Monday 4 October 2010

How to Become a CIA Agent

How to Become a CIA Agent

The CIA seal If you're really smart, squeaky clean, and
ambitious, and you've a desire to perform clandestine and
routine work to protect and help fellow citizens, becoming a
part of the CIA might be a future career option for you.
Provided you're a U.S. citizen, and you meet all the
required qualifications and background checks, you are
eligible to apply for a job with the CIA. Read through this
article to see if you still wish to pursue this career once
you understand the requirements. Keep in mind that the
process is competitive, as with all government positions,
and that there are many reasons for turning down applicants.
In spite of that reality, it's important to give it your
best shot if it's your dream career – and it's also worth
being very persistent.

!! Steps !!

Understand what is involved in a CIA career before seeking to join
the CIA. While the spying side of the CIA might be the seemingly
glamor filled side you're hankering after, the Directorate of
Operations (or "clandestine service" where the spies are located),
is but one part of the CIA and a small part at that. The majority of
CIA employees work in analytical positions, language positions and
science, engineering, and technology positions.[1] Matching your
skills and aptitude to what you're best suited for may not see you
working in the clandestine service positions at all, so be ready for
this possibility. In addition, be prepared to become part of a
"family" when joining the CIA, with expectations to uphold deep
loyalty to others, and with possible ramifications on your
outside-work socializing and relationships.

* Whatever your position, a role in the CIA means that you're part
of the first line of defense in warning and protecting your fellow
citizens. You will be working with people possessing high
integrity, perception, analytical ability and intellectual
curiosity.

* You'll be expected to work in teams on many occasions, so you will
be expected to have strong team skills.

* You'll be able to pursue career goals within the CIA and it's
hoped that you'll remain with the CIA for the duration of your
career.

* The Agency has its own community. The reason for this stems from
the academic environment, as well as the nature of the work
performed and mission of the CIA. The CIA's George Bush Center has
its own food court, fitness facilities, formal gardens and walking
paths, a company store, recreational and activity clubs, and
artwork on display. In addition, there is a museum, a library, and
the usual offices.

* The Agency considers its community as family, employing people
from nearly all fields of study, united in their work and their
service to the country.

* Before even embarking on the process of becoming an CIA officer,
do some thorough background reading on what the CIA is about, what
CIA officers do (not just spying!), as well as finding out about
how much of the spying isn't what you'd gleaned from movies and TV
shows!

* Be a US citizen. Only US citizens may apply to join the CIA. If
you don't have citizenship, apply for it: see How to Apply for US
citizenship.

Be sure there are no skeletons in your closet Consider your personal
values and background. The CIA will only employ people with squeaky
clean backgrounds. Every single position requires a security
clearance. and you'll need to pass through very thorough background
checks to clear this. The content and expectations of security checks
are not known publicly (that would defeat their purpose) but it's
fairly obvious that there are standard behaviors and activities that
you should present, and others you must have avoided. For example:

* Do not have a criminal record. Naturally, this includes not having
participated in any activities against the USA's interests,
whether or not these were criminal in nature.

* Don't take drugs. The CIA states that you cannot have used illegal
drugs within 12 months of your application or background check
process.[2] Illegal drug use at any time in your past can hurt
your chances, however, so it's best to avoid any illegal drug
altogether. In addition, don't abuse legal drugs, like alcohol or
prescription drugs, as these can provide evidence of your
character and future likelihood of re-abusing.

* Be financially sound. This means that you don't gamble,
over-invest, have poor credit repayment records, or have
bankruptcy in your background. No intelligence service wants to
take a risk on a person who has poor financial management skills
and is potentially open to bribery.

* Have a good work track record and ethic. Whatever jobs you've had
already, ensure that you've always given your best, being honest
and ethical, and worked hard. Demonstrable loyalty and
accountability in any work environment is an asset to your
application.

* Be highly trustworthy, reliable, and faithful. Intelligence
agencies will seek to ask questions of people in your circle of
acquaintances and even family or friends. If they feed back
positive information about you, this is good for you, as their
assessment of your character builds.

* Understand the importance of maintaining confidences and
confidentiality. If you love to gossip, being in the CIA probably
isn't a good choice for you; you'll need to be able to demonstrate
that you ca abide by regulations regarding the use, handling, and
protection of sensitive information.

