I spy on Instagram … a new ASIO career

ASIO is looking for the next generation of Australian spies – on Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess as he appears in the Why I Spy recruitment campaign.

ASIO is looking for the next generation of Australian spies – on Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

In its first-ever social media ­recruitment campaign, the ­nation’s domestic spy agency hopes to entice applicants from across the community by demonstrating there is no stereotypical “ASIO type”.

The Why I Spy campaign coincides with a major recruitment round for intelligence officers and analysts.

It features stories from real ASIO officers, including a ­female officer who initially trained as a physiotherapist, and a male business school graduate who went on to become a successful spy catcher.

The campaign was due to be launched on Instagram on Friday, before being published on ASIO’s website and its YouTube and Twitter accounts.

Director-general of security Mike Burgess said ASIO was looking for “clever, curious people who can think outside the box”. “There is no ASIO type — people of all types can, and do, work at ASIO,” he said. The agency’s ­employees included former nurses, zoologists, teachers, engineers, music conductors, tradies, geologists, philosophers, surf lifesavers, lawyers and journalists, Mr Burgess said.

“People think spies are Bonds or Bournes, but real-world intelligence work is much more ­nuanced, and requires a far more complicated mindset,” he said. “The Why I Spy campaign showcases the diversity of our most important asset – our people. ASIO staff are ordinary Australians who do extraordinary things.”

He said ASIO was currently recruiting intelligence officers and analysts. “These are the people who collect and connect the dots to stop terrorists and catch spies,” Mr Burgess said.

In one of the campaign’s animated videos, a woman tells how she grew up in a Muslim family in NSW. “My community didn’t ­encourage girls to have a career – we were expected to get married when we finished school,” she says. “But I’ve always done things differently, so I went to uni to study information technology.

“Little did I know, that was a perfect fit for ASIO: the organisation’s version of Q Branch needs people with STEM skills and my cultural background is a real ­advantage in some of our counter-terrorism work.

“Now I’m an analyst working to counter foreign interference.”

The campaign includes Mr Burgess’ own story. “My path to ASIO started at Underdale High School in Adelaide, when I first played with the school’s only computer, an Apple 2,” an animated version of the spy boss says in one video. “It unleashed my inner geek.

“After I graduated, I saw a mysterious job ad in a newspaper. When I rang for more information, all they said was ‘hello’. I said ‘hello’ back, and they said ‘hello.’ It turned out to be my entry into the secretive world of intelligence.”