Public Service Career Fair

After work today we were given the opportunity to attend the Public Service Career Fair at the National Building Museum. When I first showed up, I realized I should have been more prepared. I was part of the 15% or so that wasn’t wearing a full suit, armed with plenty of questions and multiple copies of my resume. Since I wasn’t ready to seriously consider working for any of the participating government agencies, though, I wasn’t too disheartened. It was a great event to go to and just see what the government had to offer for careers. It was a good event to go to because it reminded me just how many careers there are in the federal government, and how appealing an employer the government can be.
Not surprisingly, the longest lines were for the CIA, DIA and the FBI, as well as the other National Security/International Relations-related departments and agencies. While waiting in line for the CIA, we got to listen to an agent in the Clandestine Service and an analyst as well (the analyst was actually taking resumes). What they said was a reaffirmation of what I somewhat already knew: national security agencies want people of various backgrounds, as long as you are intelligent, have a desire to serve your country, and are willing to do or learn something that most others will not—such as serve in a hardship post or learn a non-romantic language. While everyone wants to be the next James Bond, it’s good to know that only the most serious, dedicated, and patriotic of us will actually get inside the national security circles.