* Have excellent strength of character, integrity, honesty, sound
judgment, and loyalty to the United States. Be aware that the CIA
recognizes that "no one is perfect". If there are blemishes in
your background, the security officials will consider these
according to their nature, extent, seriousness, and recency of
past behavior. They'll weigh the risk and benefit of each
individual - the whole person - with the utmost care. If you've
got everything else needed, the Agency won't necessarily turn you
away if they consider you have important contributions to make to
the nation's intelligence efforts.[3]

* Have squeaky clean parents and friends. While this may not always
be possible, it's enormously helpful because any family member or
friend with shady leanings could be a source of weakness for you
if they fall into a spot of bother (aka "potential for coercion").
If there are issues surrounding this, talk to a CIA careers agent
about your options, and always be truthful.

Be highly competent in your field. The CIA takes the best and the
brightest of students: CIA officers must have at least a
bachelor's degree. Having an advanced degree can be helpful for
most positions, and in many instances, is required, although the
CIA also offers its own relevant undergraduate programs. Moreover,
the CIA gets so many hundreds of applications per position that
you'll need to ensure your skills, abilities, and studies stand
out from the rest.

* Have excellent grades through high school and college. Have at
least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale.

* While there is not specific major to study, having studies with
emphases on international relations (most internationally focused
studies are likely to be of interest to a recruiter), law,
political science, security studies, economics or finance
(including international finance), mathematics, journalism,
science (behavioral, physical, or computer), languages, sociology
or psychology, and anything requiring analytical skills, can be to
your advantage.

* Take serious, rigorously tested courses and perform well.

Learn other languages. The more, the better, but master at least one
other language really well. At the current time, languages in high
demand include Mandarin, Farsi (Persian), Pashto, Dari, Russian, and
Arabic, reflecting current world political and military "hot spots".
Fluency is especially important if you're seeking a position in the
clandestine service. Your language proficiency must be above and
beyond mere college knowledge; demonstrate that you can speak it as
well as a native. If you cannot, either keep improving it, or
inquire as to on-the-job training potential for language
improvement. Be personable, flexible, and sociable. The best way
to get information out of other people is to be a good talker and
listener, to be someone who can connect with others with ease, as
well as being able to put people at their ease. These skills are
harder to learn than academic ones for some people, so if you don't
feel comfortable around people, either brush up on the skills
through reading or courses, or be less inclined to seek any
positions that require interacting with "assets" (the clandestine
service's term for those people who assist spies, often at great
risk to their own lives or well-being), or with anyone else who
might serve as a source of information.

* Learn what makes people tick, learn people skills including how to
make people like you and good conversation skills. You'll need to
know how to "shmooze" and build rapport with other people from all
walks of life, in order to be able to spot, assess, develop, and
recruit assets. You'll need to know how to feign interest in other
people's interests and hobbies in order to build friendships or
relationships with them to obtain information.[4]

* If you have a problem with being likable, being a CIA officer is
probably not a good option for you. Equally, arrogance, egoism and
inflated self-importance will soon see you dropped from
training.[5]

* See life's gray areas. If you see life in absolutes ("he is wrong,
I am right"), then it's likely you're not going to be a good
choice for the CIA. Inquiring minds, openness to discussion and
possibilities, and the ability to see the more nuanced and
complicated elements of every situation are an essential trait
when you need to analyse things. Sometimes you will be asked to
finesse things for the good of your national security that don't
necessarily produce the best results for people in other nations.
Is that something you can handle?

* Keep fit and physically skilled Be physically fit. You
will be put through rigorous physical testing and it will be
expected that you can manage the physical tests. As well as the
benefits of keeping fit, getting involved in both team and
individual sports on a regular basis proves to your future
potential CIA employers that you're willing to stay in shape, play
within teams, and maintain your general health and well-being.
Good stamina is also important if you work undercover, as you may
be expected to work very long days without appearing tired or
without losing your ability to think clearly; indeed, in a typical
day you could spend the daytime creating a cover for yourself, and
the night catching up with people you need to find information
from.[6]

* Be mentally fit. You will be tested to your limits in training to
see how you handle emotional pressure. In addition, if you do
enter the clandestine service, you'll need to be able to deal with
the mental pressures of being subjected to dangers and
life-threatening situations. For example, if you're caught, you
may be subjected to torture, and even denial by your Government of
your existence. In addition, if your asset is caught by his or her
own government, you will face the emotional issues related to how
that person is next treated (sometimes they will suffer the death
penalty).[7] There will be many trying situations, and your mental
health needs to be in top shape to be able to cope with the
possibilities.

