^ I know dude... I had to go through it myself and most recently my wife went through the same thing. When you apply for a job, the requirements state reliability/clearance... but it's usually a soft requirement since the employers understand that they might have to start the process for the applicant.
That's why we figured that registering with an agency for the sole purpose of getting clearance is a good way to get a headstart and then you can continue finding a job on your own.
If you dont mind, can you share the info of agency you registered with? that will save me some googling.