Technology Is This the Coolest Job Audition Ever? ‘Can You Crack It?’
LONDON (The Blaze/AP) — What if you could help put resume sifting aside and increase your chances to land an interview by answering just one question: Can you crack the code?
That‘s the question Britain’s electronic listening agency, the Government Communications Headquarters, is asking in an online campaign to find the next generation of cyber specialists, although it has said it’s not going to be the only factor giving potential candidates an edge to earn a job.
GCHQ quietly launched a cryptic website last month featuring a box of code made up of numbers and letters. There is no branding on the site, only the phrase “Can you crack it?”
The agency has now revealed it is behind the campaign, and said Friday it’s trying to reach individuals with “a keen interest in code breaking and ethical hacking” for careers at GCHQ.
“It’s to arouse interest in people who perhaps might not be caught by our normal recruitment campaigns,” a GCHQ spokesman said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.
In the Guardian, a spokesperson was reported as saying that with the fast moving digital market the company hopes this form of “recruitment” will allow it to “engage with prospective candidates in new and innovative ways.”
Cracking the code reveals a keyword, which when entered into a space on the website prompts the GCHQ job-recruitment website to appear.
The agency is currently recruiting for cyber security specialists — at a pay grade of around 25,000 pounds ($39,000) — and hopes to recruit around 35 people over the next few months, the spokesman said.
More than 50 people have successfully cracked the code so far — of which 80 percent have submitted an application, the spokesman said.
“With the threats to information and computer technology constantly evolving, it is essential that GCHQ allows candidates who may be self taught, but have a keen interest in code breaking and ethical hacking, to enter the recruitment route too,” it said in a statement.
But career hackers beware: “Anyone applying who has hacked illegally will not be eligible to continue in the recruitment process,” GCHQ warned.
And gaming the website isn‘t a guarantee for joining GCHQ’s ranks. The spokesman said that while anyone who cracks the code likely has an aptitude for GCHQ’s type of work, it won’t catapult code-crackers ahead of other job applicants automatically.
The agency said it has been using social media to get the word out and that the site has attracted about 8,000 hits.
The Guardian reports that the agency has used unconventional scouting methods before, running an ad campaign in online games in 2007 for those interested in a career in “British intelligence.”
