Part 11 -- Advice From Veterans (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
Part 8 -- Going It On Your Own
Part 9 -- The 5 Things You Must Have
Part 10 -- Advice From The Trenches
Special Report: Where The Jobs Are, 2009

As I was doing research for this series, I reached out to a number of my colleagues for advice. I received some very good answers back. There was a surprising amount of agreement among these public and private sector veterans of intelligence work. Generally, their comments broke down along three lines, however: Specific areas to look for jobs or specific skills needed to get a job, the importance of internships and, finally, general advice to the job hunter.

(Note: All of the people quoted in today's post are intel veterans. They are trying to be helpful by providing the benefits of that experience to young analysts looking for their first job. These comments should not be construed, however, as the "official position" of their respective agencies, companies or organizations.)

Specifics

Deborah Osborne, who writes the popular crime analysis blog, Analyst's Corner and has a consulting business with the same name, provided some very specific guidance for entry-level analysts interested in pursuing careers in law enforcement intelligence.

"Certain parts of the country," she said, "have many more local level crime intelligence analysts jobs. The most concentrated areas for local level law enforcement analyst positions in the United States include the following states: Massachusetts, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Kansas, California, Arizona, Washington, and Colorado. This doesn't mean that other states don't have such positions - just that the concept of crime intelligence analysis is well-established in the listed states."

Drew Perez, of the Lockheed Martin Center For Security Analysis and the author of the also popular national security focused blog, JIOX, took a slightly different but no less useful perspective when he outlined the "hot" areas for analysts seeking employment today: "Competitive Intelligence, Information Operations, Perception Management, Prediction Markets."

Drew goes on to say, "Another area identified in the market research I conducted 2-years ago for Lockheed Martin showed that significant opportunities exist outside the traditional intelligence community (IC). Secretary Napolitano's recent speech at the Council on Foreign Relations addresses these opportunities outside the IC. Here are some excerpts: 'And so we're constantly looking for ways to better share information up and down the response ladder I just described, from individuals and communities to local law enforcement, to the federal level and then at the international level. In other words, as we build the fusion centers, we need to move analytic capacity from the Beltway to the country. In addition to the 70 current fusion center sites, the department will be collaborating with the Department of Justice and the FBI in more than 100 joint terrorism task forces across the country as well. So you see how we're creating the network—individuals, private sector, now among fusion centers and the law enforcement community.' "

What Drew is highlighting seems to be confirmed in the recent report on where the jobs are going to be in government over the next 3 years. That report indicated considerable growth in intel analyst positions within federal law enforcement.

Finally, another intel veteran, Cecilia Anastos, highlighted some particular skill sets that she thought would be useful, including mastery of analytic software (such as Analyst's Notebook), mastery of white hat hacking skills, and language skills (specifically, according to Cecilia, "Arabic, Farsi, Pashtu, Chinese and Spanish….I would include also Portuguese and Italian").

Internships

Virtually all of the intel veterans indicated that an internship was important. Drew was emphatic: "Get an internship with ODNI, CIA, DIA, NSA. The point is someone (an agency) has to sponsor your security clearance to get in the door. "

Deborah offered some good advice to those more interested in law enforcement careers: "Internships can be arranged by your universities and colleges. You may also approach police agencies yourself. Do research on the web to see if they have an analytical unit. Contact the unit staff and ask about opportunities. Some agencies use volunteers to help analysts. Look into these options because developing relationships with analysts and agencies is your number one best bet to getting a job."

Howard Clarke, of Toddington International, a commercial OSINT firm, in outlining some of the problems with intelligence as theory and intelligence as practice, also provided what turns out to be a pretty good checklist for interns when examining a company, agency or organization as a place for potential employment. Specifically, Howard recommends that young analysts, "do their homework on the agencies to which they are applying: as regards organizational culture, use of analysts, relevance and quality of training, etc. To make my concerns a little more concrete, I would point to issues such as:

• Problems with analyst tasking (does this function work well in the prospective hiring organization?)
• Is there coherence between the training provided and the actual work in which analysts are engaged?
• Is the organization analyst-friendly? Are there clear roles and reasonable expectations and a supportive or hostile organizational environment?
• Are systems in place to support the analysts or are the analysts in place to serve the data processing functions?"

Howard's list is a good one in my estimation, even if, in this economy, entry level analysts may not be able to be very picky. At least, they will be able to go into a job with their eyes open.

