Have a special skill? FBI wants to talk

Speak a foreign language? Know how to fix cars or wire an office? The FBI might have a job for you.

By JAMES WALSH, Star Tribune

Last update: January 7, 2009 - 11:48 PM

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For those who have long dreamed of becoming a G-Man or G-Woman, take heart. Now is your chance.

The FBI has launched a massive hiring campaign to add to its ranks 2,100 employees in a variety of jobs. Did you know the FBI needs auto mechanics? Engineers? Electricians and accountants? It's true. The FBI wants you -- especially if you speak a foreign language, such as Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Somali or Urdu.

Oh, yeah, the FBI also plans to hire 850 new special agents -- the ones who foil bank robberies and investigate all types of federal crime. One major requirement for these multilingual applicants: a willingness to go anywhere to work.

"Most of the jobs are not regionally based," said E.K. Wilson, spokesman for the Minneapolis office of the FBI. "It's a national process. You apply for the position --let's say, to be an agent -- then you're brought to Quantico [the FBI training facility in Virginia] for training. Then, after Quantico, you're assigned to one of 56 field offices."

It's all about making the FBI more nimble in a shrinking world, Wilson said. While a number of the new positions are meant to replace those lost to retirement and attrition, the overall number of needed applicants is larger than usual -- in part because of a greater emphasis on language skills, he said. The emphasis on people from a variety of jobs -- from electricians to fingerprint analysts -- who have foreign language skills is a newer wrinkle.

"There are some efforts to expand that," he said.

Most of the vacancies will close Jan. 16. The FBI will host a huge event to which applicants will be invited for interviews. All FBI positions, whether special agents or auto mechanics, require at least a top secret security clearance. That means applicants will undergo a thorough background investigation, including a polygraph test, drug screening, credit and records checks and extensive interviews with former and current colleagues, friends, neighbors, family members and others.

Those interested in applying should go to www.fbijobs.gov for more information.

The average age of FBI applicants is about 30. Special agents usually had previous careers in law enforcement, the military, the law or in accounting.

Said Wilson: "For many, the FBI is a second career, really."

James Walsh • 612-673-7428

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