CEC Reserves DCO Selection Board

[foowarrior]

So once you complete your interviews and fill the SF-86, what is the next step.
So far here is where I stand:

• I am also an E6 ( a Seabee) in the reserves so I have my CO's (O-5) letter, a recommendation letter from an O-4 who was my prior officer, a recommendation letter from E8 (Senior Chief of my unit), a recommendation letter from my manager at my civilian job
• Medical Completed
• Interview with 2 O-5 and 2 O-4 (all reserves) completed (interviews completed but my OR is on leave so need to confirm whether the appraisal letters are received or not)
• Transcripts from all my schools already sent to OR

I looked at the checklist from @Awilia1, and I have provided most of the stuff to my OR. I don't have FE yet (sigh) so I am taking it in mid-August.

What else am I overlooking at this point? What is the next step (wait until November?)?
Throughout this process, I always felt like I am playing the catch-up game so want to make sure everything is good on my part.

 

[zachlaird4]

So once you complete your interviews and fill the SF-86, what is the next step.
So far here is where I stand:

• I am also an E6 ( a Seabee) in the reserves so I have my CO's (O-5) letter, a recommendation letter from an O-4 who was my prior officer, a recommendation letter from E8 (Senior Chief of my unit), a recommendation letter from my manager at my civilian job
• Medical Completed
• Interview with 2 O-5 and 2 O-4 (all reserves) completed (interviews completed but my OR is on leave so need to confirm whether the appraisal letters are received or not)
• Transcripts from all my schools already sent to OR

I looked at the checklist from @Awilia1, and I have provided most of the stuff to my OR. I don't have FE yet (sigh) so I am taking it in mid-August.

What else am I overlooking at this point? What is the next step (wait until November?)?
Throughout this process, I always felt like I am playing the catch-up game so want to make sure everything is good on my part.

I think you are on the right path. Based on what you said, I can’t think of anything else other than getting that FE done. I’m taking mine in August as well. The one thing you need to watch out for is getting your EIT cert in time to submit. Apparently the board doesn’t just accept the passing of the FE, they need the EIT cert from whatever state you apply in. BUT that’s if you are required to pass the FE in order to apply to the board. Ie if you have an engineering technology undergrad.

I need to schedule my interviews. How were they? Did they focus more on overall engineering concepts or more like your personal engineering career?

 

[NuocH2O]

I think you are on the right path. Based on what you said, I can’t think of anything else other than getting that FE done. I’m taking mine in August as well. The one thing you need to watch out for is getting your EIT cert in time to submit. Apparently the board doesn’t just accept the passing of the FE, they need the EIT cert from whatever state you apply in. BUT that’s if you are required to pass the FE in order to apply to the board. Ie if you have an engineering technology undergrad.

I need to schedule my interviews. How were they? Did they focus more on overall engineering concepts or more like your personal engineering career?

All three of my interviews were more or less the same in that they asked about my education and relevant work experience.

Interviewers also emphasized the commitment and hardships that comes with balancing family life, civilian career, and naval career. Three-legged stool as some like to call it. They’ll question if you and you’re family (wife and kids if applicable) are ready to juggle all that. It’s also a plus to mention that you’re looking to have a long naval career and that you understand and have no reservations about being recalled to active duty. That is, if you really do feel that way.

Didn’t go into engineering concepts or technical concepts at all tbh. Officers may ask if you’re expecting design and technical engineering work and will say in summary that being a CEC officer is more about people, project, construction, and contract management etc. But don’t expect technical work.

Interviewers may also go into your leadership philosophies, why you want to be a CEC officer, how’d you learn about CEC/Seabees, things like that. I had 3 interviews and 2 of the senior officers were pretty laid back and had a sense of humor which was a breath of fresh air. The other one was more stiffand a lot harder to read. YMMV. GL to you all!

 

[zachlaird4]

All three of my interviews were more or less the same in that they asked about my education and relevant work experience.

