Part 8 -- Going It On Your Own (How To Get A Job In Intelligence)

Part 1 -- Introduction
Part 2 -- The Intelligence Job Market From 20,000 Feet
Part 3 -- The Good News!
Part 4 -- Even Better News!
Part 5 -- Beyond The Big Three
Part 6 -- Beyond Borders
Part 7 -- Beyond Borders: India, Europe And South Africa

Before I move on to all of the tips, tricks and advice I have collected (and others have given me), I felt I would be remiss if I did not at least mention the possibility of going it on your own -- starting your own business in intelligence.

For many people this probably sounds about as dumb as a barrel of hair but for others, with an entrepreneurial personality, it can be the best possible choice. There are lots of resources available to help you get started. For example, if you want to see if you have to have the personality for entrepreneurship, this is a pretty good test. If you want to see what aspect of the business you might be interested in, this article should be helpful.

Two sources that I think might be particularly useful would be Entrepreneur magazine. While there is a tendency in that magazine to focus on franchises (not really an option for intel entrepreneurs (though, who knows? Estimates R'Us anyone?)), there are also a number of good articles on the entrepreneurial life in general.

The second and often overlooked source is the Small Business Administration. This could conceivably be a gold mine for some entrepreneurs. My own impression is that the degree of helpfulness very much depends on the actual office you are dealing with but it, along with any state/local equivalents, can be very helpful.

Beyond my very superficial thoughts, I wanted to get some insider input, so I went out to a number of people who have gone the entrepreneurial pathway themselves. I was going to just use snippets but both of the people who were kind enough to respond, put some time and effort into what they wanted to say. Here, then, with just a little light editing, are their thoughts on the intelligence entrepreneur:

Mike Himley, President and CEO of Eagle Intelligence

My intelligence perspective comes primarily from a business background but I have worked around law enforcement intelligence and intelligence fusion centers and I have found the differences in definition and understanding striking, oftentimes even within the same organization. Could it be they’re all wrong? Or maybe they’re all partly correct. I think it’s more of the latter.

If you asked for the definition of intelligence from someone in national security intelligence, law enforcement intelligence, business intelligence, or the field of competitive intelligence, you would end up with widely different answers. I’ve noticed that, even now, the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals seems to be struggling to redefine what they do because few outside the organization understand it. Some are even questioning if Librarians are in the business of intelligence.

If you’re a student of Intelligence analysis and you’re sure you want to work in one of the three-letter Government Intel agencies, then I’m not the best person to offer advice on how to get in. But I can suggest a few ways to make yourself more valuable so jobs find you. To start with, think of intelligence analysis as a skill set instead of a job title, and think about the number of organizations that could benefit from making better decisions. (Reread that last sentence) Every one of those organizations could benefit from sound intelligence analysis but they might not call it intelligence.

I had a business graduate school class in Financial Statement Analysis years ago. Besides teaching, the professor was frequently hired by companies to advise how to make themselves more attractive to investors. Clients were willing to pay (a lot) for specific recommendations that would lead to a gain in investment activity in their companies.

I didn’t know it at the time, but that class could well have been a class in intelligence training. Of course it wasn’t called that and still wouldn’t be today, but it was. We pulled a minimum 10 years’ worth of financials and studied trends, looking for differentials, and finding reasons for changes. We used 10 years of history so that short term aberrations didn’t skew our analysis. I was struggling to keep up with the numerical analysis when we were instructed to read and analyze the footnotes in all the reports. Why? Because that’s where the most important information was located--in the place where most people wouldn’t read it.

Then he taught us to pay attention to photos published by the company. I still remember what he said regarding one unnamed company whose financials were trending downward. He said, “The CEO of this company is about 60 years old. Do you see the pictures of him in the previous annual reports? He’s all alone in them. But not this year. He’s standing next to the Vice President in every photo this year. And see how he’s smiling and putting his hand on the VP’s shoulder? He’s showing that he has confidence in him and that he’s trustworthy. He trusts him and so should you. I am predicting that this CEO is going to be announcing his retirement very soon. You are looking at the next CEO of this company and if you own stock in this company, you’ll do what I’m going to do and you’ll sell it immediately because this VP has no experience or background to run this company.”

