How I Got Here: Sam, intelligence officer at ASIO
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Admit it, we’ve all been there – stalking social media and LinkedIn profiles, trying desperately to figure out how the hell someone got their dream job.
It seems impossible and yet there they are, living out your career fantasy (minus the itchy business suit). It might seem hard to believe, but once upon a time, they were also fantasising about their future career, and with some hard work, they made it.
Welcome to How I Got Here, HerCanberra’s series that reveals everything you want to know about the secrets of career success.
Speaking of secrets, Sam* can’t tell you her real name, but she can share how she became a senior leader at the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Sam’s career with ASIO has seen her work in what is known as human intelligence and intelligence analysis, take on secondments with other intelligence services and manage a state office.
Existential crisis time: Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Sam, an intelligence officer (IO) at ASIO, Australia’s security service. I work as an operational manager these days, but I was trained and worked as both an intelligence analyst and an intelligence officer, which included recruiting and working with human sources. These are the brave and amazing people who secretly work with ASIO to keep Australia and Australians safe by helping us stop terrorists and catch spies. I’ve worked at ASIO for more than 15 years. In every single role I’ve had I’ve been challenged, learned a lot, and never, ever been bored. It’s the best job in the world.
Let’s go back to when you were a kid, have you always dreamed of working in this industry?
I wish I could say yes to this! I can safely say I had no idea ASIO existed when I was a kid growing up in middle-class rural Australia! I thought about becoming a teacher or a nurse. Later, I decided a career in science research was what I wanted to do, and I studied science at uni. But I ended up in ASIO because a friend of mine was applying and told me about it.
I figured many of the traits associated with science were also relevant to ASIO: critical thinking, analytic rigor, ability to communicate with influence, strong work ethic, and ability to work as a team.
At each stage of the interviews, assessment centres, and more interviews, I was absolutely blown away by the people I met. They were so impressive but I was equally confident I would never ever see them again – no way I could be an ASIO officer! Even when the official employment offer came through from ASIO, I didn’t quite believe it. I had already accepted a role in another agency (talk about a sliding doors moment) before I decided to defer it and instead start in the Intelligence Development Program. It’s still the best decision I ever made and I often think back to the absolute stroke of luck that led me to working here.
Tell us about when you were first starting out, what set a fire in your belly to get here and how did you do it?
I still clearly remember my first day on the job in ASIO. I started with a cohort from different backgrounds and fields of experience, like former nurses, lawyers and students straight from university – all equally surprised that they had wound up in the auditorium in a strange Canberra building.
The thing that stuck out most on my first day – as different teams spoke with us to share insights into what we would soon be working on – was the importance of ASIO’s mission and the team mindset each of those impressive presenters emphasised to us. It was pretty clear even then, that ASIO’s work is the ultimate team sport and it didn’t matter if you were an analyst, an intelligence officer, a technologist, lawyer or in corporate, the mission couldn’t happen if one element was missing. From that moment, I was hooked – I really wanted to be part of the team! It’s the mission – catching spies and stopping terrorists – and the exceptional colleagues I work with, both in ASIO and with our incredible law enforcement and intelligence partners, that have kept me coming back every day.
Recall a time when you wanted to chuck it all in; what did you tell yourself when it got too hard?
I’ve never really wanted to chuck it all in, I’ve felt driven to keep working hard to deliver as a part of the ASIO team, even when times are tough – but there are definitely highs and lows in this job. The lows on the days when things go bad are really hard as it’s usually because what we’ve been working hard on to detect or prevent has unfortunately happened – usually because of something out of our control. ASIO is not all-seeing and all-knowing. I have had very few of those days over my ASIO career. It’s hard to overstate the responsibility and duty that our officers feel in keeping our fellow Australians safe. We all feel it when a bad day strikes. However, days like that reignite the fire to keep going, to work harder, smarter, and more creatively. We’ve had many more exceptional wins, which we celebrate privately as we can’t let our adversaries know how we’ve found them and stopped them!
What was your biggest break?
I have been so lucky in my career in ASIO, I’ve had so many incredible opportunities that I wouldn’t have had in any other career. I have traveled internationally to meet with liaison partners on key investigations, worked in HUMINT (human intelligence) to collect information to prevent security threats, and identified members of the community who want to hurt or kill people – they had the knives, had the explosives, had the plans, and we stopped them. It’s always humbling and challenging – so it’s really hard to pick one experience because I’ve had so many and will keep collecting them.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
“You’re an important part of the team – but no one person can carry the weight of the mission by themselves.” My boss at the time said this late one evening, when we were working at the height of the Syria/Iraq conflict.
I had just written a case to recommend cancelling the passport of an individual who wanted to travel overseas to engage in terrorism. We were working into the small hours of the morning and I was turning my mind to all of the non-urgent but essential work that I needed to do following the initial rush. My manager, however was packing up and sending us home – and her important reminder has stayed with me ever since. While work in ASIO is incredibly important and we work long and hard when we need to, there are always more important things (for me it’s my family, my husband and kids) that we need to mindfully prioritise when the urgent work is done. After all, we are all working here to make their Australia safer.
What is it about your industry that you love and what makes you want to pull your hair out?
Working in intelligence, specifically in ASIO, is addictive. The connection to our work and our important mission is incomparable – I love knowing that the work we all do here has meant that Australians who would otherwise have been hurt (or worse) are still walking around safe and sound, unaware that we protected them. It’s a huge privilege and honour to work here.
It’s only a small gripe, and I was guilty of this myself before I worked at ASIO, however I think that there is sometimes a misperception that the work ASIO does is the responsibility of a small ‘elite’ few, and that you need to go to a specific school or have a specific background to contribute – when that’s just not true. ASIO needs to represent the community it protects and I am so proud to be friends with so many ASIO staff who come from a vast array of places and careers before working here. So to your readers, I’d ask that if they are interested, they should take a look at our website and explore the careers there that might work best for them, their talent might be just the thing ASIO is looking for.
Tell us how you ‘stay in the know’, what media do you consume?
I’m a big fan of podcasts (The Squiz – I love the quick snapshot format and broad overview I get for the day, Squiz Kids for my kids too; The Rest Is Politics; The Economist series; MamaMia; Chat10Looks3 for a mix of serious and lighter updates) and I’ll often skim standard news via social media so I get all the daily highlights. And it would be a massive omission if I didn’t admit to watching Insiders on the ABC each Sunday morning. I think having a contest of ideas and diversity in any dialogue is critical, so I love watching the professionals but sometimes opposing views they have on that couch.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
For me, ASIO is a vocation. I genuinely hope I’ll be walking around the halls here doing whatever job is available to me in 20 years’ time. I hope in 5 years I’ll be here doing more good work, alongside our great people. As I have the chance to move between different roles every few years, I can count on having ongoing variety without having to job hunt for something that would top this place.
Why should people follow in your footsteps?
An ASIO career is challenging, exciting, and fun (don’t get me wrong, there’s also paperwork and accountability and responsibility and some tough days) and you’d be joining a team of people who you’re proud to work alongside, keeping the best country in the world safe and secure. And any time there is a spy movie on you can roll your eyes and talk about how wrong (or right!) they sometimes get it.
What advice would you give your past self?
Don’t ever hold yourself back from an opportunity based on your own view that you’re not the ‘right type’. Invest in the friends and mentors who will tell you the hard truths and build you up in equal measure, and remember to laugh at yourself; you’re going to make some mistakes, so enjoy the lessons and keep moving.
If you’re interested in a career with ASIO, join the mission at asio.gov.au/careers.