Interviewers also emphasized the commitment and hardships that comes with balancing family life, civilian career, and naval career. Three-legged stool as some like to call it. They’ll question if you and you’re family (wife and kids if applicable) are ready to juggle all that. It’s also a plus to mention that you’re looking to have a long naval career and that you understand and have no reservations about being recalled to active duty. That is, if you really do feel that way.

Didn’t go into engineering concepts or technical concepts at all tbh. Officers may ask if you’re expecting design and technical engineering work and will say in summary that being a CEC officer is more about people, project, construction, and contract management etc. But don’t expect technical work.

Interviewers may also go into your leadership philosophies, why you want to be a CEC officer, how’d you learn about CEC/Seabees, things like that. I had 3 interviews and 2 of the senior officers were pretty laid back and had a sense of humor which was a breath of fresh air. The other one was more stiffand a lot harder to read. YMMV. GL to you all!

Well if I have somewhat of the same experience, I think it should go smoothly. I was prior enlisted for 6 years so the commitment/hardship aspect is second nature now and I’m definitely would like to finish my military career out if I’m selected. Thank you for the insight!

 

[foowarrior]

I think you are on the right path. Based on what you said, I can’t think of anything else other than getting that FE done. I’m taking mine in August as well. The one thing you need to watch out for is getting your EIT cert in time to submit. Apparently the board doesn’t just accept the passing of the FE, they need the EIT cert from whatever state you apply in. BUT that’s if you are required to pass the FE in order to apply to the board. Ie if you have an engineering technology undergrad.

I need to schedule my interviews. How were they? Did they focus more on overall engineering concepts or more like your personal engineering career?

Since you already know the ropes, there are no military-related questions I can think of that you would not know. My personal recommendation is to tell them your story on why you want to be CEC reserves officer, why you think this is the right time for you to join, and what values you bring to the navy (i.e why should they hire you).
I personally think that they are not interested in cookie-cutter answers (being this all-American hero type answers) so be yourself and use your military and civilian experiences to your advantage. @NuocH2O already gave out most of the questions /conversation topics. The officers who interviewed were really great folks with so much experience and humility, so it was a very relaxed setting but I did my best to maintain my military bearings (yes sir, no sir, wait till they finish talking, etc). I come from a tech-heavy background so not many questions there, but make sure you can say a list of leadership/personnel or project management type roles (both mil and civ). My only thing was after the interview, I realized that there were so many other leadership roles that I have done and should have mentioned. I mean I did prepare for it, but while describing them I did miss a few of those important ones.

 

[zachlaird4]

Since you already know the ropes, there are no military-related questions I can think of that you would not know. My personal recommendation is to tell them your story on why you want to be CEC reserves officer, why you think this is the right time for you to join, and what values you bring to the navy (i.e why should they hire you).
I personally think that they are not interested in cookie-cutter answers (being this all-American hero type answers) so be yourself and use your military and civilian experiences to your advantage. @NuocH2O already gave out most of the questions /conversation topics. The officers who interviewed were really great folks with so much experience and humility, so it was a very relaxed setting but I did my best to maintain my military bearings (yes sir, no sir, wait till they finish talking, etc). I come from a tech-heavy background so not many questions there, but make sure you can say a list of leadership/personnel or project management type roles (both mil and civ). My only thing was after the interview, I realized that there were so many other leadership roles that I have done and should have mentioned. I mean I did prepare for it, but while describing them I did miss a few of those important ones.

Did you have to find your own interviewers? or did your recruiter sent them up?

I texted my recruiter about setting up the interviews this morning and she said "You are more than welcome to use LinkedIn to find people that can interview you and set them up" then she goes to say that she is willing to help only once I pass my FE exam. I didn't know I needed to network for myself.

 

[ABMD]

Did you have to find your own interviewers? or did your recruiter sent them up?

I texted my recruiter about setting up the interviews this morning and she said "You are more than welcome to use LinkedIn to find people that can interview you and set them up" then she goes to say that she is willing to help only once I pass my FE exam. I didn't know I needed to network for myself.

