CIA recruiters plan to conduct interviews in the Detroit area in mid-November for top applicants seeking analyst positions who turn in resumes by Nov. 2.

CIA Program Manager for Middle East Outreach, Zahra Roberts, said part of the goal in the Detroit-area recruitment effort is to gain recruits with Middle Eastern cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Undergraduates, graduates and mid-careerists with an interest in global affairs writing can apply at www.cia.gov.

Nov. 17 interviews will be conducted for the analytical positions only, not for the CIA’s technical, clandestine or support divisions, though the Website always accepts applications of all kinds.

Roberts said it normally takes much longer for the most competitive applicants to reach the interview phase of recruitment process, which can last nine months to a year.

“It’s an incredible opportunity for really strong candidates,” she said. “Here you’re getting an opportunity to get into the process very quickly.”

Curiosity over CIA jobs was piqued in the Arab American community in September when CIA Director Leon Panetta visited Dearborn to appeal for recruitment among Americans of Middle Eastern background.

Jobs are only available to U.S. citizens willing to relocate to Washington D.C.

But Roberts on Thursday put to rest one misconception that arose among some interested Arab Americans, who feared obtaining and keeping the security clearance necessary for a CIA job would prevent them from being able to visit some countries in the Middle East.

“That is absolutely not true,” she said. “There’s no limitation on anybody going back to their home country.”

She said the CIA even looks favorably on applicants who hold duel citizenships.

CIA recruiters are looking for, in particular, economists to assess foreign economic policies and financial issues, political analysts to evaluate the goals and motivations of foreign governments, leadership analysts to assess foreign leaders and decision-makers, military analysts to evaluate foreign defense resources, intentions and doctrine, engineers and scientists to analyze national security issues and analytic methodologists to develop research methods.