CIA puts want ad for spies on Web

The CIA shifted its recruitment program for clandestine operatives — a.k.a. spies — to the World Wide Web last week.

The super-secret agency has gone one step beyond its most recent high-tech initiative — the In-Q-Tel venture capital technology research firm — by fishing for resumes on the Internet for its next generation of spies.

Officials on Aug. 4 added a "Clandestine Service Operations" page to the agency's online job center, which greets prospective employees with an animated image of an eye undergoing a retina scan for "access" to classified information, or, as one might conclude, access to a job at CIA.

"For the extraordinary individual who wants more than just a job, this is a unique career — a way of life that will challenge the deepest resources of your intelligence, self-reliance and responsibility," the Clandestine Service Operations advertisement reads. "It demands an adventurous spirit, a forceful personality, superior intellectual ability, toughness of mind, and a high degree of personal integrity, courage and love of country. You will need to deal with fast-moving, ambiguous and unstructured situations that will test your resourcefulness to the utmost."

The jobs that the agency has put up for grabs include:

* Collection management officer.

* Operations officer.

* Staff operations officer.

* Counterterrorism specialists.

* Operations officer-professional trainee.

A spokesperson for the agency said the CIA has been recruiting on the Web for some time and that the new listings for clandestine service members are just the latest addition to the agency's multifaceted recruitment effort. "We have recruited in advertisements [in] magazines [and] newspapers around the country for several years," the spokesperson said. "It's an ongoing effort."

The Web page characterized the CIA's clandestine service as "the cutting edge of American intelligence, an elite corps providing the vital information needed by our policymakers to address the national security interests of the American people."

However, although the agency has moved one step closer to the Information Age by placing its recruitment literature online, it still doesn't allow people to apply online. For now, applicants will have to mail a resume, including their college grade point average, and a cover letter explaining their qualifications and areas of interest.

To find the "spy recruiting" page:

From the Employment at CIA page, click on Positions, then click on Clandestine Service Operations.