Who they Want
While it is impossible to say what each and every organization wants for the myriad of positions available in the intelligence community within this post, we will focus on the traditional roles of operations and analysis.
Since the 9/11 surge the competition to get inside these buildings is more difficult than ever. Most all organizations will require a four year degree with a strong academic record. Several of the agencies will prefer (and in some cases require) three years of work experience to demonstrate that you have lived and operated on your own.
Academic thrusts can really focus on anything, but the more logical and aligned majors would be international studies, political science and/or language.
Candidate Differentiators
To separate yourself from the pack though, trust us – just studying one of the aforementioned fields will not make you unique – you should try to demonstrate a few other things.
Language ability: We know, most people hate learning other languages, but most people don’t want to be intelligence officers either. If you do – buckle up and learn a language that will be helpful to our national security apparatus. This shows commitment, willingness and ability to learn new skills and can prove helpful to certain departments.
As a further tip, do not take Spanish or French like everyone else. Sure Latin America is a vital part of our national security mission, but these days everyone speaks Spanish. Learn a more difficult language that aligns with our security issues, such as Arabic, Farsi, Dari, Urdu, Chinese, Russian or Somali.
Additional Differentiators
World Travel: Get out of the country. Study abroad or just travel. This will undoubtedly come up during your application and/or interview process. This demonstrates your willingness and ability to leave the comforts of home and learn about new cultures. If you serve in the clandestine service for any of the major agencies, you will spend a lot of time away from home.
Military/Police Background: This is certainly not a pre-requisite for the job (sans a few), but it not only checks off the experience block, but demonstrates experience in a job where chain of command is king, while also bringing valuable training that may apply to your position in the community.
Set Expecations
Everyone thinks Jason Bourne is the way most intel operators live their lives. False.
While very exciting positions exist and their will be moments of intense stress and/or danger, you will likely not need to be storing passports in picture frames throughout your house and have a bag of cash, weapons and disguises under a floor board.
The vast majority in the intelligence community are not even trained on weapons, but rather spend a great deal of their time behind the computer, writing and attending meetings to discuss national security issues. You will have access to information about individuals, groups and threats to this nation that the rest of the world does not have, but to keep expectations in check for the Bourne wannabe’s – odds are you will not ever have an opportunity to have a position like this.
Do not be discouraged though. You will get your adrenaline fix and blood pressure up if you so choose and remain persistent. We will explain further as we go, but wanted to ensure that was known before we discussed more steps in the application process.
Don’t Blab About Your Applications
If you followed our earlier advice, you have applied to multiple agencies for multiple positions. Good job.
Now, do not fall into the trap that so many others do and talk about their many applications. “I am going to be an intel officer,” “I am going to work at Langley,” “I am going to work in counterterrorism.”
All these sound cool, but keep your aspirations to yourself, or at minimum very general, i.e. “I want to work for the government.”
This is imperative as you will be asked during your interviews and eventual polygraph. If you are boasting about your possible career in the IC, you probably shouldn’t be working in the IC.
