Baseline Expectation

As an Analyst for The Intelligence Community LLC, you have the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and writing capability in a public forum where colleagues and potential employers are regularly networking.  The baseline expectation is that you will post one to two blog posts to www.TheIntelligenceCommunity.org per week and a short version of the same to our LinkedIn group “The Intelligence Community”.  The content is up to you, but this document lays out several tracks that you can follow that will produce excellent results for your career and for our community.  Read through them to see what is the best fit for you, and feel free to modify any of them to fit your style, or write a new one and send it our way for inclusion.

Geopolitical Track

This and the topical track are perhaps the most common options for those who have a strong interest in pursuing or continuing as a thought leader in a particular sector.  

1. Choose your region and determine breadth of analysis (i.e. “China”, “Iranian Nuclear Policy”)

2. Choose a day of the week to blog on www.TheIntelligenceCommunity.org

3. Post blog post and then copy first paragraph of blog to “The Intelligence Community” group on LinkedIn with a headline that follows the group rules.  Attach a link back to www.TheIntelligenceCommunity.com

4. Monitor comments on both the website and LinkedIn, responding to serious questions or counterpoints

5. Be available to team with Analysts in your area of expertise on longer projects to publish in various formats

Topical Track

1. Choose your topic and determine breadth of analysis (i.e. “Oil and Gas”, “Border Security”)

2. Choose a day of the week to blog on www.TheIntelligenceCommunity.org

3. Post blog post and then copy first paragraph of blog to “The Intelligence Community” group on Linkedin with a headline that follows the group rules.  Attach a link back to www.TheIntelligenceCommunity.org

4. Monitor comments on both the website and Linkedin, responding to serious questions or counterpoints

5. Be available to team with Analysts in your area of expertise on longer projects to publish in various formats

Business Development Track (Dovetails with Liaison Role)

This role exposes the Intern to senior industry leadership and prepares him or her for job placement within the IC.  It is highly beneficial to have an upgraded LinkedIn account in order to have access to premium filters for this role.

1. Choose two days a month to blog on www.TheIntelligenceCommunity.org

2. Visit “The Intelligence Community” Linkedin group and click on the “Members” tab.  On the left side under the search bar, click on “Advanced Search”.  Use filters on left side to conduct a search for senior leaders in “The Intelligence Community” Linkedin group according to your desired career objectives. Write down the names of leaders you would like to interview and then exit “Advanced Search” to return to the basic search page in “The Intelligence Community” Linkedin group.  Input one of the names from your list in the basic search.  In this screen you will be able to scroll over the results and see an option to “send message” on the right side.

3. Send the following message, or something like it:

Subject: I would like to interview you for www.TheIntelligenceCommunity.org

Hello!  I am an Intern with TheIntelligenceCommunity.com as well as ______.  One of the things we are doing on the site is providing unclassified industry news and leader interviews.  If you would be interested, I would love to interview you (in print) and post it to my blog on the site.  My questions would revolve around how you came to your current position and what your suggestions are for others following in a similar career path. Thanks for your consideration.

4. If the person is interested in an interview, mail them questions along these lines (feel free to customize, but keep it professional):

- How did you get to where you are today?

- What is your advice for the Intelligence Community moving forward?

- How is your company or Agency positioned to handle challenges ahead?

- If people in our community want to learn more about your company in order to purchase your products or apply for jobs, where should they go and who should they talk to?

5.  Build your rolodex as a Business Development Intern and you will be asked to mentor other Interns in the same track.