Be honest and candid. Expect to be tested as much as it is possible
to ensure the veracity of what you're telling the CIA. If accepted
for the interview process, as well as periodically during
employment, you'll be subjected to undertaking a polygraph. While
polygraphy isn't an exact science, CIA polygraph equipment is
among the most thorough and the technicians working with are highly
trained security professionals. These security professionals will
generally err on the side of caution if they have any reason to
believe you're lying. It is during this testing that they'll be
able to find out if you've taken any illegal drugs, being disloyal,
had poor financial management, etc. All tests are guarded and kept
in the strictest of confidence. And don't expect the testing process
to be breezy or comfortable; for starters, it's hardly a pleasant
feeling to have others trying to "catch you out", let alone being
hooked up to a machine that could determine the fate of your future
career.

* Expect continued checks throughout your career with the CIA. You
will be expected to undergo regular re-investigations (updates on
your lifestyle, connections, etc.), and to continue taking
polygraph tests.

* Be ready to maintain high standards of professional conduct at all
times, both at work and outside of work, for the duration of your
CIA career.

Will First Class make up for all the time spent away from home and
family? Be prepared to relocate or travel. A CIA job will often
require that you move from your initial residence. In addition, many
CIA positions will require frequent travel, which can be disturbing
to home life if you're not already focused on how you'll cope with
this (the CIA does offer child care centers).

* Do not underestimate the stress on your personal life. If you're
the type of person who wants to come home at 5 every day and be
regularly available to raise your family, this job is not likely
to provide that ease of child-raising and family togetherness for
you. If you can't abide this thought, consider looking for a
different career.

Apply for a position with the CIA. Once you're happy you pass the
above initial requirements, it's time to apply. You can do this
online but be prepared for a lengthy process and the need to fill
in a lot of information about yourself. The application process
starts at:
https://www.cia.gov/careers/opportunities/cia-jobs/index.html.
Look for a specific position of interest, read through its
requirements and ensure that you meet its minimum requirements. If
you don't meet the minimum requirements, don't apply unless you
have a very good reason, because you'll be wasting your time.

* Make sure to follow the application deadlines and instructions to
the letter. If you miss one thing, your application will be
rejected.

* Spruce up your resume, as this will need to be submitted along
with the online application.

* Job listings are updated regularly. This means that if you don't
see something of interest, check back again frequently.

Be patient and wait. The vetting process can be lengthy,
especially where you have numerous foreign contacts who need to be
followed up as well. If you've been completely honest and open,
this will speed up the checking process.

* Don't write or call to check. You won't get a response.

* As a general rule, if the CIA is interested in your application,
they will contact you within 45 days.

* Don't give up. Keep trying – it may be that you selected a
position that you weren't cut out for, or that had too many other
highly qualified people competing with you and one small flaw in
your application had yours rejected. Just keep trying for a
reasonable time and your persistence may pay off. In some cases,
it may mean they'll take you when your experience improves, so get
that PhD, go for that military position, or do something else
extraordinary that will catapult you into their notice.

Get ready for the next stage if you are successful in obtaining
clearance and a conditional job offer. If you get a conditional
offer (and all initial offers are conditional), there is still a
long way to go before you can be hired. You will now need to
undergo a series of physical, psychological, security, and
intelligence tests to verify your suitability to join the Agency.

* Undergo a medical exam and psychological exam. The medical is
designed to ensure you're in adequate physical condition for the
needs of the job, and also to test for drug use. The
psychological exam assesses your intelligence, judgment, and
mental stability.

* Wait for your background check to be completed. The background
check is extremely thorough and often lengthy (it can take two
years). The CIA website states: "The investigation addresses
comprehensively one's loyalty to the United States, strength of
character, trustworthiness, honesty, reliability, discretion, and
soundness of judgment. In addition, it examines one's freedom from
conflicting allegiances, potential for coercion, and willingness
and ability to abide by regulations governing the use, handling
and protection of sensitive information."

