MI6 has taken a step away from its secretive reputation and is encouraging new recruits through social networking site Facebook.

The new style of recruitment follows initial changes brought in last year when Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service decided to move towards a more open employment process with the intention of attracting a wider representation of society.

MI6 has taken a step away from its secretive reputation and is encouraging new recruits through social networking site Facebook.

The new style of recruitment follows initial changes brought in last year when Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service decided to move towards a more open employment process with the intention of attracting a wider representation of society.

There are three adverts circulating on Facebook targeted at graduates, those looking for a career change and people with an interest in world events. The graduate advert reads: “Graduates of all ages can develop long-term careers as operational officers, collecting and analysing global intelligence.”

The official Secret Service website has a dedicated graduate section which states “Join us, and whether you take on a role running agents, translating vital intelligence or creating secure global communications networks, we can offer you a career like no other.”

They also state they are “serious about work/life balance.”

However MI6 were keen to stress that working for Her Majesty’s Secret Service is nothing like On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Last year the head of MI6 recruitment, known only as ‘Mark’, said: “We don’t have a license to kill - we don’t carry Berettas - that’s simply not true.”

Spooks, BBC1’s MI5 based drama, portrays an equally fictional account of life as a spy. When asked what they do for a living the characters typically reply ‘IT.’ It is therefore interesting to note that the two degrees the MI6 website lists as the most desirable for certain roles are “languages and IT.”

In a further move towards a more open public image, an MI6 officer known as ‘John’ recently appeared on BBC1’s The One Show to talk about recruitment.

He insisted that spying is a far cry from the public perception – it is apparently more about “the ability to understand other people” than it is breaking, entering and seducing.

However, there were complications when ‘John’s’ false moustache began to slip off of his notably stiff upper lip. He had been wearing it for several hours and the studio lights had weakened the glue. In the screened interview, ‘John’s’ voice is disguised and viewers cannot see his face.

Gone are the days when MI6 could hand-pick recruits from the nation’s brightest students and leading figures in the establishment. Yet the moustache incident goes to show that some classic stereotypes of the spy game are just too deeply ingrained to be forgotten.