Staff Interveiws

[Cap'n]

Good evening, everyone. I do not post on here often, but know from experience and just browsing the site that there are a lot of experienced members on here, cadet and senior member alike. A few days ago, I applied for my first support staff position in my squadron, and will be interviewed in about a week for the position. I was wondering if anyone on here had any advice for the interview, and what kinds of questions are usually asked. I am applying for the cadet Training NCO position, if that is relevant in any way. Thank you for your time and all advice is greatly accepted.

Respectfully,

Cadet Anonymous

[titanII]

I can't speak to this situation directly, as I've never been in it before. But I have been in a similar situation- Encampment Staff interviews.
Basically, make sure that you know:
General Knowledge stuff (you never know when it might come up): Cadet Oath, Chain of Command, etc.
Why you want to serve in this position
Why you would do well at this position

[Extremepredjudice]

There isn't a position for "Cadet Training NCO" (At least as far as I know). Must be a local thing. I guess be competent in drill.



Definitly check out http://www.capmembers.com/media/cms/p052_015_21f7aced34f45.pdf (cadet staff handbook)

From Cadet Staff handbook

Interviews
Commanders are encouraged to interview cadets before assigning
them to a staff position. From a managerial perspective, an interview
may seem unnecessary – in most units, cadets and seniors know one
another well, and the cadets' rank structure may make it obvious
which cadet will be assigned to which position. But interviews are good
leadership experiences for cadets. They prompt cadets to take stock in
their own leadership performance. Plus, learning how to behave in an
interview is a good life skill. Moreover, by conducting interviews you
underline the fact that staff service is something that must be earned.
Some suggested questions to ask during a plaement interview include:
• Do you want the job? Why?
• What talents, qualities, and strengths would you bring to the job?
• How do you describe your leadership style?
• What leadership skills are you weak in? What are you doing to
develop yourself?
• How long would you like to hold this job?
• Do you have any initial goals or ideas regarding this position?
• Why do you think you're the best candidate for the job?
Interviews should be two-way conversations. To promote open discussion, after the cadet reports, offer them a seat and help them relax.
5. Appointing the Cadet
Your cadet staff has been selected. Now it's time to ensure each cadet
understands their role and responsibilities. A staff member should
meet with the cadet to review the following:
• Congratulate the cadet for being selected.
• Review the position description.
• What are the main duties of the position?
• Who will the cadet report to?
• Allow the cadet to ask questions.
• Define the term of office.
• Emphasize that staff service is a learning experience. It should be
challenging, yet fun.
• Announce the appointment to the squadron.
Of course, if one cadet is replacing another in a staff position, the outgoing cadet deserves to be told personally that their term is coming to
a close, before you start looking for their successor. 

[Cap'n]

Thank you to you both, I appreciate the input.

And yes, I think it is. This is the actualy description sent to me with the application:

CADET TRAINING OFFICER/NCO

Synopsis He or she will be responsible for the supervision and training of the cadets for drill.

Immediate Supervisor
EXECUTIVE OFFICER         

Typical Grades         
Officer, NCO

Key Duties
-Work to ensure satisfactory performance during formations and ceremonies.
-Work to ensure excellent military bearing from all cadets.
-Observe morale of squadron and request changes if needed.

[AngelWings]

Good evening, everyone. I do not post on here often, but know from experience and just browsing the site that there are a lot of experienced members on here, cadet and senior member alike. A few days ago, I applied for my first support staff position in my squadron, and will be interviewed in about a week for the position. I was wondering if anyone on here had any advice for the interview, and what kinds of questions are usually asked. I am applying for the cadet Training NCO position, if that is relevant in any way. Thank you for your time and all advice is greatly accepted.

Respectfully,

Cadet Anonymous

Having recently becoming a Flight Sgt. after a review board, I'll give you what I did.

For your interview: Go in confident, with a smile, and with a positive attitude. Make sure whatever you say has an energy to it that shows you are passionate about you being able to do the job. Speak volumes with as few as words as possible (this is big because you do not want to ramble on). Hit on your background that makes you qualified to do the position, like if you're JROTC (like me) bring that up. If you are a guy, make sure to try to speak in a clear and deeper voice. I know, that sounds weird, but people are more apt to respect and value a manly sounding man than a pre-puberty sounding man (sometimes age or the appearence of age leads to trust in maturity). If you're a girl, make sure you don't sound too girly, use your regular voice. Be professional, but comfortable. Sit, speak, and confident and comfortable.

For your prep: Get your uniform looking perfect, with everything exactly measured out, in good repair, shined/ironed/cleaned, and within CAP regulations. Get yourself comfortable. You will not get the position if you look and act like you know you've failed. If you have to write an essay, put energy into it. Make it sound like you're motivated and excited, not like a biography of paint on the walls drying. Practice entering and exiting a few times. Get your words down before you head in. Be prepared for everything, and don't think of what exactly like you are going to say, but a general idea. Let it flow from the heart, not a paper you wrote. Make sure you get ready to market yourself has the best [darn] airman/sgt for the postion, not the bare minimum.