* Pass the polygraph test (discussed above).

Accept or decline your job offer. If you make it through the
selection process, you're lucky: only about 17 percent of
candidates presented with conditional offers pass the background
check and exams. Now you can accept your job and get ready for
training, after which, you still might find yourself not ideal for
the job!

* Participate in job training. For some positions, particularly
those in the clandestine service, you may have a probationary
training period during which you must successfully complete
training for your specific position. You may have to relocate
during your training period (about six months), and the Agency
will usually not pay for relocation of your family during this
time.

* You will not be an official case officer until you pass the
rigorous training, which, depending on the position, can be very
difficult.

!! Video !!

!! Tips !!

* The CIA usually won't hire anyone who is over 35 for the National
Clandestine Service.

* The Agency does not discriminate on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or sexual
orientation in granting, denying, or revoking security clearances.

* Consider conducting a background record check on yourself. If
you're serious about this, use an online service to run a
background record check on yourself. If anything shows up on your
record, then think very carefully before you bother applying. You
will be able to see what they see and if it contains any false
information (very common), which will enable you to be prepared to
explain yourself to the Agency. Use any of the few services that
can access the CIS database. The CIS database is the same database
that the CIA uses, so you can view some of the same records that
they do.

* Becoming a scientist is helpful. Spy organizations sometimes
recruit scientists because of their special skills.

* The CIA has a number of programs available for college students,
including internships for both undergraduate and graduate
students. The selection criteria are quite rigorous for these,
and completion of a program doesn't guarantee a job, but if you
perform well during the internship you'll have a good chance at
a job offer.

* Consider joining the military first. Although the CIA offers no
hiring preference for veterans, candidates with relevant prior
military service, especially in military intelligence, have a
leg-up. You still need a college degree.

* The CIA frequently recruits at top colleges and universities in an
effort to lure qualified candidates before they accept a position
in the private sector. Be sure to attend career and job fairs at
school.

* You will be required to keep things confidential. People skills
are a plus for operations officers (spies), but if you have
trouble keeping secrets, this is not for you.

* You will be placed in a position you are qualified for, which may
not be the one you initially applied for. The salary depends on
your grade. There are regular increases over time. The starting
salary is around 40k. However, the perks are really great!: Some
benefits are: Paid Time Off, Federal Health and Life Insurance,
Retirement, Education and Training, Health Services, Child Care
Centers, and Credit Union.

* Some languages currently in high demand include: Arabic, Chinese,
Dari Pashtu, Farsi (Persian), Greek, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean,
Russian, Serbo-Croatian, and Turkish.

!! Warnings !!

* Do not lie on your application or at any time during the hiring
process. The background checks are extraordinarily rigorous, and
should they discover a lie, in most cases you'll be disqualified
unless it's a clear misunderstanding. Be aware that the different
departments in the intelligence community communicate with each
other. Being disqualified/fired from one will make it harder to
get a job with any other agency. Indeed, this can also travel to
less security intense agencies within Government, so be on your
best behavior at all times.

* Be prepared to handle emotional stress. Training, as mentioned, is
very intense (and at times, overwhelming). Once you're in for
training, especially for the clandestine service, you'll be tested
to your limits because they want to know your breakpoint (if at
all) before you're out on a job where others' lives are at risk.
And if that comes sooner, rather than later, then you're less
likely to succeed.

* Be aware that salaries in the CIA are usually lower (sometime a
lot lower) than those offered in the private sector for positions
requiring similar education and experience. On the other hand,
your job security is often better, provided you maintain high
standards of personal conduct.

* CIA training can result in making you a colder and more
calculating person.[8]

!! Things You'll Need !!

* Internet access

* Resume

!! Related WikiHows !!

* How to Walk Silently

* How to Sneak Around in the Night

* How to Delete your Usage History Tracks in Windows

* How to See in the Dark

* How to Join the Military and Survive Bootcamp

* How to Disguise Yourself

!! Sources And Citations !!

* Official CIA careers site, https://www.cia.gov/careers/
research source, public domain information.

!! Article Tools !!

* Read on wikiHow

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