Former ROTC PMS View: The Importance of Mock Interview Preparation

AROTCPMS

AROTCPMS

Former Army ROTC PMS for Claremont McKenna and USC
Banned
Joined
Sep 5, 2014
Messages
118
Hi Everyone.

I posted a past thread regarding helpful tips from my perspective on how to prepare for either the ROTC scholarship or Service Academy interview. My post included typical questions you may be asked at these interviews. You can find that thread here: https://www.serviceacademyforums.co...rmy-rotc-professor-of-military-science.67205/

I have had the pleasure of working with several ROTC scholarship candidates since I retired. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of practicing the candidate interview with a real person--whether it be a parent, relative, or neighbor. If you have an acquaintance who is currently serving or a retired officer in the service component you are applying for and can practice with that person-- even better.

Don’t overlook using inexpensive videoconferencing technologies such as skype or zoom in order to connect and practice your interview with the best qualified person.

I’ve found that candidates need about 2-3 one-hour sessions to be ready for their interview. I am always amazed with the improvement I see. Candidates who were hesitant or unsure of themselves at the start were, by the end, confident and eagerly anticipating their actual interview.

The interview counts for too much to leave it to chance. Make sure you do your due diligence and conduct several mock interview sessions. You won’t regret it.

Good luck to everyone as you prepare for the upcoming scholarship year.

Robert Kirkland, LTC (Ret)
"The Insider's Guide to the Army [and Air Force] ROTC Scholarship for High School Students and their Parents" (Amazon)
 
It’s an important skill for young people they’ll need to learn for life. When I interview young people for jobs, you can tell quickly who fits and who doesn’t. Practicing interview skills is very important. Thanks for posting. I hope a lot of these prospective candidates take up your advice!
 
I couldn’t agree more AROTC PMS.
I believe many candidates underestimate the significance of an interview and do not prepare for it by doing practice sessions. It’s not practicing to be able to spit out gung ho answers to what are the assumed questions that matters. What matters most is confidence, passion, poise, and the ability to articulate that into your sincere answers to the questions. That comes with practice as well as already having the fire in your belly.
 
Last edited:
Sage guidance @AROTCPMS, @migs and @shock-n-awe.

If it helps, I'll share that I normally interview exceptionally well (If I do say so myself), *Except* the time I was asked "what are your weaknesses?" for the first time, and I just fumbled, stumbled, awkwardly paused, and eventually got an answer out but the damage was done - I was done-zo in having a chance for the position (100% fair - I blew it), but in the 25 years since now look forward to the same question in interviews, as I'm prepared to answer it. I use it in every civilian interview I can to quickly learn about a candidate before me. You should be prepared without pause to discuss areas you feel you need to develop, and what you are doing to shore them up. Be comfortable, and avoid only providing answers that are strengths in disguise (I'm too hard working, I'm a perfectionist. I never stop working until my boss' expectations are exceeded so sometimes my personal life suffers, I am obsessed with being a top performer so sometimes the people around me are intimidated by my hard work and results). Good answers to this question, if it is posed to you, can separate top candidates quickly. Honestly it's my most informative brief way to learn about a candidate.

Also, remember the STAR model and frame your answers in organized vignettes where possible - shamelessly borrowed here from Wikipedia -
Situation, task, action, result
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The situation, task, action, result (STAR) format is a technique[1] used by interviewers to gather all the relevant information about a specific capability that the job requires.

  • Situation: The interviewer wants you to present a recent challenge and situation in which you found yourself.
  • Task: What were you required to achieve? The interviewer will be looking to see what you were trying to achieve from the situation. Some performance development methods[2] use “Target” rather than “Task”. Job interview candidates who describe a “Target” they set themselves instead of an externally imposed “Task” emphasize their own intrinsic motivation to perform and to develop their performance.
  • Action: What did you do? The interviewer will be looking for information on what you did, why you did it and what the alternatives were.
  • Results: What was the outcome of your actions? What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your objectives? What did you learn from this experience and have you used this learning since?
The STAR technique is similar to the SOARA technique.

The STAR technique is also often complemented with an additional R on the end STARR or STAR(R) with the last R resembling reflection. This R aims to gather insight and interviewee's ability to learn and iterate. Whereas the STAR reveals how and what kind of result on an objective was achieved, the STARR with the additional R helps the interviewer to understand what the interviewee learned from the experience and how they would assimilate experiences. The interviewee can define what they would do (different, the same, or better) next time being posed with a situation.

My DS and I went through several mock interviews prior to each round of interviews last year, and we also debriefed on his answers in each round. All credit to him, his before/ after performance from mock rounds to real ones was honestly night/ day. He was honest about his Plan A being ROTC and not pursuing the academies, even when Annapolis recruited him. He was asked about this in each interview. He was honest in areas he is working to improve. And he knocked the cover off the ball in his interviews. Again preparation here, and presenting well (others may disagree but I say dress as best as you can and don't be afraid to phone a friend to borrow a nice outfit if you don't have one or the means to get one) go a long way.

Good thought provoking notes - thanks all. Good luck candidates!
 
Wow. What great advice from AROTCPMS. I think the key is to find someone who has experience in the military that can give you a good interview.
 
