Prior enlisted:Interview process and CO reccomendation

[Gabby Lynn]

To all those who are prior or are enlisted right now and have been or are going through the OCS process:

1. How did your interviews go ? What kinds of questions did they ask and was it a hard to get through ?

2. Did you totaled draft your COs recommendation and then give it to him to read and fix or did he write it himself and then add it to your package ?

Being enlisted and trying to do this whole officer process is harder than I thought. So many things to get together and no time. If anyone have any advice PLEASE let me know what you did or are doing to help yourself get through this and stand out. Thanks for your help and look forward to your responses.

V/r,
HT3 Wolfman

 

[SharkBait]

1. How did your interviews go ? - They went well, thanks for asking!

2. What kinds of questions did they ask and was it a hard to get through ? They asked mostly leadership questions and what I knew about the fields I was applying. I wouldn't say it was hard, if you read the back of the interview appraisal sheets they give you an idea of what it will be like.
2. Did you totaled draft your COs recommendation and then give it to him to read and fix or did he write it himself and then add it to your package ? You write the CO's recommendation and your chain of command should look at it and recommend changes before he sees it.
The process is supposed to be hard. If you don't think you can handle putting together this package it might be wise to hold off on an application. Being an officer should be quite a bit more taxing then doing this at your leisure.

 

[Gabby Lynn]

Thanks for your input. But I know I can do this just its a difficult process in general which is expected. I like the challenge so I am going to keep icing forward in my process in hopes of getting selected so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm glad your interviews went well and that they weren't so difficult. And I'm going to start to draft my COs recommendation and my motivational statements pretty so I can show both to my chain of command for some input. Just want to get a feel of how other people did or are doing it. It's good to get input from other prior enlisted that are going through the same thing. Thanks again and good luck

V/r,

HT3 Wolfman

 

[dahlel]

Just remember to breathe and be confident.

For the 3 interviews I started with an LT I worked with a little and asked if he would be willing to help me with a package. He seemed very eager and was adamant that he was going to help me or at least find one of his colleagues if he was too busy. Just ask around and towards the end of the interviews ask if they have anyone else in mind who they know that might be able to help. And the totally understood the whole rank thing and helped me grab the attention of my higher ups for interviews. I was surprised by how time consuming the process was as well but also found out that everyone wants you to succeed and while they wont hold your hand, if they see the determination and smartness about how you go along your package they are usually willing to add their 2 cents, it all helps.

I got a Pilot, NFO and AMDO for interviews and each time asked if they knew anyone else in their respective communities, went through a few interviews and selected the best. When applying for multiple designations make sure you area able to articulate why you want to be in each community because they are vouching for you to enter their community and in fact replace them one day so they want to know where your head is at and only have a short time to get to know you.

The one major common factor between the three interviews and CO's interview is that they want to know you are in this for the right reasons. They want to see that you are driven to get a commission and lead Sailors in a larger capacity than you already are. Not that you just want to be a pilot or SWO and this is the only way since you already have a Bachelors and cant do STA-21 or too little time for LDO. They will ask you tough questions like if their are no Pilot spots would you go SWO or are you here to just fly. Like Sharkbait said make sure you know about the job you are applying for and the pipeline of training, they can tell if you've done your research. Prove to them that you deserve a commission because you've already displayed outstanding leadership in your shop or with a command collateral duty. These interviews and most importantly CO's rec weigh heavy and can speak volumes about your package. Dress sharp, follow up, ask questions of your interviewer; "How did you get your commission? Whats been a major turning point in your career? What are you end goals and where do you see yourself in 5 years?". If you're married they will probably ask if your family is supportive of your choice.

Draft your interview for the CO. Try and see if any of the wardroom at your command went through OCS or STA-21 and still has a copy of theirs so you can get and idea of what one should look like. It seems counter intuitive because it is supposed to be the "CO's recommendation" but in actuality its like a giant eval, you gotta talk twice as much about yourself and fill in the gaps because even though you work for him he doesn't see you every day. Route it up your chain with the rest of your package so it is the last thing that gets done. This lets your CO view your whole package before he signs off on it.

It will get kicked back a handful of times, this process will be frustrating and you will get bad gouge from people along your way. No one will hold you hand and one of the best places you can come to find out what you need to do is right here on these forums.

