Working In Diplomacy And The Security Services

Gentlemen nibbling on Ferrero Rocher, glittering gowns floating beneath crystal chandeliers; diplomacy conjures up images of foreign extravagance and enigma. Yet open the doors to the Foreign Office and you’re far more likely to find pin striped suits than ball gowns, office phones ringing furiously and raised voices frantically discussing recent trade figures between far off countries.

Similarly, if we were to mention MI5 and the security services, we’d assume that your immediate train of thought was along the lines of James Bond sipping on a shaken martini while simultaneously somersaulting over seven members of the Mafia, and curving a neatly aimed bullet around the prominent cleavage of his current love interest. All without spilling one drop.

So have these professions lost all the excitement and exoticism they were once associated with? While The British Treasury has tightened its purse strings and appears to have drawn the line at sequins, it would certainly seem that the all-important air of mystique surrounding diplomacy and the security services continues, as I discovered when it came to writing this section. Indeed, the puzzle of what working for either the Home or Foreign Office actually involves in the present day isn’t one that can be easily solved with a quick trip to Wikipedia. So here at Unicornjobs, we’ve put together a handy guide, in the hope of answering that very question.

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