HawkParent said:
Wow. What great advice from AROTCPMS. I think the key is to find someone who has experience in the military that can give you a good interview.
Click to expand...
Do you have access to sample questions that may be asked? It would really help
 
DSM said:
HawkParent said:
Wow. What great advice from AROTCPMS. I think the key is to find someone who has experience in the military that can give you a good interview.
Click to expand...
Do you have access to sample questions that may be asked? It would really help
Click to expand...
Why the Army?
Why do you want to serve?
What does leadership mean to you?
When have you had an unpopular opinion?
What have you done to help others?
These all need specific answers not “hand waves”. The PMS will dig for specifics.
 
Okay, here is an ROTC interview story.

As many members know, my DS commissioned two weeks ago as an Army 2LT after earning a three year campus based scholarship.

Back when he was a freshman MS-I, my son was abruptly summoned to the Battalion office to interview for the campus based scholarship with the new PMS. So he got down there quickly via skateboard. Toward the end of the interview, the colonel was admiring the handsome wooden skateboard leaning against the wall of conference room, and he asked my son, "Nice board, did you ride that down here?"

Instinctively, my son responded, "Yes sir, it wouldn't have made sense to carry it."

After pausing for a moment, the PMS sheepishly replied...."I asked for that, didn't I?"

My son still received the scholarship.
 
Last edited:
My daughter did not want to practice interviewing, but it turned out the day she was interviewing there had been mud slides near the school she was interviewing at and traffic was awful, so I ended up driving her since I knew the area better to be able to navigate around closed roads. The cost I charged her for this was having her practicing “STAR” examples on the drive. She was glad because some of the scenarios she practiced ended up being relevant to the questions she was asked.

Another thing to practice is to have someone look over the candidates resume, maybe a business associate of a parent who does not know the candidate or all the ins and outs of their journey through high school. And have the person identify where someone might ask “why”. I say this because my DD had swam competitively and danced until she was a sophomore and then stopped and did totally different things. She had a reason, a well thought out one, but had we not talked about that prior, the “why” would have tripped her up. She felt like her explanation and reasoning was an area that he was most impressed with. So potential sticking points or areas of concern to someone reading it on paper could end up being a place where a candidate can actually shine.
 
AROTCPMS said:
Hi Everyone.

I posted a past thread regarding helpful tips from my perspective on how to prepare for either the ROTC scholarship or Service Academy interview. My post included typical questions you may be asked at these interviews. You can find that thread here: https://www.serviceacademyforums.co...rmy-rotc-professor-of-military-science.67205/

I have had the pleasure of working with several ROTC scholarship candidates since I retired. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of practicing the candidate interview with a real person--whether it be a parent, relative, or neighbor. If you have an acquaintance who is currently serving or a retired officer in the service component you are applying for and can practice with that person-- even better.

Don’t overlook using inexpensive videoconferencing technologies such as skype or zoom in order to connect and practice your interview with the best qualified person.

I’ve found that candidates need about 2-3 one-hour sessions to be ready for their interview. I am always amazed with the improvement I see. Candidates who were hesitant or unsure of themselves at the start were, by the end, confident and eagerly anticipating their actual interview.

The interview counts for too much to leave it to chance. Make sure you do your due diligence and conduct several mock interview sessions. You won’t regret it.

Good luck to everyone as you prepare for the upcoming scholarship year.

Robert Kirkland, LTC (Ret)
"The Insider's Guide to the Army [and Air Force] ROTC Scholarship for High School Students and their Parents" (Amazon)
Click to expand...
Great Advice from LTC Kirkland. Some obvious and some not so much so.
 
Very interesting advice about visiting local National Guard or Reserve units to get first hand knowledge of how the various Services operate. Great idea.
 
I was wondering if there were certain Services which emphasize the interview more than others?
 
I read here somewhere that the interviews holds even more weight than it used to, as the boarding process has been streamlined, and more emphasis is pushed down to the local level (read: Officer interview). This was also discussed in an admissions tour we had with DS’s 1st choice NROTC school. They talked about that changed this year. How it was new to them (they actually had a little discussion about several changes this year between them. It’s early in the process so we are on the early side of the new changes so they were discussing them. And the emphasis on the Officer Interview locally was one of them).

Best to always treat every interview you ever have as the most important one!
 
AROTCPMS said:
Hi Everyone.

I posted a past thread regarding helpful tips from my perspective on how to prepare for either the ROTC scholarship or Service Academy interview. My post included typical questions you may be asked at these interviews. You can find that thread here: https://www.serviceacademyforums.co...rmy-rotc-professor-of-military-science.67205/

I have had the pleasure of working with several ROTC scholarship candidates since I retired. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of practicing the candidate interview with a real person--whether it be a parent, relative, or neighbor. If you have an acquaintance who is currently serving or a retired officer in the service component you are applying for and can practice with that person-- even better.

Don’t overlook using inexpensive videoconferencing technologies such as skype or zoom in order to connect and practice your interview with the best qualified person.

I’ve found that candidates need about 2-3 one-hour sessions to be ready for their interview. I am always amazed with the improvement I see. Candidates who were hesitant or unsure of themselves at the start were, by the end, confident and eagerly anticipating their actual interview.

The interview counts for too much to leave it to chance. Make sure you do your due diligence and conduct several mock interview sessions. You won’t regret it.

Good luck to everyone as you prepare for the upcoming scholarship year.

Robert Kirkland, LTC (Ret)
"The Insider's Guide to the Army [and Air Force] ROTC Scholarship for High School Students and their Parents" (Amazon)
Click to expand...
DS followed your advice and it really helped. Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top