Unless CEC is different than Supply, your recruiter should be setting all that up for you.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Did you have to find your own interviewers? or did your recruiter sent them up?

I texted my recruiter about setting up the interviews this morning and she said "You are more than welcome to use LinkedIn to find people that can interview you and set them up" then she goes to say that she is willing to help only once I pass my FE exam. I didn't know I needed to network for myself.

Unless CEC is different than Supply, your recruiter should be setting all that up for you.

I think what is happening here is that she doesn't think you have a good shot at selection and is focusing her time and energy on other candidates that have a better shot of selection and that is why she is saying she will help you more when you have passed your FE.

 

[zachlaird4]

Unless CEC is different than Supply, your recruiter should be setting all that up for you.

That's what I thought. When I first started this process, they told me to network with RC CEC Officers to get mentors, but I didn't know I had to also ask them to interview me. I thought that they set people for that purpose.

I think what is happening here is that she doesn't think you have a good shot at selection and is focusing her time and energy on other candidates that have a better shot of selection and that is why she is saying she will help you more when you have passed your FE.

Based on the PA and seeing what other selected people had, I believe I have a good shot, not to toot my own horn. My GPA is great for both undergrad and grad school. I have the civilian engineering experience, have prior military experience within a leadership role, and numerous other desired aspects. I may be wrong in my self-evaluation but other than passing the FE, I don't see anything wrong with my potential package.

 

[TheClyde]

That's what I thought. When I first started this process, they told me to network with RC CEC Officers to get mentors, but I didn't know I had to also ask them to interview me. I thought that they set people for that purpose.


Based on the PA and seeing what other selected people had, I believe I have a good shot, not to toot my own horn. My GPA is great for both undergrad and grad school. I have the civilian engineering experience, have prior military experience within a leadership role, and numerous other desired aspects. I may be wrong in my self-evaluation but other than passing the FE, I don't see anything wrong with my potential package.

Is the FE a requirement in the PA? What I'm saying is, at this moment, are you not technically meeting the minimum requirements? Could this be part of her hesitance?

I will say for me on the Supply side, it wasn't quite as easy as the recruiter just setting up the interviews. If you have done some networking though, use that to your advantage. I asked someone I networked with if he had anyone he could connect me with at the O-5/O-6 level - that person automatically looked at me as a referral rather than just a random person he was assigned to interview.

 

[foowarrior]

Did you have to find your own interviewers? or did your recruiter sent them up?

I texted my recruiter about setting up the interviews this morning and she said "You are more than welcome to use LinkedIn to find people that can interview you and set them up" then she goes to say that she is willing to help only once I pass my FE exam. I didn't know I needed to network for myself.

I had to find them on my own. My background is very similar to what I saw in your profile (MS in Mech E). I used different social platforms to network. I think I lucked out because I was able to network with an officer (a really great guy from my area) who put me in touch with a few CDRs. After few emails back and forth, things started to happen, and it literally took a week to get everything done. It is especially faster if you get a panel interview as everything gets done in one shot. I am also surprised at how disconnected this interview process seems at first, and you would think that it would be hard to find officers to interview you. But in my experience, it was quite the opposite once things started to roll. The officers who did my interviews were all very helpful and accomodating.

 

[zachlaird4]

Is the FE a requirement in the PA? What I'm saying is, at this moment, are you not technically meeting the minimum requirements? Could this be part of her hesitance?

I will say for me on the Supply side, it wasn't quite as easy as the recruiter just setting up the interviews. If you have done some networking though, use that to your advantage. I asked someone I networked with if he had anyone he could connect me with at the O-5/O-6 level - that person automatically looked at me as a referral rather than just a random person he was assigned to interview.