Best of Luck

 

[Gabby Lynn]

yes that's very confidence is a huge factor in this just have to hold my head up high....yea my CMC said he would set up my interviews for me since he is the one helping me in this process the most right now. No one on my ship has taken the same route as me...they either have the OCS part but were civilians or they have the prior enlisted part just did STA21 or Naval Academy...they help me out as much as they can they just don't know the whole process I am going through so they don't want to say something and be wrong which is understandable. I am going to start to draft my motivational statements and the COs recommendation this week so fingers crossed. It is very frustrating but definitely worth it in the end especially if its something you want so badly. Where are you at in your process right now if you don't mind me asking? I am hoping to be done with my package hopefully by the end of this month into next month since my OAR is July 22. Up until then I am studying and just drafting all these statements that I hope will be good enough lol. And yes the whole rank thing is pretty scary because I don't see many third classes on here so im not sure if many make it to OCS but I know I will be one of them if I try my hardest. I am working on my ESWS and I take the written part tomorrow so I hope that looks good on my package since ive only been on board my ship for a year and will be getting that soon so im excited to have that plus. just don't know what else to do to stand out as a third class HT.......

 

[dahlel]

My package went to board last week and hopefully I'll find out iff I got picked up for Pilot or NFO this week.

If there are not collateral duties for you assume to stand out as a Third then just work your ass off in the shop and make your work stand out, let your COC associate your name with quality work and a trusted worker. If your command has a CSADD chapter they are probably looking for people and that would help you stand out.

 

[Gabby Lynn]

well as of right now I am divisional training petty officer, MWR representative and a CSADD member as well. Like I said I am trying to get my ESWS in the next month or so taking the written part tomorrow and hopefully going up for the first class and chief board sometime in july. Also I am qualified up to scene leader in DC quals, WCS qualified and working on underway watches so its in progress. I also reached out to get some top side quals such as MOOW, line handler and phone talker since many engineers don't get those opportunities regardless I just thought I would look like a well rounded sailor by branching outside the norm. I am also trying to get some volunteer hours in on the weekends. I am trying to be a SAPR advocate but don't know if ill make the sessions for training due to underway conflicts and the time frame I intend on submitting my application. Im nervous about the OAR because I need a score to offset my slightly low GPA hopefully my college activities, experiences and past jobs held will help me out. I think I really have a well rounded paclage but never know if it is good enough. Can you think of anything else ?!

And congrats I honestly hope you get a PRO REC that would be amazing im definitely rooting for you !!

 

[LK2480]

To all those who are prior or are enlisted right now and have been or are going through the OCS process:

1. How did your interviews go ? What kinds of questions did they ask and was it a hard to get through ?

2. Did you totaled draft your COs recommendation and then give it to him to read and fix or did he write it himself and then add it to your package ?

Being enlisted and trying to do this whole officer process is harder than I thought. So many things to get together and no time. If anyone have any advice PLEASE let me know what you did or are doing to help yourself get through this and stand out. Thanks for your help and look forward to your responses.

V/r,
HT3 Wolfman

I haven't been in long either, short of 3 years. In my sense the best thing I had going for me was that I'm at a combatant command with many high ranking Officers, and via work, awards, and command involvement I became extremely high vis before I started talking about preparing my OCS kit. Your Career Counselor should be aiding you with the process, however I haven't met many who know the OCS application process since they themselves have never applied. I would say best case is to find at your station previously enlisted Junior Officers who have first hand experience applying, or other Enlisted who have applied in the past.

1. Interviews:

- Interview Appraisals: differed greatly depending on the Officer. A few I sat with said they already knew about me and were supportive and agreed to the write-up so we should spend that time discussing the job. Others asked me: why I want to be an Officer, what makes me believe I would be successful, asked me hypothetical situations and how I would react, how I have reacted in the past to certain situations, what are my long term goals, etc. Most of these interviews were quite casual and in my NWUs, but with those I did not know and/or I was Tandberg-ing with I was in Whites.

- CO Interview: My favorite part was that he led with "I don't say yes to everyone." He asked the above questions, in addition to Navy doctrine, command information, etc. -- in my sense gauging if I have a macro perspective, involvement, and investment.