General Advice

There was quite a bit of just general good advice from all respondents for entry level analysts. Much of it has already been outlined in other parts of this series but some of it, at least, bears repeating and some of it is brand new.

For example, I thought Mats Bjore, the Director of Silobreaker made some excellent points when he stated, "Intelligence analysts need to be able to learn and unlearn at high speed. They also need to have a deep cultural and social understanding for the area or subject they analyze. Furthermore, they need to be able to do their own collection of data and information embedded in the analytical process. I have seen to many examples of "academic" and "IC" methods that give the individual a sense of a proven and accepted workflow, but, for the consumers of intelligence, just produce an overflow of words that they get too late."

Deborah adds that young analysts should make a point of attending "the International Association of Crime Analysts and International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts conferences if you are able. Besides the quality training you will receive there, networking opportunities abound. Make an effort to meet people who head analytical units and don't be afraid to market yourself." I would say the same holds true for the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professional's annual conference as well.

Cecilia recommends picking a specific topic or region of interest as soon as possible, studying as much as one can about it/them and actively writing papers or other documents to help develop your expertise but also to use in a portfolio. Another of her recommendations that made sense (either from an internship or a job perspective) was to "apply to organizations like the Council on Foreign Relations, think tanks, etc. This will brand your name with a region and an expertise, which you can use later to get a job at government agencies."

Next: The Ultimate Intel Job Search Link List

Special Report: Where The Jobs Are, 2009 (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
Part 8 -- Going It On Your Own
Part 9 -- The 5 Things You Must Have
Part 10 -- Advice From The Trenches

Just when I was about to wrap this series up, all of a sudden a new report comes out that contains a number of juicy details about where jobs will be in the Federal Government over the next three years -- including amazingly, specifically, jobs in intel analysis!

The site with all the cool info is called Where The Jobs Are, 2009 and many thanks to my colleague Prof. Dave Grabelski for pointing it out to me. The specific section of interest to intelligence professionals is the Security and Protection section.

The Partnership For Public Service, a well-funded and well-connected non-profit with the stated mission to "revitalize our federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve" put the report together based on information provided by the 35 government agencies that participated.

The level of participation by the intel agencies is unclear. The CIA, for example, did not participate. The Department of Defense (DOD) and all of the services did participate, however, and this is important because nearly all (80% or more) of the intel budget falls under DOD.

Maddeningly, it is unclear what the numbers provided by the services actually represent. For example, I am pretty sure that the numbers on the site are for DOD civilian jobs and do not include military positions but I am not positive. Likewise, I am pretty sure that the DOD numbers include subordinate agencies like DIA and NSA but I cannot be sure since the CIA clearly opted out and these other agencies may have done the same.

Beyond the services, I have other questions about what the numbers actually mean. For example, the line item in the report labels the "Professional Field" as Intelligence Analysis. Does this include anyone associated with the intelligence analysis function? Or just analysts?

One article from the Washington Post does shed some additional light on the hiring picture, however. In its article announcing the publication of this report, the Post states:

• "Intelligence agencies expect to hire 5,500 people in the next year and "in the same order of magnitude" over the following two years, according to Ronald P. Sanders, chief human capital officer for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Such agencies include the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. "It's a combination of how much turnover we expect and how much growth we expect in our budget," Sanders said."

With the data provided by the report and the Post's article, it is possible to go back to the back of the envelope again and do some more analysis.

• Any way you add up the numbers you get a reasonably consistent answer to the question of how many intel analysts the federal government needs each year:
  

• If you add up the numbers for the agencies listed needing professionals in the Intelligence Analysis field in this new report, you get 3676 over the next three years (or about 1200 a year).
• Previous info suggested that about 17% of the intel workforce are analysts. Using Sanders' 5500 total number, this translates to 935 new-hire analysts (17% of 5500) across the entire national security IC each year for the next three years.
  
• Both these numbers triangulate pretty well with my own, earlier, estimate of about 1000 total (as the median. The range was between 400-2000).

• The Department of Justice (DOJ) is undeniably the place to look for jobs as an analyst. More than a third of the total 3676 projected hires in intel analysis over the next three years are coming from DOJ according to the report.

• The factors mentioned by Sanders in the Post article were turnover and budget. Intel budgets are likely to remain flat so my guess is that this is mainly due to turnover and that much of this is driven by retirement. There is some support for this in the new report (see the Turnover Tab on the Security And Protection page).

