NROTC Phone Interview - Is this normal?

chud182

5-Year Member
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Jun 23, 2014
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Sorry if this comes across as a bit of a rant but I guess it kind of is.

My son finished all of his paperwork and submitted online to the Navy 2 months ago. He then waited to be contacted by the recruiters. When they failed to contact him, he e-mailed them, and again got no response. After several iterations of this and no success, I called upon a contact I know that is a Navy recruiter who was able to get the ball rolling although the delay has cost him the opportunity for multiple boards to look at him.

After getting the additional documents that were requested, my son finally had an interview scheduled for today. He skipped cross country practice (with his coaches permission), put on a suit, and made the drive to his interview. When he got there, the door was locked. After knocking for a while, it was answered by some guys who did not seem very knowledgeable about the NROTC process. To make a long story somewhat shorter, the officer who was to interview my son, was a no-show. After some phone calls were made, he was told that he would receive a phone call tomorrow night, which would count as his interview. This seems like a non-optimal solution. I don't know how you can conduct a good evaluation of candidates without even seeing them and how they carry themselves.

Since this is such a huge part of the process, I thought I would reach out and see if anybody had advice. If the interviewer's superiors were contacted, I think it is possible that it would be taken out on my son. Not sure where to go from here. I hate to see his Navy ROTC chances torpedoed by the process.
 
I admit I am more familiar with AROTC then with the Navy, that said......

When your son receives the phone call tomorrow have him respectfully ask if there is a chance for a face to face interview.

My son had a similar experience with his AROTC interview. He had a appointment, when he called a young new LT told him he didn't need to come down, that the Major would call and do the interview over the phone.

I agree, a face to face is much better in my opinion, I was a little ticked that he had made all the arrangements to go and was told to stay put, I convinced my son to call back and say that the 15 min. drive was not an issue and he would rather be there in person, the LT seemed put off and said he would give the Major the message. A few minutes later the phone rang, I answered and it was the Major, she apologized and said it was her intention to have my son come in person, she said she was not sure why the LT had said to stay put and wait for a phone interview, she assumed he may just be trying to save time so he could leave, she chuckled and said she would set him straight. That might have been a fun conversation to hear.

The point is, someone may have told your son that it will be a phone interview but in the end they may still want your son in person. If at all possible maybe it would be a good idea to call the person back who last spoke to him and have your son tell them that he is more then willing to come in person.

Just a thought, others may be able to give your better advice.
 
chud182: First off, I would not contact anyone's superiors. I can't see any good coming from that.

I am not going to try and explain why your DS wasn't mainstreamed months ago and why the interview didn't take place today. I suggest you, your DS and your family let it go. I am going to assume that there is a logical explanation but even if there is not - it is what it is.

Focus on the positive. Your DS has a phone interview scheduled for tomorrow. Focus on that. Positive attitude, good questions and answers, bearing and confidence. Perhaps you will get an explanation but if not, let it go.

This is a long journey. Someday you all will have a great story to tell.
 
I had a similar experience with NROTC. After a few schedule conflicts, I had an appointment with an LT via FaceTime. It was as close as possible to a face-to-face interview, as I still had to dress nicely, etc. It seems like this is fairly common practice with the Navy recruiters.
 
Definitely no plans on our end to try to reach superiors. My fear, however, is that if my son tries to work within the process to get this fixed, somebody might bubble this information above the interviewer's head. For this reason, it seems like you guys are probably right, there's nothing that can be done. He will simply have to do his best with a poorly dealt hand.
 
Just thought I would write a quick update. My son had his phone interview earlier. He was on the phone for well over an hour. When he got off the phone he said it had gone great. The officer that interviewed him told him that it was the best interview that he had heard and would come to his school to meet my son in person. My son was able to make the best of an non-optimal situation and for that, I'm proud of him. I guess I was more upset about him not interviewing in person than he was. Now we wait. Thanks for the words of advice.
 
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