What The CIA Can Teach HR Departments About Fixing Recruitment

• Millions of cover letters and resumes pass through AI-driven programs before they’re ever looked at by an HR professional. 
• Though it’s rare that the CIA reveals how many applications they receive annually, past reports from publications including The Los Angeles Times and NPR suggest that the CIA could receive over 100k applications each year. 
• The CIA’s recruitment process, estimated to take around one year, relies on traditional, rigorous methods, prioritizing face-to-face interviews and comprehensive evaluations of the candidate over AI-driven/automated systems.

HR departments are being flooded with applications. A Spring 2024 report showed the number of applications per hire rose 46% in the past two years. This is wreaking havoc for both recruiters and job seekers. 

The system is clearly broken, but where can companies find better models? The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the arbiter of some of the most vital information in the world, so it should be no surprise that this is one place to look for answers.

What’s wrong with hiring? 

Millions of qualified job applicants throughout the workforce are missing out on key job opportunities due to being filtered-out by automated hiring systems — like CV scanners, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), and other related tools — Harvard Business School and Accenture report. 

The data reveals an estimated 75% of U.S. employers relied on these technologies at the time of the study.

Issues related to automation within the hiring/recruitment process have only compounded due to how fast artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been developed and incorporated within human resource (HR) teams. 

Now, millions of cover letters and resumes pass through AI-driven/automated programs throughout the global workforce before they’re ever looked at by an HR professional. 

The draw of automated HR tools 

If automated systems can lead to a quicker recruitment process in the competition for skilled candidates, then there is an inherent value for organizations receiving high volume numbers of applicants to take that approach. 

This is driving the fast-growing area of HR-related software sales. 

A recent FlexOS report, “The World’s 40 Most Popular HR AI Tools,” revealed that the leading AI-powered HR platforms draw an impressive 16 million monthly visitors and have a combined valuation of $12.2 billion. These numbers are expected to increase, too, as AI becomes more widely adopted within different sectors across the global workforce.

The data on HR-related AI tools show recruitment-focused tools currently lead the market, with three out of the top 5, and 15 out of the top 40 solutions dedicated to this area. 

The global recruitment software market was valued at US$1.75 billion in 2017 and is projected to reach as much as US$3.1 billion by the end of 2025, according to a report published by Fortune Business Insights. 

It’s easy to understand why the reality of the current job market makes investments like these necessary. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Peraton, a national-security and technology company based in Reston, VA, can attract around 1,200 job applications within 24 hours — and that’s reported to be just for one high-volume job opening alone.

Based solely on pure volume, it makes sense that an organization of that size, which employs over 20,000 employees, would free up their professional HR team by integrating automated programs.

However, a three hour drive from Peraton’s headquarters in Reston, VA would get you to Langley AirForce Base in Hampton, Virginia, where the CIA uses a hiring process that couldn’t be more different. 

The CIA has managed to stick to a more traditional system that deserves a second glance by all organizations and businesses who are looking to improve their processes. 

What is the CIA’s hiring process like? 

Contrary to most private and public businesses, the CIA has long held onto a recruitment/hiring process that is known for being lengthy, rigorous, and one that values face-to-face/in-person interviews.

It’s a tried and true approach to recruitment for the agency that, judging by current AI adoption trends within the field of HR, is increasingly uncommon in 2024. 

Though it’s rare that the CIA reveals how many applications they receive annually, past reports from The Los Angeles Times and NPR suggest the CIA could receive over 100,000 applications each year. 

While a first instinct for an HR team with that many applications would be to reach for an AI-driven solution that could help trim down the number of candidates (while also moving others further in the process), the CIA’s strict set of requirements acts as an automatic filter before many applicants submit a resume.

The CIA is not exactly an average organization. As the intelligence agency for the United States of America, the nature of the work plus this strict set of requirements combine to weed out non-serious candidates before they even submit an application. 

This helps ensure HR teams only receive serious applications from the get-go. 

The minimum requirements to apply for a job at the CIA:

• Must be physically in the United States or one of its territories when you submit your resume via the online job portal known as MyLINK
• A U.S. citizen (dual U.S. citizens also eligible)
• At least 18 years of age
• Willing to move to the Washington, D.C. area
• Able to successfully complete security and medical evaluations, including a background investigation, a polygraph interview, and a physical and psychological examination
• Registered for the Selective Service

Other CIA evaluations during the hiring process include a:

• Background investigation
• Polygraph Interview 
• Physical and Psychological Examination 

The CIA’s recruitment website published the timeline for the hiring process which includes the following steps: 

• Submit your resume via MyLINK
• Receive an invitation to apply for a specific position
• Successfully complete screening, testing, and interviews
• Receive a Conditional Offer of Employment (COE)
• Successfully complete and submit COE paperwork (SF-86, etc.)
• Successfully complete security and medical evaluations as part of the clearance process
• Receive official job offer and onboarding information
• Onboard

ClearanceJobs reports that if a candidate is not selected, they must wait 12 months before reapplying with an updated resume. 