What isn't in your control: Your competition. You may be up against some outstanding people. Know your competition if you can, and try to see what experiences they've had, and what you'll emphasize on to counter that. It is sometimes a bit cut throat, but that is for any competitive position/job you'll see. If they have a better resume than you, and you can't counter it, ignore it. Another thing you are not in control of is who they favor. Now, if they favor some other person (which is the wrong thing to do), it doesn't matter about your interview, and just make sure to apply next opening for a position. Now, I warn you, do NOT suck up them. Sucking up is VERY noticable, and makes you look bad.

The mind of the interviewer is typically to see who is the motivated, capable, flexible person for the job. They will break you down (not literally or in the negative way) into a venn diagram. One side will be your ups, one will be your downs, and the middle will be what is counteracting eachother. For example: The bad side has poor uniforms, the good side has great attitude, and the middle has great at speechs but can talk too much. You want to have a lot of things on the good side, only one or two things in the bad side, and one or two things in the middle. If you are being compared to another cadet, this idea shows how you two stack up. This is how I do my interviews for positions.

The questions are usually about uniforms, historical events in CAP, general knowledge, and maybe a scenario situation or two. Brush up on your knowledge and CAPM-39-1 and you'll be good to go.

Sorry for the rather long post, but I hope this helps.

[Cap'n]

Thank you very much, sergeant! This helped a lot. I didn't even think about things like regulations and manuals, so it looks like I will have to do a bit of catch-up studying to do this weekend. Overall, I really appreciate all of the information. Thank you.

[AngelWings]

Thank you very much, sergeant! This helped a lot. I didn't even think about things like regulations and manuals, so it looks like I will have to do a bit of catch-up studying to do this weekend. Overall, I really appreciate all of the information. Thank you.

No problem. I hope you get your position, well, I know you will 

[Extremepredjudice]

Thank you very much, sergeant! This helped a lot. I didn't even think about things like regulations and manuals, so it looks like I will have to do a bit of catch-up studying to do this weekend. Overall, I really appreciate all of the information. Thank you.

No problem. I hope you get your position, well, I know you will 

Don't be so sure... Nepotism

[Sgt. Fischer]

I'm sorry, I cannot help you. I never went through the interview. I was automatically put into that position.

[Майор Хаткевич]

I'm sorry, I cannot help you. I never went through the interview. I was automatically put into that position.

Then why would you respond to a 2 week old topic with nothing to add? Do you think your post count matters here?

[Sgt. Fischer]

I'm sorry, I cannot help you. I never went through the interview. I was automatically put into that position.

Then why would you respond to a 2 week old topic with nothing to add? Do you think your post count matters here?

First off, I didn't know it was 2 weeks old, and if you don't' like my post, why did you make a big deal of it? He asked if anybody knew, and I said no!

[Майор Хаткевич]

First off, I didn't know it was 2 weeks old,

That's no excuse, the information is available on every post.

and if you don't' like my post, why did you make a big deal of it?

This isn't a facebook status on which you can "like" or make a short comment. This is a forum. A forum where the membership has come to a sort of "set" rules about what constitutes a good post and what is clearly post count bumping.

He asked if anybody knew, and I said no!

This is a sort of "call to action":

I was wondering if anyone on here had any advice for the interview

If you have advice - post it up. If you don't, then you don't need to confirm your lack of advice by a one-liner.

[titanII]

Sgt. Fischer: just imagine if EVERYBODY on the forum- hundreds of people- commented on a post, whether or not they were actually contributing to the discussion. If everybody did it, it would lead to tons of posts that waste everybody's time. It's an honest mistake, just keep it in mind in the future.

[Cap'n]

First of all, it's she...That's okay, it's hard to tell on here.

Second, thank you for the good intentions, I suppose, but they're right..Also, I guess I never said so- but once again thank you everyone for the advice. Did not receive the job I applied for (didn't even get to interview properly), but received an Aerospace NCO position, and in a squadron as large as the one I go to, I was lucky-and grateful- to get a job at all.

[Майор Хаткевич]

First of all, it's she...That's okay, it's hard to tell on here.

Second, thank you for the good intentions, I suppose, but they're right..Also, I guess I never said so- but once again thank you everyone for the advice. Did not receive the job I applied for (didn't even get to interview properly), but received an Aerospace NCO position, and in a squadron as large as the one I go to, I was lucky-and grateful- to get a job at all.

You are still "just" an airman, so you have your WHOLE CAP cadet career ahead of you!

Don't rush, take your time, learn all you can, and you'll get to experience plenty before you even know it!