Laura Sullivan of the Baltimore Sun reports in an article titled, “FBI sets its bar high for aspiring agents.” Excerpt:
Just to be considered, applicants must be U.S. citizens between ages 26 and 36, with at least three years of full-time work and a four–year college degree. Those who qualify undergo a series of written and oral tests that gauge verbal, math and analytical skills. Then they take a polygraph test meant to weed out those with criminal histories or drug use.
Those who pass take a physical exam and undergo a background check that can last for months. Agents will question neighbors, friends and employers – including previous bosses from their teen-age summer jobs selling hot dogs or clothes at the local mall. Mostly, they are looking for signs of violent or abusive behavior.
The written test, officials say, eliminates 30 percent of applicants. Of the 70 percent who pass, the interview and oral test knock out half. Of the remaining 35 percent of original applicants, only half pass the polygraph, physical and background exams.
The 17 or 18 percent of the original pool who survive then compete for the open spots at the FBI academy.
“We don’t want to discourage people, but it’s difficult,” said Peter A. Gulotta Jr., a spokesman for the Baltimore field office, one of the top recruiting offices in the nation.
“Especially the polygraph,” he said. “Because despite our warnings that you’re not going to beat it, they’ll go try anyway. There’s no sense in embarrassing yourself.”
If Peter A. Gulotta, Jr. really believes that the polygraph cannot be beaten, he probably hasn’t read The Lie Behind the Lie Detector.