mbstroz
Marc (IP Ensign)
I served 10 years so I am good.
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CY 2011 DCO IW/IP/Intel boards: discussion and speculation
- Thread starter Paul Robichaux
- Start date
Well, I just received the word that I was also a non-select. Ill definitely be trying again for the next board. I must say however that this entire process IS in fact awfully discouraging. But I am stubborn and Ill get knocked down as many times as i have to. Seems like we all share this dream and thats what i love about talking with you guys. Whats discouraging about it is seeing so many of us on this forum with excellent qualifications and backgrounds and we are getting turned down left and right. Im really having a hard time wrapping my head around it. I keep hearing the same advice...stronger LORS, more interviews, volunteer work. Its all just starting to sound like a matter of chance & numbers more than anything. Well of course im bitter now so I wont post anything too negative. However it does cut deep when you hear about selects with no military service, no quality intel certs or experience getting picked up...why, because they managed a small firm or exercised leadership being in charge of a department.....come on :-(
mbstroz
Marc (IP Ensign)
I noticed you have mentioned age before as a reason. Are you young and do not like older people or is there some evidence backing your claims? I have read through a lot of these forums and haven't seen what you are mentioning.That's likely hurting you a good bit.
wtrresq2011
New Member
Not everyone on this forum is prior service. I'm just sayin'.
I'll let you know if leadership is the key if I get selected. But I can tell you if I am a select it won't simply be because I have managed a small firm; it will be because I have an advanced degree with a 3.88 GPA, studied world cultures, volunteer in my community, speak a second language and nailed the interviews. When you're up against the credentials many of us bring to the party, an average GPA in your undergrad probably isn't competitive enough. Ask your recruiter if grad school would help. And consider dialing down the attitude a little. It probably shows in your interviews.
Folks, remember that boards are a numbers game and a "black box" to some extent. You have a roomful of Officers "voting" on your packages, with only a few minutes to assess a summary of each one. When you have an environment where only 10-15% of applicants are able to be selected, and given that recruiters have already been asked to only send up the strongest packages, it stands to reason that some highly qualified people will not be selected.
Part of what the board wants to see is persistence and improvement from those who haven't been selected. While it's good to know what the board is looking for, don't concentrate too much on the background of someone else who got selected. I can assure you people from all ages, backgrounds, prior and non-prior service, public and private sector, clearance or no clearance, and all levels of education are getting selected. On the other hand, people who seem to be a "sure thing" have not been selected.
I think the majority of people going before these boards would make fine Naval Officers -- but there are only so many quotas available. Your job is to figure out how to get one of those quotas!
Part of what the board wants to see is persistence and improvement from those who haven't been selected. While it's good to know what the board is looking for, don't concentrate too much on the background of someone else who got selected. I can assure you people from all ages, backgrounds, prior and non-prior service, public and private sector, clearance or no clearance, and all levels of education are getting selected. On the other hand, people who seem to be a "sure thing" have not been selected.
I think the majority of people going before these boards would make fine Naval Officers -- but there are only so many quotas available. Your job is to figure out how to get one of those quotas!
Wow...first and foremost you also sound like a strong applicant. If you get selected congrats and way to go. Will it truly be because of your advanced degree and second language etc like you said? Well honestly who knows because they have taken canidates with less and they have passed up canidates with more. That's the point I was making so Sorry if my post offended you. As for my attitude? Uh I'm prob one of the most humble people I know so its a little hurtfull to read you say that. I've yet to come on this forum and spit out all my positive credentials and background why? Because its boarderline irrelevant. In fact when I first joined this forum one of my first posts was telling everyone all my negative credentials and hiccups in my resume that could hurt me. Anyways Am I frustrated yes, but I'm not going into these interviews with an attitude wth would I do that?! Lol. On a serious note thanks for the advice and I really want all of us to get that good news one day so good luck man. Please don't mistake the frustration for bad attitude, my character means a lot to me
There's evidence to back the claim. In JAN, our prior NIRRC, now down at CNIC, brought in a summary of the IDC community recruiting/manning status. Age is starting to play a bigger role, as is demonstrable leadership. Language and prior intel experience are becoming less of a focus. I'd be lying if I said I remembered the reason why age was playing a bigger role, but it is.
ojhendrix is also right, geography has a lot to do with it. E.G. my NIRR is at 114% staffing for O's. We're taking in far fewer than we used to.
Marine66
New Member
On Leadership- key characteristics that can bolster interviews & improve resumes.
