panel interviewers VS application reviewers
- Thread starter maxman117
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Could be. May not be. Each congressional and senatorial nominating source can run their program however they want (within guidelines). Of the 3 my boys applied to for nominations, only one did interviews. And that was an interviewing panel of 18 people (who sat around the 3-sided perimeter of a room, with he in a chair in the middle 
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The two senators didn’t do interviews.
)The two senators didn’t do interviews.
Each MOC runs their own NOM process and what they did in a prior year may not be what they do this year. Not clear to me how knowing their internal review/administrative process makes any difference to an individual candidate. What would you do differently if you knew their process?
It might change how I word things. Its not super important, but I think if I know more about them I can present myself to them better.
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Recommend that you treat everyone involved in the process, as having input. IE: the staffer receiving your application package could be a seasoned, long time employee, military Veteran staffer who works behind the scenes with much responsibility, and whom the nom source relies upon for their experience. Alternately, the staffer receiving your application package could be a first year staffer who is learning the ropes, with little to no experience and no input at all. One never knows!
Obviously, there are standards, procedures and a process for selection. And ultimately it is the the congress person/senator that selects. So it would be proper to approach your own process under those parameters. There really isn't any reason to have intimate knowledge with their individual process.
Of course, if you insist on knowing, you could inquire of them. But I wouldn’t recommend that….its a bad look, imo.
Obviously, there are standards, procedures and a process for selection. And ultimately it is the the congress person/senator that selects. So it would be proper to approach your own process under those parameters. There really isn't any reason to have intimate knowledge with their individual process.
Of course, if you insist on knowing, you could inquire of them. But I wouldn’t recommend that….its a bad look, imo.
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It’s always good to do recon if you can, while always being aware of impressions you might make, in general.
You can also look at this as good junior officer prep for unknown situations. You’ll always want to be professional with everyone with whom you interact. You’ll meet many strangers in your military life with whom you will be expected to live and work right away. You’ll likely never have 100% of the information you want or need to make a decision, so you will have to get comfortable with making decisions using the best info you have with a dose of common sense and a bit of gut feel. You’ll have to be adaptive, mentally agile, resilient, flexible, sanguine, as you encounter new people and new situations. If you know you like to control things and like order at all times, you will learn to let that go a bit and learn how to thrive in chaos.
Prepare as best you can, and don’t overthink it.
I'd say it is never a bad idea to try to know your audience before an interview. However, there are so many permutations and possibilities even including the possibility of last minute changes (on the panel or of a single interviewer) that it might just be best to assume that the interviewers don't know much about you and that it will be your only opportunity to impress them. Think about the traits they might be looking for and what you can weave into the interview that will help demonstrate that those are traits you possess. Good luck.