnt know before that it had cocain in it and i only did it once... along time ago... so you guys got any advice on whether they would look down upon me more because its cocain..... thanks again for all your helps guys... its great to come to a place where i can talk to people that have been through what im going through now

[polyscam]

[because for example i forgot that i did once and only one smoke a joint with cocain laced into it.... i actually didnt know before that it had cocain in it and i only did it once... along time ago...

Cocaine in general is looked at in a different way than marijuana, as it is considered (and rightly so) a hard drug.  There is no denying that you have ingested cocaine, you admit it yourself.  However, the circumstances under which you ingested the cocaine may be a consideration.  The average time frames I have seen for cocaine usage (from last use) is 7 years.  Use (aka experimentation) is generally limited to a small number of uses (5 lifetime for example).

So, if your usage was one time only and a long time ago (more than 7 years) you most likely will be fine.

[Ruckover]

also do you know if we can tell friends and family about the job conditional offer... because i told a few close friends and family.... thanks again....
                             

Friends and family is ok.  But don't advertise it and if you're going to work for the DO, you'll be told not to tell anyone, but that you work in another group.  

[Ruckover]

also just another question is one drug looked at in a different eye then any others... because for example i forgot that i did once and only one smoke a joint with cocain laced into it.... i actually didnt know before that it had cocain in it and i only did it once... along time ago... so you guys got any advice on whether they would look down upon me more because its cocain..... thanks again for all your helps guys... its great to come to a place where i can talk to people that have been through what im going through now

Little distinction is made.  Here is what they are looking for: how recent was the use, how long did the use go on for, and did you ever sell it.  Answers of "I used it a couple of weeks ago", "I've used it for the last five years," and "I occasionally sell some of it to make ends meet" will be quick disqualifiers.

 

[NSAreject]

Friends and family is ok.  But don't advertise it and if you're going to work for the DO, you'll be told not to tell anyone, but that you work in another group.

Ruckover,

   So, what's the big secret ?  NSA let us buy NSA logo
hats and sweat shirts, to wear wherever we pleased
(God, it sure made me feel important !).  As part of the
system, a lot of things are overblown...

[garnetblack31]

god you guys have been a great help..... Ruckover... your sure that little distinction is made because i will be putting that in the sf86 and i just want to be sure ... im not going to lie but if your sure that they make little distincion even tho it happened once, that would make my nervousness all but dissapear..... yet again you guys have been more then a help.....

about the telling people tho.... i was told by a friend of the family who is retired cia that they kind of leave it up to you to talk to who you want about your employer....or so she said....but she also said under no curcumstances am i supposed to tell anyone what i will be or might be doing there (as in what my job is).... of course i have told my family and friends...  she said it was ok ... but nobody else... if that helps you Nsareject...


also on a side note...  i have a friend who went to the nsa for an internship in college and i called him for some advice... and he said that during his background check he got the feeling that people were following him when he went downtown with his friends.... i of course said that must be bs .... but he assured me that the background is no joke for the nsa and the cia and that he wasnt positive but he was almost sure that a few times there were agents watching him at a bar just to check his claims of not being an a heavy drinker/party animal..... ((disclaimer)) :this could be BS .... he was notorious for it in college... but it is interesting to know...

[Ruckover]

  So, what's the big secret ?  NSA let us buy NSA logo
hats and sweat shirts, to wear wherever we pleased
(God, it sure made me feel important !).  As part of the
system, a lot of things are overblown...

I don't know. You'll have to ask someone who works in the DO.  

[Ruckover]

god you guys have been a great help..... Ruckover... your sure that little distinction is made because i will be putting that in the sf86 and i just want to be sure ... im not going to lie but if your sure that they make little distincion even tho it happened once, that would make my nervousness all but dissapear..... yet again you guys have been more then a help.....

about the telling people tho.... i was told by a friend of the family who is retired cia that they kind of leave it up to you to talk to who you want about your employer....or so she said....but she also said under no curcumstances am i supposed to tell anyone what i will be or might be doing there (as in what my job is).... of course i have told my family and friends...  she said it was ok ... but nobody else... if that helps you Nsareject...

Listen, I can't guarantee you anything.  If it was awhile ago, and you didn't sell it, then I doubt they'll make a big deal of it.  For the record, I acknowledged what today would amount to felony drug possession on my SF-86 (one time) along with a few incidents of marijuana usage, all several years ago.  These items were discussed, briefly.  Didn't even come up in the poly.   4 weeks later, my conditional offer became official.  Apparently those events in my past were not cause enough to preclude me from consideration.