Sure enough, 6 months later the stock crashed when the “surprise” retirement was announced. In this case, 10 years of financials, along with text and photos were used to develop historical context and project into the future. It was a story about the future with specific recommendations, and backed up with plenty of data and analysis. It was a lot more than a financial statement review. It sounds like intelligence doesn’t it?

But it doesn’t have to be finance. ADD VALUE TO INFORMATION. Think bigger. Think more broadly. Add value to anything that you’re passionate about. Tell a story about the future and offer recommendations on how it will help someone. Back it up with facts and logic. That’s intelligence.

You need only a few ingredients and you can make up your own career in intelligence:

1. You need to provide context within a specific field or subject matter. You need to work on being a specialist in something. Anything. Pick something your passionate about and begin to study it. Some examples:
   1. Financials or flow of money. Applicable to businesses, law enforcement, intelligence agencies, mergers and acquisitions firms, money laundering, terrorism financing, etc. Money is everywhere and will be there tomorrow. Who needs intel on this? CIA, FBI, Law Enforcement, Businesses, FDIC, SEC, Law firms, etc.
   2. People. Anything regarding people. Demographics, Immigration/Emigration, social customs, communications, languages, etc. Applicable to health agencies, businesses planning on opening new locations or offering new services, communications planning, infrastructure planning (roads/bridges/housing), political analysis and polling, etc.
   3. Building Construction. Applicable for all industries in business, critical infrastructure threat analysis, environmental impact analysis, insurance underwriting, etc.
   4. Medical and Pharmaceutical knowledge. Applicable to medical related industries and drug companies, DEA, law enforcement, etc.
   5. Water. (Think about all the possibilities)

2. You need training in analysis so you can sort through increasing amounts of data, analyze it, and prepare and present logical arguments or recommendations. This is a legitimate set of skills. Add your specialized knowledge and context to it, and you’re onto something big.
3. You need imagination in order to add value to the first two, and to possibly change the definition of what intelligence is to suit your own interests.

In summary, first pick something you’re passionate about and add value to it. Then think about who might benefit the most from that intelligence. Post your work somewhere people will see it, keep learning, and jobs will begin to find you.

So you still want to work in a Government Intel agency? Terrific. Despite the poor job market, I suspect there are exceptions on occasion for those with specialized knowledge and sound analytical skills. Good luck in your interview.

Mark C. Blair, Founder and CEO of DAGIRCO

Is the job going to produce a good and distinguished career? Or will it find you stuck in an unexceptional position producing unremarkable analysis; waiting for the long line of analysts above you to retire?

Such analysts may find their analysis being shoved through a bureaucratically/institutionally shaped hole like a Play-Doh fun factory. By the time they have a chance to “innovate,” their dreams will be the prattle of historians.

The problem with ‘going it on your own,’ is the reputational paradox: If a well respected company spends millions of dollars to build a substandard analytic solution, it is a saint. If you create a truly exceptional and accurate analytic solution on a shoestring budget and no reputation, you are a witch! Will they believe you can do what you do?

The way out of this paradox is the advice of many veteran analysts: think tactical... produce ‘actionable’ intelligence. Forget ideas (vaporware). Find someone with a problem... ‘FIX IT’ and show them the solution. Focus on your client/decisionmaker and IGNORE ALL OTHERS, take no other advice. ...and learn as much as you can about databases!!!

Next: The Five Things You MUST Have To Get A Job In Intelligence

SAM Soundtrack: Les Paul (RIP)

Les Paul died this past week. If you have not ever heard his music, I suggest you take a look/listen at the video below. If you are unfamiliar with his contributions to virtually every kind of music we listen to today, I suggest you check this out or make a pilgrimage to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

Part 7 -- Beyond Borders: Europe, India And South Africa (How To Get A Job In Intelligence)

Part 1 -- Introduction
Part 2 -- The Intelligence Job Market From 20,000 Feet
Part 3 -- The Good News!
Part 4 -- Even Better News!
Part 5 -- Beyond The Big Three
Part 6 -- Beyond Borders

It has been my pleasure over the last several years to get to know a number of intelligence professionals in other countries. I recently reached out to some of them to ask them what the job market was like for intelligence professionals in their neck of the woods. I received some good replies that I thought were worth sharing.

