Wendy - Recruitment Administrator

"You're never sure what the day's going to bring".

"Originally I worked for Customs and Excise. But I chose to move to GCHQ because of its reputation as a stable employer that pays well. They didn't just offer more money - they gave me the chance to go out and meet people face to face.

Believe it or not, GCHQ makes you want to get up in the mornings. You're never really sure what the day's going to bring. If a candidate falls through, you need to be ready to act fast - to get their replacement in the picture.

Some of my time is spent answering a steady stream of phone queries from potential applicants. Often, I'm out interacting with people at job fairs. It's amazing how much interest there is in GCHQ. Mind you, not all of it's quite on the mark! You get some weird and wonderful emails - people have some very strange ideas about what we do. I've been approached at a job fair by someone who offered his services as an assassin!

The social life is good in Cheltenham. And because of the Literature Festival, you often get insights into other people's research methods. I remember talking to one guy who was writing about the siege of Stalingrad. He'd been researching in the Russian Military Archive, but wasn't allowed to take material out - or take notes. He'd finally managed to sneak information out through a Western embassy!

Training's easy to get - you just need to know what you want. In my time here, I've been sent on external courses on recruitment PC packages and had internal Assertiveness and Presentation Training. It's enabled me to move on already.

I'm moving to Intelligence Production. In GCHQ you're always moving forward".