2. CO Rec: Yes draft, their XO will make edits before it reaches the CO for signature.

 

[LK2480]

well as of right now I am divisional training petty officer, MWR representative and a CSADD member as well. Like I said I am trying to get my ESWS in the next month or so taking the written part tomorrow and hopefully going up for the first class and chief board sometime in july. Also I am qualified up to scene leader in DC quals, WCS qualified and working on underway watches so its in progress. I also reached out to get some top side quals such as MOOW, line handler and phone talker since many engineers don't get those opportunities regardless I just thought I would look like a well rounded sailor by branching outside the norm. I am also trying to get some volunteer hours in on the weekends. I am trying to be a SAPR advocate but don't know if ill make the sessions for training due to underway conflicts and the time frame I intend on submitting my application. Im nervous about the OAR because I need a score to offset my slightly low GPA hopefully my college activities, experiences and past jobs held will help me out. I think I really have a well rounded paclage but never know if it is good enough. Can you think of anything else ?!

And congrats I honestly hope you get a PRO REC that would be amazing im definitely rooting for you !!

Win SOQ and SOY.

 

[navyhaz]

To all those who are prior or are enlisted right now and have been or are going through the OCS process:

1. How did your interviews go ? What kinds of questions did they ask and was it a hard to get through ?

2. Did you totaled draft your COs recommendation and then give it to him to read and fix or did he write it himself and then add it to your package ?

Being enlisted and trying to do this whole officer process is harder than I thought. So many things to get together and no time. If anyone have any advice PLEASE let me know what you did or are doing to help yourself get through this and stand out. Thanks for your help and look forward to your responses.

V/r,
HT3 Wolfman

My $.02 on the interviews. Anything marked below a 10 never happened. Find someone else.

I drafted my CO's statement with the help of my DIVO; your DIVO should be acting as a mentor through this process.

The process is tiring. A LOT OF NETWORKING and phone calls to get the right interviews. My trick was to call the community manager and ask for names; if they name someone off the top of their head they obviously have a relationship with this person and their recommendation would have added weight. OCMs are non voting members but still have influence. Well, kind of... I won't get into that here. I remember I would meet with a LCDR that would introduce me to a CDR and then that CDR would pass me on to a CAPT. From start to finish (Starting the application and graduating OCS) was roughly a year and a half.

Good Luck!!

 

[Gabby Lynn]

These posts are great thank you all for helping me out. It means a lot to have the support of you all. I am definitely going to start working on my COs recommendation just going through some stuff at work. Have to try to focus more on work than my officer package is what I'm hearing through the grape vine. So I am going to try to do that even though I haven't really worked on my package unless it's lunch or sometime after work but I do see where people are coming from. Have to be an an engineer first and then everything will fall into play. Just hope everyone can see that. It is stressful but I'm going to keep pushing. And a year and a half isn't that bad considering the wait time and actually Ocs so that's a good time frame for someone like me to want lol. Just trying to work on building my package but also getting my work done and being the best HT3 I can be. Hopefully my ship sees that I want this but also want to be an asset to our ship. Tough process but the benefits are worth it in the end. Just have to keep pushing and fighting for what I want.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

OCMs are non voting members but still have influence.

not correct, in nearly all designators the OCM's are not part of the process and never see the kits and are not in the same location the boards are held and have no communication with the board members, the exception is IDC, but then again IDC has a history of going rogue and jacking up the process for quotas and such.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Your Career Counselor should be aiding you with the process, however I haven't met many who know the OCS application process since they themselves have never applied. I would say best case is to find at your station previously enlisted Junior Officers who have first hand experience applying, or other Enlisted who have applied in the past.

In defense of CCC's since I have been through the actual no shit school, the amount of time spent on OCS or any other programs in CCC school is minimal, it is pretty much "we have officer programs, this is the chapter that covers it, an officer should be assigned to assist those desiring to apply"

The majority of time is spent on retention as you aren't going to see a CO get upset at not getting a person picked up OCS or NROTC, but you will if he has bad retention numbers.

 

[LK2480]

In defense of CCC's since I have been through the actual no shit school, the amount of time spent on OCS or any other programs in CCC school is minimal, it is pretty much "we have officer programs, this is the chapter that covers it, an officer should be assigned to assist those desiring to apply"

The majority of time is spent on retention as you aren't going to see a CO get upset at not getting a person picked up OCS or NROTC, but you will if he has bad retention numbers.

Agreed.

As a Junior Enlisted however, I was warned not to go around the Senior Enlisteds even though they could not add value to the kit.

 

[navyhaz]

not correct, in nearly all designators the OCM's are not part of the process and never see the kits and are not in the same location the boards are held and have no communication with the board members, the exception is IDC, but then again IDC has a history of going rogue and jacking up the process for quotas and such.

I can imagine SWO and pilot types not reviewing kits seeing how they just take and deal with the numbers later. IDC and AMDO do. I should have specified.