(Note: I have lightly edited these responses for length and clarity (ie spelled out abbreviations, etc). Chris, Nimalan, Dalene; if I messed up what you were trying to say in the process, please take me to task in the comments)

Europe
by Chris Pallaris, Head of Open Source Intelligence at the International Relations and Security Network, Zurich, Switzerland

For my part, jobs are certainly to be had in Europe, both in the public or private sector. One caveat: the economic crisis has meant more people staying in university longer. The research positions in a great many university-affiliated think tanks are tough to land and are likely to remain so for a little while longer.

The problem, however – and this has been echoed by a number of people I have spoken to - is not attracting applicants but rather finding those with the qualities and skills that are really in demand. The problem here is as much one for the employer as it is for the employees.

Students may leave university with good subject or region specific knowledge. But they lack the IT and information literacy skills that will allow them to jump in at the deep end. More notably, many lack the tact to deal with the sensitive issues that invariably cross their desks (a consequence of letting it all out on Facebook as a matter of course perhaps?). It’s a little unfair to expect them to have these skills from the word go, but in the current climate... My advice as an occasional recruiter: a little old school courtesy would go a long way towards making up for any skills shortages.

Also, it’s important for young graduates to note that intel jobs increasingly come in lots of different flavors: as information officers/knowledge managers, in policy planning units, as market researchers etc. All make use of intelligence skills. Moreover, there is a growing call for people who can think about the future (scenarios, foresight, etc.) without having smoke pour from their ears.

In the “competitive intelligence” domain, my (albeit limited) experience suggests that the best “spooks” and strategists have served a long(ish) apprenticeship in one or more departments (research, planning, marketing etc.) before graduating to a competitive intelligence role. Knowing the business or industry you’re in is part and parcel of being able to survey the market, identify trends, anticipate threats, etc. That may be something worth passing on.

I would also proffer the following advice: a good job as an analyst, researcher, desk officer, etc. in a lowly but effective department is far better than a sexy sounding intelligence job in a dysfunctional agency. The important thing for young graduates is to be around people who can teach them how to get things done and not just how to navigate the political rapids.

India
By Nimalan Paul, Manager, Infiniti Research, Mysore, India

Regarding the job market for intelligence analysts in India, I am no expert but here is my take based on what I have seen, read and heard.

National security -

Analyst jobs are possible through positions in RA&W or the IB. Entry into these organizations, like other Indian government organizations is through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The UPSC recruits people for government services ranging from typists to scientists all year round through written tests and interviews across various cities and towns.

I haven't been tracking this for long but have never come across specific requirements for IB or R&AW. What I understand is that people, once selected through the UPSC for a certain "grade" of employment, are then moved on to junior level positions in IB or R&AW. So, in effect, what I understand is that the UPSC recruits for a certain grade of officers who can get drafted into the IB/ R&AW or if luck has it, get into the Indian Postal Service as well (incidentally an ex director of R&AW was previously head of the Indian Postal Service).

Apart from this, the senior officers of R&AW and IB get deputed from the Indian Police Service (IPS) and to some extent from the IAS (Indian Administrative Service). The IPS is the point of entry for someone to reach the upper echelons of the Indian police force. An IPS officer, for instance, starts much higher in the hierarchy and moves ahead faster than a police officer who started as, say, a constable. Entry to the elite IPS / IAS is by means of a rigorous examination and interview.

Once selected, these officers are trained in an exclusive training school and are considered the creme de la creme of Indian youth and groomed for top government roles. Having an IPS or an IAS tag to your name is also highly prestigious. The point is, if you have an IPS tag you might serve in a local police force but then there are very high chances of being deputed either to the R&AW or IB. R&AW and IB have their own training programs for analysts, operatives, and the like which the IPS officer would undergo.