The FE is desired or a plus, but not required, in most cases according to the PA

I had to find them on my own. My background is very similar to what I saw in your profile (MS in Mech E). I used different social platforms to network. I think I lucked out because I was able to network with an officer (a really great guy from my area) who put me in touch with a few CDRs. After few emails back and forth, things started to happen, and it literally took a week to get everything done. It is especially faster if you get a panel interview as everything gets done in one shot. I am also surprised at how disconnected this interview process seems at first, and you would think that it would be hard to find officers to interview you. But in my experience, it was quite the opposite once things started to roll. The officers who did my interviews were all very helpful and accomodating.

Thank you. That seems totally backwards to me. I would think they would have a panel set up that is designated just for it. Thankfully, when I was first looking for a mentor, I had a great conversation with a CEC officer. I am hoping she would be willing to do the interview and provide references to other people. I have reached out to a bunch on LinkedIn this morning. Maybe I will hear something back this week. Just want to knock out as much as I can quickly.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

That's what I thought. When I first started this process, they told me to network with RC CEC Officers to get mentors, but I didn't know I had to also ask them to interview me. I thought that they set people for that purpose.


Based on the PA and seeing what other selected people had, I believe I have a good shot, not to toot my own horn. My GPA is great for both undergrad and grad school. I have the civilian engineering experience, have prior military experience within a leadership role, and numerous other desired aspects. I may be wrong in my self-evaluation but other than passing the FE, I don't see anything wrong with my potential package.

She may be going off what she has seen for those selected.

The FE is desired or a plus, but not required, in most cases according to the PA


Thank you. That seems totally backwards to me. I would think they would have a panel set up that is designated just for it. Thankfully, when I was first looking for a mentor, I had a great conversation with a CEC officer. I am hoping she would be willing to do the interview and provide references to other people. I have reached out to a bunch on LinkedIn this morning. Maybe I will hear something back this week. Just want to knock out as much as I can quickly.

There is the word "desired" in many items in a PA, sometimes "desired" ends up being that it doesn't matter and sometimes "desired" means you won't get picked without it.

If the board is only picking people with an FE then that is why she is pushing you off for now.

I would ask her if she has had people picked without an FE.

The other thing is work experience, how much work experience do you have as a Civil Engineer in the civilian sector? In many case 10 years in the magic number and the board will not be as keen picking a person with less.

 

[zachlaird4]

All three of my interviews were more or less the same in that they asked about my education and relevant work experience.

Interviewers also emphasized the commitment and hardships that comes with balancing family life, civilian career, and naval career. Three-legged stool as some like to call it. They’ll question if you and you’re family (wife and kids if applicable) are ready to juggle all that. It’s also a plus to mention that you’re looking to have a long naval career and that you understand and have no reservations about being recalled to active duty. That is, if you really do feel that way.

Didn’t go into engineering concepts or technical concepts at all tbh. Officers may ask if you’re expecting design and technical engineering work and will say in summary that being a CEC officer is more about people, project, construction, and contract management etc. But don’t expect technical work.

Interviewers may also go into your leadership philosophies, why you want to be a CEC officer, how’d you learn about CEC/Seabees, things like that. I had 3 interviews and 2 of the senior officers were pretty laid back and had a sense of humor which was a breath of fresh air. The other one was more stiffand a lot harder to read. YMMV. GL to you all!

I was able to get all of my interviews done in the past 3 days. It was 1000% like what you said it would be and some. Some stuck to a script on the questions and others just winged it. But I'm glad that is done and over with. Just need to finish the rest of my package and go to meps...

 

[number9]

Interviewers also emphasized the commitment and hardships that comes with balancing family life, civilian career, and naval career. Three-legged stool as some like to call it. They’ll question if you and you’re family (wife and kids if applicable) are ready to juggle all that. It’s also a plus to mention that you’re looking to have a long naval career and that you understand and have no reservations about being recalled to active duty. That is, if you really do feel that way.

I interviewed for IWC about a month ago, so not CEC, but a significant number of my panel questions were around this topic. I can share the other questions I was asked, but not sure how much overlap there would be across our (potential) communities.