NSA Creates 'CareerBuilder' for Spies

The National Security Agency is building a one-stop digital hiring portal for the entire intelligence community.

Between stiff competition with the private sector and hiring processes that can sometimes last a year or more, the intelligence community has been working on a steep incline when it comes to attracting top technology talent.

NSA wants to change this, the agency’s human resources director Kathy Hutson said in a recent Federal News Radio interview.

The hiring site is scheduled to launch in the fall, according to Hutson. The new site will include a job exploration tool for applicants and will enable them to upload unclassified text that can be sent into the agency’s classified network.

Agencies will likely also be able to assess and test applicants through the site, Hutson said.

“We’re really stepping into that more efficient space of, ‘How do we do this across the whole community, build a portal for everyone to come to,’” Hutson said in the interview.

So far, NSA has partnered with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Defense Intelligence Agency, according to Hutson.

This is not the intelligence community’s first foray into innovative hiring strategies.

A few months ago, intelligence agencies participated in the sixth annual virtual career fair, which included group chat rooms and live-streamed presentations by employers and even avatars for participants.

Last fall, NGA organized the intelligence community’s first Twitter town hall. Its goal was to connect with potential applicants for its upcoming internship program.

(Image via Danomyte/ Shutterstock.com)