• The factor not mentioned was a shift away from contract hires in intel (i.e. closing down contracts and making those workers move to the government side). Contractors currently add another 30+% to the total intel workforce. It is hard to imagine much widespread growth in the contract sector but there is no recent evidence to suggest that there will be a decline next year either (For more info on estimates with regard to contract hires see this post).

• Previous info suggests the US national security intelligence community has about 100,000 government employees. 5500 new employees each year based mostly on voluntary turnover translates to roughly a 5.5% turnover rate. If accurate, this places the US national security intelligence community in the same general category as other low turnover rate industries such as biotechnology and other high-tech industries.

Next: More Advice From The Trenches

Part 10 -- Advice From The Trenches (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
Part 8 -- Going It On Your Own
Part 9 -- The 5 Things You Must Have

A few weeks ago, while I was in the middle of writing this series, I sent a note out to my contacts on LinkedIn looking for some advice on how to get a job in intelligence. I received a number of replies, all of which were very helpful.

Over the next couple of posts, I intend to share many of their insights. In some cases, I have deleted names or generalized positions. In virtually all cases, I have had to edit, unfortunately, for length.

One final note: Some (many, in fact) of the ideas in these responses track closely with my own but some do not. I felt, however, that it was important to include as wide a variety of responses from as many people "actually in the arena" (as Teddy Roosevelt would say) as I could.

Without further ado:

Z. (Government Analyst)

Apply to EVERYTHING, ALWAYS. You don’t know what you’ll like or dislike until you’ve done it for a year (or more), so don’t pigeonhole yourself by only applying to contractors, or only applying to government agencies. Take every interview. More importantly, just because you have an offer and are undergoing the adjudication process does not guarantee employment. Apply to jobs while you’re looking for jobs. Apply to jobs while you have offers for jobs.

Move to DC. I know, I know. “They are plenty of intelligence jobs outside of DC!” I get that. I argue for the big move for two reasons: hiring managers are more likely to bring in a local for an interview than an “outsider” if the qualifications are similar; and, for the most part, the decisionmakers who decide the location where people work usually reside in DC.

When I was looking for a job in the (national security) Intelligence Community (IC) after graduating, I had two options: move back (home), work in an office job while applying for IC jobs and hope someone thought highly enough of me to fly me to DC, put me up in a hotel and maybe rent me a car. Or, I could move to DC, find an office job, use the contacts my classmates who did secure employment in DC cultivated, and take an afternoon off of work to stop in the office and interview in person. In today’s economy, “outsiders” have to be that much more special to earn a flight, room, board, and transportation for an interview.

Lastly, some vacancies state very clearly, “Locals Only” or “DC Metro Area Only” and never see the bright lights of the information superhighway. Websites like USA Jobs, Intelligencecareers.com, Craigslist, et al. may cover 75% of the job openings, but I would argue another 25% come from emails within the IC and word of mouth.

Mike (Government Analyst)

I guess the only advice I have for someone looking for work would be to include all the right "buzz words" on their resume. Be sure to include specifics and detail as well. Probably the most important advice would be to not give up if you don't get your dream job and just apply anywhere and everywhere that offers a security clearance. I would also say to keep looking even after you receive conditional offers because you never know what's going to happen.

Jessica Lamb (Government Contractor Analyst)

I think it's important for aspiring intelligence analysts (IA) to be willing to adapt to different environments. Without already holding a clearance, it may be difficult for an IA to obtain a government or government-contractor job immediately after graduation, so they should be willing to work (in another) position to gain some experience first. Also, they shouldn't underestimate the importance of internships. They should do as many as they can! There's nothing like hands-on intelligence experience to help a new analyst gain insight into the community and ultimately build their resume!

Secondly, it's important for the aspiring IA to willingly learn and use new tools. An analyst who insists on performing research/analysis with a few select tools will likely be overlooked for employees who are more adaptable and learn new techniques more quickly.

Ben (Market Intelligence Analyst)

When you're looking for a job you have to treat the search like your full time job. Keep a record of where you've applied, who the contact person is, and where you're at in the interview process. Also, every time you apply to a job you should tweak your resume slightly to specifically address the requirements in the actual job post. Market intel means different things to different organizations so your resume has to reflect the job post to a certain extent. If you send out one resume for every job you're hurting yourself.

Even if you don't have a lot of experience you still need to link your previous skills and experience directly to the job description. It's important to really think about that before going into the interview. Don't use canned answers from the internet - draw on whatever experience you have and use the terms of the art.