The CIA’s recruitment process relies on traditional, rigorous methods, prioritizing face-to-face interviews and comprehensive evaluations of the candidate — over AI-driven/automated systems. 

This approach, which previous estimates reported takes about one year, ensures a thorough vetting of candidates to help maintain high standards for national security roles. For comparison’s sake, LinkedIn reports the average hiring process lasts three to six weeks. 

Would these requirements work for a public business or organization?

While these processes make sense for an intelligence agency, would any of the CIA’s practices translate into helpful actions for other organizations? Let’s examine some of the CIA requirements and whether those would be useful limiting tools to augment AI application reviews.

1.U.S. Citizenship and Selective Service: 

Requirements like having U.S. citizenship and being registered for the selective service are not unique to the CIA. Several other federal agencies like the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also set out these requirements. 

The requirements are closely tied to national security concerns. While most organizations don’t require it, some roles, especially those in information-sensitive sectors, could have similar requirements put in place.

2.Age Requirement: Many organizations set minimum age requirements, typically based on legal standards or specific job requirements. 

For example, commercial truck drivers and airline pilots in the U.S. must be at least 21, while police officers, military personnel, and flight attendants generally need to be between 17 and 21 (depending on specific job roles and local laws). 

Moreover, roles in construction, manufacturing, bartending, casino operations, performing arts, and education typically require individuals to be 18 to 21 to ensure compliance with safety standards and child labor laws.

So depending on the nature of the work, having an age requirement may not just filter candidates that may otherwise be unqualified from the onset, but it also ensures less legal and insurance liabilities for employers. 

However, the converse could also be true where discrimination based on age can become a concern. Cautiously reviewing legal requirements is key when considering adding an age requirement.

3.Willingness to Relocate and Location Requirements: While not as common as before the pandemic, many businesses still include “must be willing to relocate” as a clause in the job description. 

This is especially the case for highly sought-after positions based at headquarters or regional offices. It’s also a very effective way to narrow the number of prospective candidates as flexible work is still in high demand. 

Using location requirements does differentiate companies from the increasing flexibility now offered across the U.S. The latest Flex Index report for Q2 2024 reveals 37% of U.S. companies have adopted a structured hybrid model — which is a notable increase from 20% in the previous year. 

This outpaces the 31% of companies that require full-time in-office work, and the 32% of companies that are fully flexible.  

4.Security and Medical Evaluations: The level of security required by the CIA is not feasible for most organizations, but some sensitive industries may want to consider more thorough background checks. This is especially true given the status of non-compete agreements is currently in flux. This has historically been one way to secure company secrets, but it may not be a feasible method in the future. 

Adding the human element back into the hiring process

The CIA’s requirements may not be applicable to all job openings, but the agency’s approach of examining the full background of a potential candidate can teach valuable lessons to corporate HR departments. 

AI-driven systems can quickly scan resumes and cover letters for specific keywords, but they often overlook qualities like empathy, adaptability and interpersonal communication skills that are highly valued by many employers. 

By adding the human element to every step of the recruitment process, candidates can be evaluated more holistically. 

The agency brings the human element to its hiring/recruitment process by combining face-to-face interactions with a multi-step screening process. 

HR departments that are looking to maximize their investment in finding the right long-term candidate could benefit from more comprehensive in-person interviews to make sure candidates are vetted beyond mere surface-level qualifications.

While administering an advanced in-person polygraph test may not be entirely feasible for most organizations throughout the corporate world, HR teams can take inspiration from the CIA by making their hiring process have multiple face-to-face checkpoints, even if it’s done virtually. 

This step could include live pre-employment assessments like skills tests. For example, coding challenges for software developers, a presentation of writing samples from content creators, or problem-solving exercises for managers. 

The completion of these skills tests also demonstrates that the candidate is serious about the job they are applying to, and not simply adding another automated application to perhaps an already long list of automated submissions.

Another human element that HR teams can add to their hiring process is hosting a panel interview, where the job candidate meets their potential teammates and managers. This could give a chance for other team members within an organization to meet with and ask the applicant any questions. 

These team members can then later share their personal feedback with those in charge of the hiring process, providing details on which candidate they think is the best fit for the team. It also provides job seekers with an opportunity to feel out the organization before fully committing further in the hiring process.

HR departments that are swamped with processing job applications on top of other day-to-day tasks are not going to easily give up using automated systems, but they can ensure the human element remains part of the process. Automated systems can be used to supplement certain steps in the hiring process, but it should not take over what human recruiters are capable of. 

Relying too much on automation would detract from the value of establishing a more thorough, human-driven hiring process.

The more “old-school”/human-approach to hiring can help HR teams balance the use of automation with getting to know the right individuals for the job, and helps teams find someone who fits the company culture, values, and long-term goals.