ALO Interview

AF_Hopeful

10-Year Member
5-Year Member
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Nov 5, 2008
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Hey I was wondering if you guys could help. My ALO interview is taking place at my home around 6. I was unsure if dinner was supposed to be served or if it was more formal. Also what kinds of questions should I be expecting besides the obvious? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all of your help!
 
I just had my interview yesterday, and it wasn't bad. All you have to do stay focused and relaxed. Like my ALO said he was there to help me to get into the academy and tell them things about me that they wouldn't see in my resume. The questions my ALO asked were pretty general. He asked me why I had wanted to go to the Academy, why I decided to go through the military path, and questions regarding specifics on my activities and what I was planning to do. My advice is to stay cool, and if you genuinely want to be in the academy and ultimately in the Air Force it will be easy. Just make sure you translate your excitement to the ALO and he will realize this, acting in your favor. Best of luck to you. :thumb:

oh btw I forgot to mention that my parents actually went overboard and provided a whole dinner for my ALO. He was really grateful and we ate dinner together. But now only that, my mom had made a cake with my ALO's name on it. My parents are just really hospitable. It depends on you whether you are willing to make dinner for your ALO or not.
 
WOW!

A dinner and cake?

I'm doing my ALO work in the wrong state! :yllol:

Seriously...nothing like that is expected. We do our interviews where the candidate feels most comfortable. I've done them in the home, at school, library, Starbucks, etc...etc...etc...

My goal? To put the candidate at ease so they're more "open" with me. Of course, I also want to really get to know them: "what makes you tick?"

But it's NOT adversarial! I'm there to HELP!!!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
LOL. I was surprised too. I know that my parents had been cleaning the house in preparation for the interview. But the cake and food was really unexpected. (for me and the ALO). I was actually pretty embarrassed but it was great because we talked over dinner and he got to know my family and I more altogether. It was a great day.
 
Thank you both for your help! I will definately make
some dinner :smile:
 
Beer and pizza. LOL!!!!:smile:

Seriously, just have coffee, juices, sodas, etc... Maybe some sort of cake, pie, etc... ALO's aren't expecting anything; nor can they be bribed. It's simply a matter of being a polite host. I do the same if my financial adviser is coming over to talk about investments. Or if my real estate agent was coming over to talk about buying a house. Just be yourself. Be warm, polite, considerate. later... mike......
 
Thank you both for your help! I will definately make
some dinner :smile:

Generally, there are areas of the country, mostly geographic, but some cultural, where it would be expected to offer dinner. Other places totally out of line. In an urban homogeneous area, I don't think it should be expected or offered. In a rural area where the ALO drove 75 miles to get there, it might be considered rude not to offer dinner.

I wouldn't spring it on the ALO unannounced, regardless. He may have other plans.
 
Hmm so now I am confused as to what I should do. I'm thinking coffee and dessert? But thank you all for your help, I really appreciate it!
 
6pm is dinner time for most people, so that's a tough one. Perhaps you could call or email your ALO and tell him or her that you'd love for them to stay for dinner with you and your family, ask them if they have any food allergies or preferences. Then if they say no to dinner, at least you can have a dessert ready. My son's interview will be at 7pm, so after reading these posts I'm thinking not dinner but dessert.
 
I have my ALO interview at 7 pm tomorrow, too. I know he will have to drive about an hour to get to my house, so I'm thinking apple pie and assorted beverages.
 
When the B&G officer (Navy) came to our house, we just had cookies & coffee & lemonade; it was around 7 p.m. if I recall. He stayed until about 9 p.m. answering questions,and asking them too.

When both my guys met with their ALO's for AFA, one was at a local diner (where the ALO paid; we were not permitted to buy him anything). The other boy met with the ALo at the food court in the mall and he bought my son a coke.

The key for the interviewee is to be as honest and relaxed as possible. Both my sons' ALOs were great and the B&G Navy guy was really a great guy too.
 
...

the key for the interviewee is to be as honest and relaxed as possible.

YES!!!

I can't emphasize that enough. We are NOT the enemy, we're not there to trick you, confuse you, make you nervous, nothing like that at all.

Will we ask questions? YES! Will some of our questions seem "tough" or "confusing?" Probably. Is that a problem for you? NO! In fact I'll tell you that some questions I ask have NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER!!! Let me repeat that: Some of my questions have NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER!

What I want then is to hear YOUR THOUGHTS, YOUR OPINION, period. It's your chance to tell me who you are, what makes you 'tick', and why I should think you're the "best of the best."

I tell parents and candidates: the academy see's paper...what they want is a finished portrait. YOU give ME the canvas, paint, and idea and I will supply the brush.

THAT is what the interview is. It's YOUR method of both selling yourself and helping the ALO present YOU to USAFA in the best possible picture!!

We are YOUR advocates!!!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
Well, I just finished my interview with my ALO and it wasn't bad at all. He chatted with me and my mom about my application status and then asked me questions one-on-one for 45 minutes. He had about 5 pages of questions that he said the academy provided, and I think it went really well. The questions were pretty predictable, things like:

Which important public figure do you admire most?
What is the honor code? Do you think 18 year olds can be expected to follow it?
Tell me a circumstance where you used the 3 pillars of the Academy (Integrity first, Service before self, excellence in all we do)
Tell me about a time you severely disagreed with an authority figure. What did you do to resolve it?
What is a typical school day like for you?
Tell me about a time you have experienced failure. How did you react?

My ALO said he spends about 4 hours writing each candidate evaluation. He also told me he has 11 applicants this year, much higher than normal. That's a lot of interviews to give and evaluations to write :eek:.
 
Congratulations, I'm glad your interview went well. So more importantly (LOL), did you serve any food?
 
I tried, but he didn't want any! Oh well, at least I got to eat some apple pie after he left :rolleyes:.
 
Hey guys! I just had my ALO interview recently, and let me just say...all my worries were put at ease the minute he walked through the door. Nicest guy ever! He didn't want any food but did have some water, but better safe then sorry. Questions focused mainly on the extracurriculars I've participated in as well as the honor code. Just thought I'd let you all know how I thought it went.

Thanks for all the help and advice you've provided me with!
 
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