Comments, criticisms and encouragements are beneficial to everyone on the blogs, the amount of which however can be overwhelming. Trying to remember it all or squeeze it all in is impossible. To that end, here are a few more to add to the list of suggestions.
Whether its interviews, resumes or LOR's, there are some key words that carry significant weight wherever they fall in your tedious application process. Having said that, take a moment and click on the link below. Not only have these Marine Corps traits been beneficial to me since 1984, they continue to serve me well as a husband, father, Bank Exec. and Navy Officer. Read them, know them, use them in your lives, AND incorporate them into this extremely competitive and exciting "test of endurance," they will serve you well. They have for me for a long long time. Hang in there guys. Hope this helps.
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-7702.html
Comments, criticisms and encouragements are beneficial to everyone on the blogs, the amount of which however can be overwhelming. Trying to remember it all or squeeze it all in is impossible. To that end, here are a few more to add to the list of suggestions.
Whether its interviews, resumes or LOR's, there are some key words that carry significant weight wherever they fall in your tedious application process. Having said that, take a moment and click on the link below. Not only have these Marine Corps traits been beneficial to me since 1984, they continue to serve me well as a husband, father, Bank Exec. and Navy Officer. Read them, know them, use them in your lives, AND incorporate them into this extremely competitive and exciting "test of endurance," they will serve you well. They have for me for a long long time. Hang in there guys. Hope this helps.
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-7702.html
wtrresq2011
New Member
All of the above is my point. There are too many factors and too many different circumstances to bother with comparing and contrasting backgrounds, trying to figure out why a certain applicant was picked over another. Putting someone else down if I don't get in, doesn't make much sense to me.
I know the strikes against me, and for the most part I can't change them. I'm definitely in a race against time with my age, for example. I've been shuttled to different recruiters for a couple different reasons. In fact, the first recruiter I talked to said, "thanks, but no thanks." A couple months later a different recruiter called and said she saw my C.V. and thought I had a good shot at DIRCOM. My next recruiter retired. With just a month until submission was left for this board. I was switched to a different recruiter who I've never even met in person. They have all done a good job for me, so i'ts not like I can complain. It's just the process. Just like every board has it's own reasons for selecting a candidate.
Lastly, to me, the measure of a persons character is more accurately taken when they are stressed or under pressure; It's easy to be humble when all is going well. I have refrained from listing any of my credentials for a variety of reasons, but mostly it's because I assume there are so many well-qualified candidates that I need to just focus on myself and my application package.
Good luck to everyone. It will either happen or it won't and then we deal with it.
I know the strikes against me, and for the most part I can't change them. I'm definitely in a race against time with my age, for example. I've been shuttled to different recruiters for a couple different reasons. In fact, the first recruiter I talked to said, "thanks, but no thanks." A couple months later a different recruiter called and said she saw my C.V. and thought I had a good shot at DIRCOM. My next recruiter retired. With just a month until submission was left for this board. I was switched to a different recruiter who I've never even met in person. They have all done a good job for me, so i'ts not like I can complain. It's just the process. Just like every board has it's own reasons for selecting a candidate.
Lastly, to me, the measure of a persons character is more accurately taken when they are stressed or under pressure; It's easy to be humble when all is going well. I have refrained from listing any of my credentials for a variety of reasons, but mostly it's because I assume there are so many well-qualified candidates that I need to just focus on myself and my application package.
Good luck to everyone. It will either happen or it won't and then we deal with it.
That sounds about right. I am officially a non-select but will try again this coming September. According to my recruiter (I went through the New England NIRR, which covers ME, NH, VT and Europe), no one was picked up. This leads me to a question - is there any way to possibly apply through a different NIRR? I assume this is not possible and that the answer is pretty obvious, but figured I'd ask the question anyway. In any event, I have a message into my recruiter to get a full - hopefully - download of the qualities and deficencies for the selects and non-selects, respectively. The bottom line is that we are all extremely well qualified individuals and it all comes down to being a numbers game. Further, it certainly doesn't help that the Navy is currently downsizing.
Paul Robichaux
New Member
Paul Robichaux
New Member
I can say that in my board interviews the IW O-6 heading the board mentioned that "at my age" (yes, she went there; I'm 42 with 6 years prior service) I would probably be a better fit for IP than for IW because the IP community is newer and more flexible. I'm still not sure exactly what she meant by that, but I submit it as evidence that age makes a difference in some way or another.