MI5 is targeting recruiters and HR professionals in its latest drive, according to the recruitment agencies that supply its staff.

The home security service was inundated with applications earlier this month when it announced it was to create 1,000 new jobs.

With experience of selecting and interviewing candidates, recruiters have just the right qualities to become vetting officers – the people who decide who is eligible to work for the government’s secret service bodies.

They can earn upwards of £30,000 to examine the backgrounds of job applicants and review security clearances for existing staff.

“We need people with softer skills who are also used to response handling, checking credit ratings and criminal records,” explained Kate Wilson, a consultant at Bartlett Scott Edgar, one of the agencies that handles responses for MI5. “Recruiters are used to interviewing candidates so have the right kind of experience.”

Bob Gunning, of public sector recruiter Tribal GWT, agreed: “A large part of the vetting job involves interviewing people, so a recruitment background would be highly suitable.”

But consultants hoping to take a career move to enjoy a James Bond lifestyle will be sorely disappointed, warned Gunning.

“All this business about spies is just press hype,” he said. “We’re recruiting linguists, vetting officers and IT staff, but not spies.”