R&AW is also supposed to have its own cadre system like the IPS / IAS called the RAS (Research and Analysis Services) but I have never seen an advertisement or heard anything much about it.

Law Enforcement -

Apart from the police force with its various divisions, we also have the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which is something similar to the FBI. Recruitment to the above is also through the UPSC. They have their own training academy in Gurgaon near New Delhi. In the end since its all government service, CBI officers can be deputed to IB and R&AW and vice-versa.

Corporate -

This is, by far, the easiest way to get into intelligence analysis and very transparent - unlike the others. However, not many companies have a competitive intelligence (CI) division and it is only big multinational corporations who have a team of approx. 4-5 people to take care of their intel needs. Examples that come to mind are Oracle, SAP and so on who have teams of less than 10 people to take care of intel needs.

However, from what I understand, recruitment is essentially internal - mainly from the sales / marketing teams because they would know the competition better. A CI executive from a big corporation whom I had the chance to speak to said his job mainly involved helping Sales close deals and since he himself had worked in Sales in the past, it helped.

The other option is to work for market research firms, otherwise referred to as KPO firms (Knowledge Process Outsourcing firms). They need analysts and India has a lot of these KPOs (the biggest being Evalueserve which, incidentally, exhibited at the SCIP Conference this year). These are not pure play CI firms (the word CI is relatively unknown here) and do a lot of market research and other activities for European and US clients. So, in effect, you do not have a specific CI analyst but an analyst who also does CI! Therefore there are very good chances that there are no dedicated CI processes, tools and techniques in these organizations.

To sum it up, in India, there is no clear field of work called "intelligence analysis" nor is there a clear tribe of people called "intelligence analysts" except for government service and they never talk about it.

South Africa
By Dalene Duvenage, Owner, 4Knowledge Analysis Solutions, Johannesburg, South Africa

Glad you asked, but as you would expect, we're in a totally different position. We have no academic programs in intel here...I'm starting an African intel college with Don McDowell in the new year, but it might be only 2011 that we actually present accredited courses. Which means that we're not in the position that graduates from Mercyhurst would be, looking for jobs in intel per se. Also, our analytic cadre is way smaller in "statutory intel" (i.e. domestic, foreign, police and defence intel). I would say it is not bigger than perhaps 400 (most probably nearer to 300).

What is growing is the private sector's investigation or "intel" units. They would normally have investigators with support personnel at the beginning, until they realize or are told about the benefit of having dedicated analysts. Sometimes people from statutory intel will be appointed as managers in these units and they have experience with the benefits of dedicated analysts.

Those in the private sector having the job description of analyst can be found in the banking sector or competitive intel market, with all the variants of names for what they are actually doing. The biggest growth is in the counter-corruption, crime investigation and risk management units of our local, provincial or national government departments or even the private security sector, because our police capacity is so dismal.

These units are separate from the police and have the mandate to secure and prevent crime/corruption in their department or company. Most of these units at this stage do not have dedicated analysts, only investigators, but I'm busy penetrating this market (it sounds a bit self-serving, but it will benefit the profession in the end).

So, if you put the previous number of about 400 in statutory intel and these quasi analysts together it might run up to 1000? Serious thumb sucking here...

The typical scenario at such a private or government investigation unit will be: A manager who has heard about intelligence, is not sure what it means and what it can do for the unit, investigators and support personnel. But it sounds sexy enough, or they have intel background and want someone from the outside to come and convince their employees that this new approach is the best. When I give intel awareness workshops to such a combined group, we go through the intelligence process, they realize what intel can do, how they can work better together to create knowledge and impact on the decision-making level. This bird's eye view course provides everyone a sense of what intel is.

Thereafter, we coach and mentor throughout the career progression of the analyst or manager. (The learning pathway is on my website http://www.4knowledge.co.za/training.html) Those identified to be analysts or do analysis type of work will then do a proper intel analysis course. There are investigators who also attend this course, which helps a lot with the dynamics and post-course inculcation.

