I just finished the interview season for my United States Senators.  Some of the candidates were excellent and well prepared, some of the candidates were just terrible and some of the candidates had great potential but just weren’t adequately prepared.  In this blog, I’m going to discuss what not to do during an interview and some things to be prepared for.  I will also provide you with my insight into why.

Be Prepared

You are going not only to an interview for a Federal Service Academy but also a job interview, a job that could last 20 years or more, a job that will affect the security of the country and the lives of those who serve with you.  This is a very important interview!  It is expected that you are thoroughly prepared.  

You should have a copy of what you submitted to the Congressman or Senator, as well as a resume that breaks down your significant accomplishments in an easy to read fashion.  Yes, I know that you filled out all the forms and doubled checked every submission, but a resume is a great tool to put in front of the interviewers to show how great you are.  The resume also helps the interviewers scan through who you are and then ask questions that would be to your advantage.  Bring a lot of copies for everyone that interviews you should have one.

Be Dressed for the Part:

If you’re a young man show up wearing a tie, pressed shirt, and clean shoes.  If you have a suit wear it, if you don’t wear a sport coat or at least wear a tie.  If you have polishable shoes wear them if not make sure that you have clean shoes on.  Remember you are dressing for an interview to become a military officer.  Horror story – I once had a candidate show up in a soccer uniform under warm-up clothes because he was going to a game after the interview.  I asked him why he came dressed like that, and he responded that he was pressed for time and didn’t want to waste time changing before his game.  So, what was more important his game prep or Service Academy interview?  By the way, he wasn’t a recruited athlete with a Letter of Acceptance.  

If you’re a young lady show up wearing conservative clothes.  Slacks, a clean and pressed blouse, a jacket, and conservative shoes are a good go-to.  Stay away from fashionable “evening wear” type dresses and pantsuits.  Horror story – I once had a candidate show up in what only could be called “The Britney Spears” outfit. 

The young lady had on a short plaid skirt, white knee socks, tight white blouse but to her credit, she did have on a matching tie with a Windsor knot.  I had children that attended parochial school so I knew what the uniforms looked like.  I asked her if this was her school uniform to which she replied, “No, but I thought it would be fun”.  It was not fun, it was inappropriate.   Remember you are dressing for an interview to become a military officer, not a music video shoot.

Bring a pen and a small notebook:

In addition to the copies of your resumes bring a small executive-size notebook and a pen in good condition.  The notebook serves as a prop, you’re ready to take notes and write down something of importance.  You may never use the notebook but it shows that you’re prepared.  There is nothing worse than having to ask an interviewer to borrow a piece of paper and a pen.  It’s understood that many candidates live on their phones, that’s fine and is a fine backup to take notes, however, a  phone on the desk doesn’t project the same image as a notebook. 

Put the phone away!

Yes, I did say above that a phone is a good backup to take notes, but please put the phone away.  I cannot stress enough that a phone should be turned off and under no circumstance should you look at it any time during an interview.  If you are looking at your phone you are telling the interviewers that your social media life is more important than your interview. 

If for some reason there is an emergency that occurs right at your interview ask to be excused and to come back in an hour or so, people understand emergencies but not social media.  Horror story – a candidate had a phone on the table face up and was responding to messages during the interview.  When asked what was so important we couldn’t get a straight answer.  I hope he was messaging with his backup school that he was doing poorly on his service academy interview.

Give a “straight answer”:

This is perhaps my biggest complaint about many candidates and something that I find evasive on their part.  For example, “How many people are in AP classes at your high school?”, candidate “Not as many as last year”.  For example, “You retook the SAT, what did you get on the Math section?”, candidate “I did better but not as high as I wanted”.  I could go on and on.  the bottom line is that the interviewer is looking for a definitive answer, it’s a number!  If you feel that you must explain then do so after giving the information.  Horror story – A young man had submitted his paperwork for the USAFA, and he repeatedly stated that he wanted to be a pilot.  It was pretty clear in his application that all he ever wanted to be was a pilot.  At the interview, he was asked what he wanted to do in the Air Force, and he went on to explain that he was interested in pararescue.  When asked about being a pilot he danced around the question.  Toward the end of the interview, we ran down our checklist and asked if he had scheduled a DODMEB (physical), to which the candidate responded that he had his physical and was disappointed that there was a problem with his depth perception.  Please note that we didn’t ask about his physical results, we can’t but he volunteered the information. 

So, it became immediately clear that he couldn’t be a pilot but still could enter the academy if selected.  The candidate was evasive with us, he should have said straight up that he had wanted to be a pilot but his physical status may prevent him from doing that, but he still wanted to attend the academy and serve his nation.  The interviews have been around, understand the intricacies of the academies and certainly understand that sometimes you can’t always get what you want because of circumstances beyond your control.  Be honest, be straightforward, if you’re not it becomes very clear very fast.

Be more than one question deep:

If not getting a straight answer is my biggest complaint about candidates this is a very close second.  You are being interviewed for a nomination to a service academy, and have some knowledge of the service that you intend to be in.  If you want to go to West Point have some knowledge of the options upon graduation.  If you want to be a pilot have some basic knowledge of what planes the Navy or Air Force are flying.  For example, if someone wants to be a pilot I always ask them what is their favorite fighter plane.  I can’t tell you how many times I can’t get an answer.  I also ask what was the last book or movie that they watched about the military, once again I can’t tell you how many times I don’t get an answer.  We are not looking for a detailed military analysis we are just looking for some action on the candidate’s part so that they understand what they are getting into.  Horror story – a candidate stated that he wanted to attend the USNA and wanted to be a SEAL upon graduation.  I asked if he had read the book “Lone Survivor”, and he said that he hadn’t read anything about the SEALs. 

When asked why the SEALs he stated that he wanted to help people and then went on to explain that he saw on TV SEALs in Haiti handing water out after a hurricane.  This candidate wanted to help people like the SEALs did in Haiti.  We explained to him some of the things that SEALs do and how it isn’t always a humanitarian mission.  The candidate was shocked and said that he wanted nothing to do with something like that.  How can you do so much work to apply and do zero research?  He not only wasted his time but the time of the staff members and the interviewers.

I could continue for another page or more but I think the messages are clear; Be Prepared, Be Professional, Be Focused, and Be Educated about what you are interviewing for.  Most importantly Be Yourself.  Good luck.