Cville24
TWE '28, reapplicant for '29!
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2022
- Messages
- 125
Good evening, all! Reading through another interview thread earlier today, I noticed that Old Navy BGO had this to say about MOC interviews:
I believe that much of the interview went well. I was prepared for the questions I was asked. However, from the outset, the pressure was much higher. "You have 45 seconds to a minute to tell me about yourself. Go." Ok, I guess. I thought that was pretty odd, but I gave my elevator pitch. We discussed my grades for a while, why the Navy instead of the Peace Corps if my goal is service, then leadership. That's where things got weird. My interviewer wrapped up the leadership section by asking who my favorite leader was. Admittedly, that's not something I had given thought to, and this may be on me for not being prepared for the question.
After brief internal deliberation, I stated that my band director was my favorite leader -- I thought that made sense, since I have lots of interaction with him and I admire his leadership style. The interviewer, though, told me (I won't quote directly here to maintain some shred of anonymity, if possible) to think bigger and not mention family members, friends, or famous figures. Again, this may be my fault for not being prepared for the question, but I froze. Giving an answer (a subjective one at that) and then being asked to change it was nowhere near my list of things to prepare for. I really should have thought quicker, but I just sat there, struggling to formulate an answer -- and the interviewer mentioned several times that Naval officers and plebes need to be able to think quickly.
The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth, and I'm wondering if this was fairly normal and I'm (in the most polite terms) simply whining about the process or if this really was a weird and nonstandard interview -- I don't mean to complain, but to firm up my expectations of what the remaining interview should be like.
I don't doubt that this is generally a true statement -- it held true for my first interview. However, I had my second interview recently, and the experience was somewhat contradictory to that experience and every other indicator I've been able to find.Of course, they might ask you something to see how you think on your feet, but I'm sure that anyone serving on a MOC panel isn't out to get you or throw you a curve.
I believe that much of the interview went well. I was prepared for the questions I was asked. However, from the outset, the pressure was much higher. "You have 45 seconds to a minute to tell me about yourself. Go." Ok, I guess. I thought that was pretty odd, but I gave my elevator pitch. We discussed my grades for a while, why the Navy instead of the Peace Corps if my goal is service, then leadership. That's where things got weird. My interviewer wrapped up the leadership section by asking who my favorite leader was. Admittedly, that's not something I had given thought to, and this may be on me for not being prepared for the question.
After brief internal deliberation, I stated that my band director was my favorite leader -- I thought that made sense, since I have lots of interaction with him and I admire his leadership style. The interviewer, though, told me (I won't quote directly here to maintain some shred of anonymity, if possible) to think bigger and not mention family members, friends, or famous figures. Again, this may be my fault for not being prepared for the question, but I froze. Giving an answer (a subjective one at that) and then being asked to change it was nowhere near my list of things to prepare for. I really should have thought quicker, but I just sat there, struggling to formulate an answer -- and the interviewer mentioned several times that Naval officers and plebes need to be able to think quickly.
The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth, and I'm wondering if this was fairly normal and I'm (in the most polite terms) simply whining about the process or if this really was a weird and nonstandard interview -- I don't mean to complain, but to firm up my expectations of what the remaining interview should be like.