Mike (Business And Market Analyst)

I believe a crucial aspect of securing a job as an analyst is diversifying your skill sets and experiences through a variety of internships. Pursuing and obtaining these internships gave me the experience that employers were looking for in a candidate. I have yet to find an employer whose ideal candidate is a college grad with no work experience. Employers want experience and they want diversified experience. My advice: Take advantage of as many opportunities as possible - paid or volunteer, business or national security, internship or co-op - because regardless if you love it or hate it, it is giving you experience that at the end of the day looks good on your resume and gives you something to talk about in an interview other than a school-related project.

Luke (Job Seeker)

If I had the chance to give a college senior or young grad student seeking employment as an analyst advice I would tell them to only apply to organizations where they can stay passionate about what they're researching. I see a lot of students who (want) to fulfill some misguided Intel career fantasy. These are the students that enroll already set on working for a group like the CIA or FBI. I think these students fail to appreciate the work they are signing themselves up for by applying to these organizations. There are plenty of Intel jobs outside of the US IC. With a little time, effort and research I think that some students are likely to realize that they would be happier working for an organization like the Sierra Club or the World Health Organization rather than a government organization like the CIA or FBI.

A. (Government Contractor Analyst)

For future grads, I would highly recommend that students begin to apply early in the year and apply to as many companies/contracts as possible. Next, you have got to follow up with the HR contacts and any people you meet at job fairs.

From personal experience, my best shot of getting my job was to ask alumni who I knew while I was an undergrad. My bosses are constantly asking us for recommendations for potential employees. (I even passed a resume along after only starting work in June). While this may seem difficult, it never hurts to ask about jobs and people always seem willing to take resumes. Finally, they should try and stay positive. From firsthand experience, this process can be quite stressful. Students should definitely plan for the unpredictable (especially from the government and contractors).

For younger students, the best thing possible is to begin their job search early. Also, I think it really, really, really helps to have an internship which provides the student with a clearance. It makes students WAY more marketable and will give them a better chance against others interviewees who may have more years experience.

Next: More From The Trenches

Surreal Saturday: Wild Birds That Talk To Humans (YouTube)

I saw the video below and was absolutely amazed. It reminded me of Josh Klein's crow experiments and, frankly, a little bit of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds...

Part 9 -- The Five Things You MUST Have (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
Part 8 -- Going It On Your Own

So far, this series has been about perspective and opportunity and a little short on tactical advice for job seekers. I hope to rectify that in (what I think will be) the last three posts in this series.

Specifically, I want to lay out in this post the five key things I think a job seeker needs to have in order to get a job in intelligence. These five things assume that the job seeker has at least the minimum qualifications for the job to which they are applying. In short, I am trying to identify those things that set some job seekers apart, that give certain job seekers an edge. These observations are based primarily on watching 500 or so seniors and second year graduate students go through the process over the last 6 years here at Mercyhurst.

I recognize that the Mercyhurst experience may not be typical for all job seekers. Because of the nature of our program, lots of employers come to us to find entry-level analysts. For example, our Career Services Department logged over 400 intel interviews on campus last year before Christmas. Not all of these were for jobs, of course; some were for internships but it gives a sense of the level of opportunity the college provides.

Likewise, the faculty here maintains good contacts with a number of agencies, businesses and professional organizations focused on intel. As a result, we get a lot of "Hey, we are looking for someone who can..." kind of job openings.

Finally, our alumni are increasingly becoming our best asset when it comes to finding jobs, internships and new students. I don't think a week goes by that I don't get a note from an alum about a job or internship somewhere that one of our students might be able to fill.

The point of all this is that the Mercyhurst experience is something of a special case and I recognize that. I realize that what I have noticed in terms of jobs may be a result of that unique experience and that my observations may not apply more generally.

That said, I am going to try to generalize here. What I have listed below are the five things that, from my observations, when they are done well tend to result in a greater chance of getting a job and when they are not done well or not present at all, tend to reduce the chances for getting a job. I think that they will apply to anyone seeking an entry-level job (and, particularly, an entry-level analyst job) in the intel communities outlined in the previous posts in this series.

Enough caveats and disclaimers! Here is the list:

The Right Attitude

This job search is not going to be "typical" and it may be difficult. The job seeker needs to take responsibility for the search and do so early in the process. This means two things: First, no one is exactly like you. No one has exactly your skills and abilities. No matter how difficult it gets, you have to remain positive about your search and your opportunities. You don't care if everyone wants you -- you only need one person, agency or organization to appreciate what you bring to the table.

