Just How Dumb Do You to Be to Wash Out of the FBI Special Agent Job Application Process?

Not everyone is cut out for the job of FBI Special Agent. Don't worry, however: you don't need to have attended Oxford like Fox Mulder in order to get into the FBI nor do you need to have fumbled around in the back seat of cars in West Virginia amid dreams of escape like Clarice Starling. In fact, to lose out on the possibility of getting a job as an FBI special agent really requires a bit more effort than you might imagine.

FBI Special Agent Qualifications Questionnaire
Keep in mind that the actual target indicator of the FBI Special Agent Qualifications Questionnaire is to determine your level of competitiveness against the qualifications of other applicants. What can you do to increase your chances of succeeding against others in your quest for an FBI career? First off, you want your qualifications to be timely in regard to current FBI needs. If you had experience with casino security in the 1960s you might have risen to the top of the list as the FBI was cracking down, as best as J. Edgar Hoover would allow, on the Mafia. Today's top qualifiers on the FBI Special Agent Qualifications Questionnaire would more likely have some experience in the sphere of domestic terrorism. This step in the process of becoming an FBI special agent will look to see if you have any law enforcement experience, whether you have been the recipient of commendations, honors and awards, what kind of special academic qualifications you possess such as a law degree or proficiency in a foreign language and if you qualify for veterans' preference.

FBI Phase I Testing
Your dream of becoming an FBI agent moves from the qualifications questionnaire to Phase I Testing. This test is administered around the country and you can expect 30 days notice of the time and location. You have to bring a driver's license to prove your identify before taking this step on the road to getting an FBI job. What you cannot bring is a longer list: books, magazines, resumes, cell phones, MP3 players, calculators or guns. Eat and drink before you arrive because those are verboten once testing begins. Tobacco use of any kind is also not allowed. You will be given breaks during Phase I FBI Testing and you'd better take advantage of it to take a whiz because bathroom visits are not in your future during the test itself. The point of FBI Phase I Testing for prospective special agents is threefold: to determine your abilities to plan, prioritize, evaluate, motivate and maintain a cool demeanor; to measure your abilities in math and data analysis; to measure your critical skills by providing you hypothetical situations to which your reactions will be severely judged.

FBI Employment Application
Once you've passed the FBI Phase I Testing, your attempt to wrangle yourself an FBI career as a special agent means submitting an extensively detailed application for employment within 10 days. Information on this application includes education, employment, military experience if applicable, foreign travel experience, court records, financial statement, names of your college roommates and relatives, any proof of drug use and a photo of your entire face.

FBI Phase II Testing
Phase II Testing for a career with the FBI as a special agent involves both an interview and a written test. The interview section is designed to weed out those who have trouble with any combination of the following: effective oral communication, organizing and prioritizing abilities, evaluative and analytical skills, adaptability, effective relating to others and the possession of an overall sense of integrity. The written portion of the FBI Phase II Testing process is based on your ability to communicate effectively in writing, your attention to detail and your ability to make smart decisions based on judgments arrived at through advanced evolutions. Expect to spend about an hour and a half on the written portion of the FBI Phase II Test.

Final Screening
Congratulations, you've made it the final countdown of becoming an FBI Special Agent. This means you have effectively shown integrity, skills in analysis and evaluation, led a good life and have great organizational abilities. All that's left is receiving a conditional letter of appointment as a special agent, pass a drug test, make it through an interview that focuses on your foreign travel and contacts as well as drug use and financial obligations, pass a polygraph test and get through the most intrusive and potentially embarrassing background investigation you will ever experience in your life unless you apply for a job as Ann Coulter's food taster. Provided you pass the background investigation, your route to a career with the FBI will involved passing a physical exam, run 1.5 miles at the FBI Academy in a little less than 13 minutes if you are a man and a little more than 1 test and get through the most intrusive and potentially embarrassing background investigation you will ever experience in your life unless you apply for a job as Ann Coulter's food taster. Provided you pass the background investigation, your route to a career with the FBI will involved passing a physical exam that requires a minimum number of sit-ups achieved in one minute, run 1.5 miles at the FBI Academy in a little less than 13 minutes if you are a man and a little more than 14 minutes if you are a woman and pass a thorough medical review.