The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hiring process is arduous and lengthy, as evidenced by many who posted on this site about the long wait time to hear back. If selected as a candidate for a job, they will give you a conditional job offer. There are, however, some other things

Most Intelligence Community (IC) agencies use in-house background investigators or another IC agency to conduct the background investigations on potential job candidates. Some smaller agencies like the National Reconnaissance Office or National Geospatial Intelligence Agency are very timely in getting them done and in front of an adjudicator. Other bigger