As they progress as analysts (and I stress the professionalization of intel analysis), they would come for further courses according to their needs and the learning roadmap. Now the idea with the college is that they could 1) do the diploma or certificate or whatever or 2) they attend these short courses which will then be accredited towards that qualification.

More about the analysts in the statutory environment: Due to our history of amalgamation of all the different intel services after 1994, you will have people with a Masters degrees in anything from social sciences to physical science to people who have no qualifications. Of course, it has an impact on the quality of analysis and all sorts of other ramifications. We also have the same problems re: the long vetting process. I have heard of excellent candidates who just could not wait for a year to be approved and took a job at a private company.

Also, the poor state and stigma of our intel services is definitely something that the connected and inquisitive new generation keep in mind. As with the US, we're also bleeding 45 -60 year old veterans as well as some of the new generation that just could not fit into the paranoid, stove pipe, restrictive culture of our intel. This for me, is the saddest. Which just reinforces that intel has to change, and FAST!

Hope this helped. I'm just starting to scratch the African market, and it seems as though there are only a few analysts and that the same process needs to be followed to let the people realize firstly the benefit of intel-led policing/security/business/risk/intel;) and then see the benefit of dedicated analysts.

Next: Going It On Your Own

Part 6 -- Beyond Borders (How To Get A Job In Intelligence)

Part 1 -- Introduction
Part 2 -- The Intelligence Job Market From 20,000 Feet
Part 3 -- The Good News!
Part 4 -- Even Better News!
Part 5 -- Beyond The Big Three

So far, I have really only talked about intelligence and intelligence analysis positions within the US. There are actually quite a few ways to find good jobs outside the US as well. There are many reasons to take a job outside the US -- travel, cultural exposure, learning a language, etc. Some of these jobs pay quite well, many are very rewarding and almost all of them are good resume builders.

The first, and probably the easiest, way to get an overseas job is through a US agency or company. Almost all of the US national security intelligence agencies have slots for intelligence professionals overseas and I am not just speaking about covert operatives. Any number of locations (such as the Joint Analysis Center in Molesworth, England) have both civilian and military analysts. Most of these kinds of jobs can best be found through a careful search of USAjobs.gov.

Companies -- and not just US companies -- also sponsor any number of jobs overseas. You can find these jobs by searching various employers' websites and some of them will get listed on the major job boards such as Indeed.com or Monster.com. A keyword to know, however, is "expatriate" (sometimes abbreviated as "expat"). The community of people who are living and working outside their home countries is quite large and the internet has helped this community become better organized. It has been some time since I left this community so I am not sure of the reputable sites out there anymore. If any reader has a lead for the rest of us, please pass it on.

• One quick tip: Before you take any job in a foreign country with a company or organization you do not know well, touch base with your home country's embassy before you accept the offer. Not everyone is a fly-by-night operator but they do exist. I can't speak for every country's embassy employees but I know the hard working consular officers who manage US citizen services in US embassys would prefer to talk to you before you go rather than after you are in trouble.

Another oft-overlooked place for employment is the International Civil Service Commission. This is the place to look if you want a job in the United Nations system. Though not as well organized as USAjobs, this website gives links to all of the UN agencies and, yes, you have to search each site for jobs within each member agency. Remember as well that the UN doesn't do "intelligence" so what you are really looking for are intelligence-like jobs.

Also remember that the UN works on a quota system. It has an obligation to hire people from around the world so it will not allow certain jobs to get filled up with Americans and Europeans. For non-westerners, this gives you a bit of an edge if you are otherwise qualified but come from a developing country.

Other international organizations are often looking for people with analytic skills if not for "intelligence analysts" per se. Many of them have special hiring restrictions. For example, EUROPOL requires its candidates to be from the EU while INTERPOL is mostly looking for police and other officials who have been seconded by a hosting country to the organization. One good place to look for jobs with international organizations is (as already mentioned in the comments to this series) on Reliefweb.org.

