This may be the wrong place to ask this but...
About 3 months ago, my son (17) enlisted in the Navy as an Aviation Electronics Technician. He did this because he felt that his grades (B,C,D) were not good enough to get him into his only choice for college. Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. This being based on Embry's average GPA acceptance.
Needless to say, he wants to fly for the Navy. The Navy recruiters, his mom and I convinced him to at least try to apply. Actually the recruiter told him to apply or end up cleaning nasty stuff off the bottom of a ship for the rest of his life.
The most amazing thing happened. He got accepted! I took the opportunity to be nosy and read his essays that he submitted (without our help) and they were amazing. My kid can write. Now I know why Embry Riddle accepted him. They were works of art.
This kind of brings me to the whole point of this post/question. In order for him to attend the university, he has to get the NROTC scholarship. Otherwise he can still attend Embry, but has to do so from a ship. (Embry offers classes on most US Navy ships).
He was told the other day that he has to go through something called an Officer Interview. He has about 3 weeks to prepare. Can anyone tell us what he should expect? What kind of questions should he be prepared for?
He's been going through the interview podcasts and we're planning some role playing, but we're not sure if we should treat this as a corporate interview or just stand there and yell at him like a drill sergeant. :-)
Any direction would be helpful
Thank you
Ron
Ron, I can't offer any
Ron,
I can't offer any specific questions he'll get...it has been too long since I've done one of these boards. I can tell you, he'll be interviewed from the perspective of "will he make a good officer?" He'll be interviewed by officers in his current command and they'll also be looking at his record in the Navy for some indications of his future potential. If he has any low points (performance or otherwise) he should be prepared to discuss them. He might get MT behavioral interview questions but I wouldn't count on it.
The best place he can go to for advice is a limited duty officer (LDO) or a "mustang" (an officer who has prior enlisted time). There should be one or more in his unit. His division officer or CPO should be able to help him with this also.
One of the big similarities to MT interview advice is what to wear...they'll tell him the uniform and he needs to look perfect in it...sharp creases, pressed, etc. They should fit him well...not like he just pulled them out of his seabag. He also needs to project a sharp military bearing...so how he walks, talks, and interacts is important.
While the interviewing officer might personally know him already (or know of him if they are in the same unit), the interview is still important.
Given all this, if he can relax during the interview, that will help a lot...many candidates are so nervous they come across poorly.
Hopes this helps and tell him good luck.
Curtis
ps. more "corporate" less "drill instructor"
On it....
Ron-
I have a source and will get you an answer this week.
Mark
Funny thing...
My son got a call from the Officer responsible for setting up the interview. Apparently they looked at his information and because he's highly involved with his High School ROTC program AND he's on track for his Eagle scout (June hopefully) that the officer just forwarded his recommendation without the interview.
Thank you for your suggestions.
Ron
Let me answer this anyway...
Ron, congrats to your son. I'm sure he'll do great in ROTC.
I'd still like to take a crack at answering this for anyone else who has a similar question. I consider myself a source for this since I'm an officer in the Navy, and I've done several interviews similar to this one (the key difference is that I usually interview sailors who have been in the Navy for approximately 2 years who are looking to transition into the officer's corps). This is skewed towards what I look for. Also, I'm writing this as a private citizen, not as a spokesperson for the Navy. My comments are not official and should not be treated as such.
Traditionally, an officer board has between one and three officers. The candidate will generally sit across from them. There should be no yelling. Officers all have our own questions, and we've been tasked with determining the level of interest the candidate has in the job, potential to make the Navy a career, and his leadership potential. Personally, before the interview, I like to look at the candidate's transcripts first, followed by any letters of recommendation and then I finish with any personal statements submitted. I'll be able to generate a few questions based on this quick glance.
The interview is usually short (20-30 minutes). I like to see someone who comes across as confident (not egotistical), polite, thoughtful and articulate. If there are problems with the transcript (bad grades, failing classes), then I will ask the candidate what caused those problems. My follow-up is always how they plan to correct the cause of the deficiency in the future. Grades are especially important because I consider them important to develop an idea of how they'll do in college (the Navy's going to pay for college, so I want to ensure that they'll pass!). In regards to all problems, I never want to hear excuses. I just want the candidate to accept responsibility and tell me how they'll get better for the future.
I usually ask about leadership opportunities that the candidate has taken advantage of. Although I enjoy hearing about things like captain of the football team or something along those lines, I really like to hear situations where the candidate created a leadership position (example: starting a tutoring group at school so their friends wouldn't fail out of a class, creating a chess club, class leader for the local church, etc). I also like to hear something interesting about them - have they travelled? Learned a language? Wrote a book? Designed computer software?
I will also ask why the candidate wants to be a naval officer. This is one of the most important items for me - I dislike hearing things like "just for the money", or "I hear officers don't work that much" (actual response I heard once). [To get an idea of what it means to be a naval leader, take a look at: the Horatio Hornblower series by C. S. Forrester, "Wahoo" by Richard O'Kane, or "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" by James Hornfischer.]
Above all, this is NOT just a job interview. I'm not looking for someone who sees the career of a Naval officer at the same level as a job at the local McDonald's. The Navy does not have a large number of these slots, and of those we select, not everyone will complete the program. Giving a poor candidate a slot takes away the opportunity of another candidate to succeed.
I just want to reiterate that this post describes what I personally look for, but I think that the general ideas contained should help. Let us know if your son gets accepted!