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Wanted: the next James Bond

18 May 2007

Wanted: the next James Bond If you're looking to do something a little different after university, good news: MI6 are now placing newspaper recruitment ads.

This week, for the first time, the Secret Intelligence Service will place an advert in the Guardian.

MI6 recruitment techniques have traditionally included "taps on the shoulder" - when top university students are approached covertly and encouraged to become part of the service.

However, the organisation has opened up to some extent and has had an official website for a year now.

The new, more open approach is designed to attract recruits from a much wider sphere of society, according to MI6 recruiters. They emphasise that MI6 wants "to reflect the society we serve".

MI6, made famous by its fictitious spy James Bond, specialises in gathering secret intelligence abroad. Work with the organisation is seen by many as an enticing and glamorous, albeit risky career path.

One new recruit told the Guardian about some of the benefits of the job, such as the distinct lack of hierarchy.

Previously an investment banker, he commented: "You do not get the testosterone you get in the corporate world. There is not as much aggression going on as [there was] in the bank."

Be warned however - the recruitment process is typically lengthy and demanding.

The application process can take up to nine months to complete, it involves stringent vetting procedures - and you can't really chat to your mates about it.

The organisation emphasises that telling anyone other that your parents and partner could mean that your application unsuccessful.

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