Second, and as important (maybe more so), is that no matter how "special" you are, no one owes you a job. If you think jobs will fall on you because you are so brilliant or educated or experienced -- think again. The sooner you take charge of your job search and start working all the angles, the faster and easier you will find a job.

Finally, and also related to attitude, is to not bother looking for the "perfect" job. I hear students say stuff like "I was offered a job in counter-proliferation but I really want to work counter-terrorism" and it drives me crazy. Where an entry-level person in intel actually winds up is something that is virtually certain to evolve over the early years of that person's career. The one thing I know about jobs in intel is that they change and sometimes very rapidly (I am certain, for example, that about a year ago there were a whole lot of analysts who suddenly became Georgia-Russia analysts who were working other jobs just a few weeks previously...). No matter what you think you are qualified to do and no matter what you employer thinks they are hiring you to do, it will likely change (sometimes before you even walk in the door).

A Portfolio Of Resumes

A one-size-fits-all approach to resumes will not work in intel (and may not work anywhere). At the first level, I have had a number of recruiters tell me that students should have both a polished, finished resume and a text-only version. The text-only version is for use on job boards (such as Monster or Indeed). A text-only resume that contains an exhaustive list of a person's capabilities and credentials but little in the way of formatting is one that is most likely to show up in a keyword search (the way most job boards operate) but is least likely to choke that same system due to a format conflict (like a system that can't interpret all the fancy fonts you used...).

Having two resumes (polished and text-only) is the minimum you should do, however. Different jobs require different skill sets. While you should never lie about your skills, if a particular job needs a particular skill that you do have, why not put it up front? I have seen a student who was fluent in Arabic apply for a job that required fluency in Arabic but bury that piece of information at the bottom of his resume because "that's where I thought languages went." AUUUUUGGGHHH!

If you are serious about applying for a job, then you should take the time to carefully look at the requirements for that position. You should do some background research on the company or agency to fill in any gaps that the position description does not address. Finally, you should organize your skills, experiences, education and abilities on your resume in such a way that you match what they want to what you have (again, without lying or exaggerating). Blasting generic resumes at every position you can find may work, but is generally not very effective.

If you start customizing your resume for each position and saving each version, you will soon find yourself with a portfolio of resumes so that when you do see a job that looks good, you will be able to pull out a resume that is close, tweak it a bit, and send it in.

Two more thoughts about resumes: First, just because you did something doesn't mean you have to put it in your resume. In other words, unless you are looking for a job as a fry cook at Wendy's, why would you take up valuable resume real estate with that particular nugget? I am not saying that these types of jobs should never be included in a resume but, if you do include them, you ought to have a reason (For example: The job calls for leadership experience and you were the day manager for Wendy's with X number of employees, Y amount of equipment and inventory and Z dollars in sales. It still might not be what they are looking for, but at least you have made it relevant).

Second, recruiters see lots of resumes. Many of these resumes are very well done; not just neat and clean but snappy looking, too. Appearances matter. If you would not wear a suit that was too tight to an interview, why would you hand over anything but a good-looking resume to a recruiter? Resume styles come and go and you want to come across as professional and competent, not cluttered, unorganized or dated. In my last post in this series, I will highlight some of the resume sites I have found but you should do your own research.

A Portfolio Of Your Work

If you are looking for a job as an analyst in any of the intelligence communities, having a portfolio of your work is particularly important. To begin with, you should scour your academic or internship work products (assuming they are unclassified) for good examples of analytic writing. Specifically, you should find a short piece (1-2 pages -- that's an SFAR if you are a Mercyhurst Student) and a longer, more detailed piece (an LFAR for you Mercyhurst types...). If you don't have such a writing sample (or you don't like any that you do have), you should create some.

Likewise, if you have ever had a chance to publish anything -- from an academic paper to an article in a newspaper -- be sure to include it in your portfolio. Actually having something published (particularly if you were paid for it) is like a gold star in your portfolio. It really gives the interviewer/employer confidence that you can write.

Being able to communicate in writing is still the most important skill for analysts but, increasingly, it is not the only skill employers are looking for. Your ability to brief or to design effective presentations is incredibly important and having some good examples of your work in your portfolio may well set you apart from other candidates.

