Australian Secret Intelligence Service invites public to take ‘The Most Interesting Job Interview’ in new recruitment drive via Cummins&Partners
The Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), via agency Cummins&Partners, Melbourne, has launched a new recruitment campaign aimed at attracting Australia’s next generation of intelligence officers.
Featuring a series of mind-bending audio and visual challenges, “The Most Interesting Job Interview” is an interactive interview that gives ordinary Australians the chance to step into the shoes of an aspiring ASIS Intelligence Officer.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, who launched the campaign, said the interview was designed to attract those who might never have considered a career in secret intelligence: “Not many people know much about the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. This makes it difficult to recruit the right people to work in the fields of intelligence and espionage.
“What we’re looking for is people from a diverse range of backgrounds — people who have got a curious outlook, and obviously intelligent. You have to be resilient, be prepared to work overseas but always acting in Australia’s national interest.”
The classified nature of the agency’s work, combined with Hollywood spy-movie stereotypes, often gives the public a false impression of what working in intelligence is actually like. When speaking to the media Ms Bishop said “It is not quite James Bond and driving an Aston Martin.”
Officers are involved in gathering intelligence for issues like counter terrorism, people smuggling, and following people who might be a threat to Australia.
Tom Ward, Chief Strategy Officer at Cummins & Partners said the agency worked closely with ASIS in order to design challenges that filtered out anyone who didn’t fit a very specific personality profile: “We know ASIS Intelligence Officers have excellent people skills, are great lateral thinkers, and notice things that others don’t. So our challenge was to build an online experience that tested these very human abilities in a creative, yet psychologically credible way.”
But while the interview might be a simulation, it also has real-world implications, with high performing candidates receiving an application code that they can use to inform ASIS assessors of their performance.
The idea to pressure test candidates with a job interview came from some now infamous recruitment techniques of the world’s largest corporations.
“You hear stories about Google and Facebook throwing all kinds of left-field questions at applicants in job interviews. But compared to being an Intelligence Officer at ASIS, those jobs are a walk in the park”, said Ward.
“A virtual job interview is a great way to introduce a really interesting career to Australians in a way we can all relate to. It also demonstrates that working in secret intelligence requires a more human type of intelligence – not a chiselled jaw or action-movie reflexes!”
The campaign and Julie Bishop have already featured on Sunrise, The Project, The Today Show and Sky News. Intriguingly, it has also gained rapid global interest appearing on CNN NY and news programs in Germany, France and Spain.
Client: Australian Secret Intelligence Service
Creative Agency: Cummins & Partners, Melbourne
Digital Production: Cummins & Partners
Film &VFX: Pixel Melbourne
Sound Studio: Risk Sound
Media: Dentsu
13 Comments
Well that didn’t work. I spent the entire time in an elevator staring at buttons and getting asked questions about clocks in foyers I’d never seen. Looks like I’ll continue my career as blog troll.
F****KING AWESOME…..
WELL DONE!
Very impressed. Very.
So smart. And dare I say…intelligent
Yep. Good.
Shame the agency felt the need to replicate the ‘Best Job In The World’ formula. It’s got Sean’s hands all over it.
This is great, really engaging.
I got through too, maybe a new career change…
That is awesome! Well done guys.
This is a very slick execution. Nice work to all those involved.
This is great work guys. Should be proud!
You’re a f*cking idiot? So ‘cos it’s got ‘most’ in the title, it’s the same idea? Learn to separate a handle from a concept and you might land a full time job. #ECDelsewhere…
That was cool. Although Im a legroom upgrade master so I beg to differ on me not getting that one.
Well done team, its very well put together
needs more agency talent
It has flaws, the biggest one is that there is no limit on the number of attempts, end result will be false intel on applicants actual potential. Do ASIS want false info? Or, Are they keeping tabs on the number of attempts?