AROTC Interview - Attire?

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capchessguy

5-Year Member
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Jan 27, 2012
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I had a quick question for anyone who has had such an interview. Mine is tomorrow, and I'm trying to get an idea of the best thing to wear without over doing it. If the interview isn't casual at all, then I'm planning on suit and tie, but I don't want to go overboard and come off the wrong way. Thoughts?
Thanks,
Jack
 
A conservative business suit and tie is good. A tuxedo would be bad as would jeans and t-shirt. This is basically a job interview for a professional position.
 
If you search the forum you will find many answers from previous threads about this. However, I agree with Packer - a suit and tie - my own DS even shined his shoes :smile:

Good luck tomorrow.
 
Interview

My DS just did his interview yesterday and wore khakis and a nice polo shirt. Everybody seemed fine with that. He even took a campus tour afterward so he was comfortable doing that also.

Remember your interview will last about 45 minutes or so and it might get a little warm. Unless you're used to a suit, it might be a little uncomfortable sitting that long. Also, in his case, the pms was in his ACU, so DS might have been a little overdressed in a suit.
 
My son was prepared to wear a coat/blazer and tie with khakis to his interview. Upon arriving at the school (a SMC) he noticed everyone was wearing ACUs. He then decided to skip the coat. He just wore his dress shirt with tie and khakis. All went well; he received the full points on the interview and eventually an AROTC scholarship offer.
 
I would agree with the Khakis and a Polo shirt if a tour of the campus was included in the interview. A shirt and Tie looks good as well, I don't think a sport coat is needed, just an option. If the campus you are going to is in a warm climate, the tour in a suit could get pretty hot.

My older son wore a pair of slacks and a collared shirt, no tie.

Now my younger son's went a bit different, he had visited the campus and participated in morning PT with the battalion. At the end of PT the PMS asked him to come straight to the office. They did the interview right then, the PMS was in PT Gear and my son was in shorts and a T-shirt. I would imagine that is not the norm.
 
One more tip: turn off your cell phone before the interview. That NWA or MNM ringtone may show you appreciate the classics, but the interviewer may not be old school.
 
If you have a beard you might want to consider shaving if off. My son showed up in a suit and tie and nicely shinned shoes for his NROTC interview last year but had a nicely trimmed beard that he got nothing but crap from the CPO who scheduled the interview.
 
DS wore suit, tie, shined shoes...but interview was at a SMC and he wanted to look as squared away as possible.
 
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