Other communication skills are also becoming increasingly important. I recently had a former student tell me about the importance of our Wikipedia project to her career. Intellipedia uses the same basic technology as Wikipedia and the skills she learned in class have already helped her. Likewise, virtually any quality visualization of intelligence -- from an ARCGIS or Google Map product to an Analyst's Notebook chart -- should be part of the serious job seeker's portfolio. Concrete examples of other skills (a facility with pivot tables or an ability to make podcasts or short movies, for example) ought to make it into a portfolio as well. Depending on the situation, you may not use all (or any) of these, but you want to have them compiled and in one place.

Interview Skills

All job seekers should work on their interview skills. I have seen many students set themselves apart from the crowd by being good in an interview. I have also seen a number of otherwise highly qualified students falter at the finish line because their interview skills were sub-par.

The first thing to examine is your wardrobe. Anyone who has ever seen me in person knows that I am the last person to listen to for fashion advice. That said, it doesn't take a genius to know that wearing an ill fitting, wrinkled suit with filthy shoes is not the way to walk into an interview. Furthermore, the intelligence community typically is not looking for people who visually stand out (intellectually, yes; visually, not so much...). In short, I would save the nose ring for later and stick with something that was professional and comfortable.

The second thing to examine is the way you speak. You are not usually speaking with a peer when in an interview so your speech should be professional, not casual. Avoid slang and colloquialisms (no "you guys" or "y'all").

The single best thing you can do to prepare for interviews is to practice. Ideally, you want to have as realistic a situation as possible. You should be dressed and you should be facing off against someone who has done or does interviews in real life and who will brutally critique your performance afterward. If at all possible, you should record your interview so that you can look at yourself and hear how you speak. If you can't find someone experienced to practice with, then find a fellow job searcher to work with. As painful as this is (and as much of a hassle as it sounds...), nothing else you do will prepare you as well for an interview.

A Network

Just because I mention the "network" last does not mean that it is the least important. Frankly, many people get jobs because they have good networks and they know how to use them.

Friends and family are the obvious first places to ask. They may not be terribly helpful in getting a job in one of the intel communities (unless they are in one of the communities themselves) but it is an easy, low cost way to get things started.

Another relatively easy avenue may be to approach alumni from your institution that are already in one of the intel communities. Sometimes you can do this through your college career service department and sometimes (particularly with classmates) you can do this directly. Another possibility related to your college or university are the faculty.

One note of caution: As you move away from family and friends, you want to make sure that whatever relationship you have with these other networks is a positive one. It really doesn't make much sense to approach a faculty member, for example, when you did very poorly in their class. Likewise, alumni that you know personally and think well of you are probably going to help you more than alums that have never met you. The obvious corollary to this note of caution is that it is in your interest to get to know some students in the year groups ahead of yours and to get to know the faculty in your field and the career services people handling your discipline before starting your job search.

If you see intel as your profession then you should also get involved with the various intelligence-oriented professional organizations. If you are into business, then you probably want to join SCIP, if law enforcement is your thing, then IACA or IALEIA. If you are more interested in national security then there are a good number of options ranging from the military associations to organizations focused on very narrow areas (such as nuclear materials management) to academic organizations focused on intel.

The key piece of advice here is to actually get involved. Merely becoming a member does not really count. You want to plan events, go to conferences and conventions -- meet people. Obviously, getting involved with these organizations early is better than trying to make up for lost time but getting involved at any time is better than not being involved at all.

Students today should also not overlook their strong online social networking skills (years of fiddling with Facebook has to be worth something, right?). The competitive intelligence community seems to be out in front right now on this with active social networks on Ning and within LinkedIn. There are even a number of CI specialists who are worth following on Twitter.

A Final Comment On Grades

One of the things I have not mentioned is grades. In general, all things being equal, grades are important. I rarely see someone get a job in intelligence with less than a 3.0 and I try to tell students who have a 3.5 or better to keep it above a 3.5 because, in my experience, there is a cognitive leap from a 3.49 to a 3.51 that is sharper, perhaps, than it should be among recruiters.

The real point, however, is that all things are never equal. I can pretty much guarantee that a fluent Dari speaker with a 3.0 in intelligence studies and a US passport is going to have an easier time getting a job than an otherwise average 3.7 political science major and that a student with an active Top Secret clearance is going to beat them both regardless of grades. The intelligence communities are pretty much looking for a wide variety of people all of the time. Grades are the lowest common denominator -- focusing on those skills that are in demand yields a much higher payoff.

Next: Advice From The Trenches