PARK CITY — At first, it looked like a raid on the ski slopes.
More than a dozen agents, wearing their trademark black jackets with "FBI" printed on the back, were here at the Park City Mountain Resort on a recruiting mission.
"We're looking for ways to recruit people at different venues," FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Tim Fuhrman said Friday. "We can go to all the job fairs and colleges and law schools and places like that. We want people to meet our employees and find out more about what the FBI's all about."
The idea of agents hitting the ski slopes in a recruiting campaign is a first for the FBI nationally. More than 20 agents were seen on the slopes and were encouraged to talk to people about job opportunities with the bureau.
"We want to let the public see us in an informal setting," said FBI Special Agent Carol Covert, who is a recruiter for the Salt Lake City field office, which covers Utah, Idaho and Montana.
Covert said she came up with the idea while skiing.
"We are looking for the best and the brightest that we can find," she said. "We also know that all these people that ski are going to be healthy and fit and that's a good thing, because that's what we're looking for."
Many skiers seemed curious.
"An opportunity to work for the FBI, that would be cool," said Scott Cripps, who stopped to talk to an FBI agent on his way to the ski lift.
Agents were handing out FBI patches, magnets, pencils and key chains on the slopes. A booth had been set up in the parking lot where the FBI showed off its brand new mobile command center — a high-tech vehicle with computer work stations, satellite TVs and a control room that allows executives to conduct briefings via video hookup.
"It's a good place to find people. It's a good opportunity to find a lot of educated people from all over the place that are looking to move up," said Eliya Grinpas, who was interested in the massive FBI vehicle in the parking lot.
The FBI said it is looking for a number of different people, and not just gun-toting agents.
"What is difficult is we're competing against the private sector for a lot of the same individuals," Fuhrman said. "People with computer skills, people with language skills, people with scientific backgrounds that we're trying to focus on."
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com