Next: Beyond Borders -- Europe, India and South Africa

Part 5 -- Beyond The Big Three: Jobs In Commercial Intelligence Agencies, Think-tanks And NGO's (How To Get A Job In Intelligence)

Part 1 -- Introduction
Part 2 -- The Intelligence Job Market From 20,000 Feet
Part 3 -- The Good News!
Part 4 -- Even Better News!

When most people think of jobs in intelligence, they immediately think of the CIA or other national agencies. A few think about law enforcement positions and even fewer think about the place, oddly enough, where most of the jobs actually reside -- in business.

This breakdown is mirrored in a survey I have been running on another of my websites (more on that later) for the last couple of years. You can see the current results below:



Only about 3% are looking for jobs beyond these three categories. My theory is that most people just don't know about all of the opportunities in intelligence analysis or intelligence analysis-like jobs in commercial intelligence agencies, think-tanks and non-governmental organizations.

Commercial Intelligence Agencies

The "commercial intelligence agency" is my neologism for all those entities out there who are essentially doing what intelligence agencies do but they do it for profit. The granddaddy of this type of organization is, of course, Jane's. Jane's has been around since 1865 and produces some of the best information and analysis on defense and defense industry matters for business and national security clients.

Jane's is also on almost every desktop in the national security community (which is one of the reasons we offer an nearly complete subscription to their service to our students here at Mercyhurst). A quick search of IHS, Jane's parent site, shows 22 jobs with the word "analyst" in the title.

There are others, of course. STRATFOR and IJet are two more "cia's" that are extremely well respected. Other firms are more specialized, such as the Economist Intelligence Unit and Cyveillance (which focuses on cybercrime). All periodically offer jobs through their sites.

Beyond the growing number of cia's, there are also the large consulting firms such as PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and Accenture. Most of the jobs in these fields require specialized business backgrounds, so entry-level opportunities might be limited for pure intel analysts but not impossible. For example, Mercyhurst intel studies graduates work or have worked at two of the three companies listed above. All of these companies have robust internship programs which, in turn, could lead to what would be a very good job.

Think Tanks

There are a ton of think-tanks, such as The Carnegie Endowment For International Peace, The Cato Institute, the RAND Corporation and The Heritage Foundation, that do analysis. The truth is, however, that there are often some high barriers to entry into these types of positions and not all of them will be a good fit for a generic analyst.

If you do not have the special skills required of these high profile positions, an internship might be the best way to get a job with one of these institutions. Most of these organizations offer robust internship possibilities (although many of them are unpaid).

Likewise, while the ones mentioned above are among the most high profile institutions in the country, there are a number of other think tanks -- often at a state or local level -- that would be an easier "fit" for an entry level analyst.

Non-Governmental Organizations

This category overlaps, to a certain extent, with the think-tank category but is often characterized by an explicit advocacy position. Analysis is often a core product of these organizations but it is articulated from a particular point of view.

This does not necessarily mean it is biased, but it is focused, and if the job seeker does not share that focus, the fit is unlikely to be very good. For example, the Sierra Club produces analysis but if you don't accept climate change as fact, I would predict that any job involving analysis you might get with the organization would be pretty unsatisfying.

Even more so than with think-tanks, the jobs here are not as plentiful and internships are more likely to be unpaid. The work can be enormously rewarding, however. Two good examples of organizations that examine topics that would be fascinating to many analysts are the Federation Of American Scientists and Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project.

Just A Few More Thoughts...

These three broad categories are really just that: Categories. There are obviously many more opportunities in these fields than I can catalog in these few paragraphs.

Furthermore, virtually any job from any of the organizations listed above will require a deep search of their job listings (jobs in these categories, if available, are unlikely to be titled "intelligence analyst", for example. A more nuanced and time consuming search strategy will almost certainly be necessary to find a job that is a good fit for a particular set of analytic skills).

My primary purpose is to encourage job seekers in "intelligence" (and, particularly, "intelligence analysis") to think more broadly about their field and where they might fit into it.

Next: Beyond Borders