getting worried

[guest]

ok, ive got an interview lined up for wednesday, i didnt think it was so serious, i have to take my passport and education certificates, (this is for an officer posting btw) and somebody asked if i needed to know stuff on the navy, and tbh i know very little and wasn't expecting to be asked anything until the AIB if i get that far

should i be hitting the books or not?

 

[Hallsy]

You might aswell start now...

 

[ohaire]

i know and i have been reading the odd pamplets n booklets n stuff but they dont tell you much and 3 days is cutting it fine for learning new things.

basically this is the interview u get after you go into an afco and say "i want to join the navy", anybody done this recently and can help me prepare?

 

[dunkers]

Right then it will just be a discussion, reasonably informal, about what your options are and so forth.

The only thing you really need to know I would think is what has attracted you to the Navy and perhaps have some idea of what you'd like to do.

 

[ohaire]

thats what i thought. reasonably informal? suit? or just smart?

just want to make the right impression early

 

[dunkers]

Try to look reasonably tidy too (don't go overboard but jeans and a t-shirt isn't adviseable). Have a nosey at www.royalnavy.mod.uk and perhaps have an awareness of what the RN was doing in Lebanon - really simple stuff like that will display some world awareness and might reflect well on you.

 

[ohaire]

ok, i reeckon shirt n tie sounds about right, im ok on current affairs so should be ok in regards to that

thanks for you help btw dunkers

 

[dondon]

Best of luck matey , a good awareness of current affairs is just the thing they will be looking for , Lebanon being a good case in point , brilliant PR for the Royal Navy , who fortunately had a few ships in the general area at the right time , glad to see that some are on there way home at last , smart casuals should do it mate , anyway all the best of luck , keep us posted won't you :lol:

 

[ohaire]

of course!

is there any indication of how long i could be waiting for a crack at the AIB as i hear it can take quite a while

not in any rush like

 

[dunkers]

It can take quite a while yes, you could be looking at 6 months or more from the first contact you make with them until getting to the AIB, possibly longer. But you can use that time to good effect eg learning up navy knowledge and improving fitness (there's a bleep test at the AIB).

 

[Brains]

Although it was a few years ago for me (ahem), it was 4 months from my AFCO 'pre-AIB brief' to actually going to the Board.

I would definitely wear jacket & tie - if you want to be an officer, you may as well start as you will be expected to continue!

To be honest, the AFCO are likely to be more interested in your motivation and your commitment than your knowledge of current affairs - the AIB will test that! Having said that, if you 'know very little' as you say, then are you *sure* you actually want to sign up? I'd make sure you know exactly what it is you're applying for, not because the Navy's bad, but because how else can you be sure you want to take on the commitment?

I'd advise you to start reading up now for the AIB at least as you will be expected to show a reasonable amount of knowledge and it is no good trying to cram it the night before your AIB! The RN website is a good place to start as it has a good level of detail on just about everything you would need about the mob.

Good luck and hope it all goes well for you.

 

[alastair]

I had my initial interview (informal one) in May and have my AIB in September so its currently about 5 months. In my interview it was just gauging what i was like already and tips on my answers for AIB. I didnt get any current affairs but was asked some ship recognition, he corrected any mistakes with hints on how to fix though.

 

[ohaire]

this is what i want to do, i know what to expect etc but unfortunately, as alastair mantions about ship recognition, i couldnt tell a t42 from the new t45 simply because i haven't looked yet.

i plan to do all my learning before the AIB but was just worried in case actual knowledge was needed for this preliminary.

 

[dunkers]

By the way, current affairs (ie world news) no longer features at the AIB. (But current RN deployments still do). You'll get a booklet detailing what the AIB is like and what it looks for etc.

 

[ohaire]

been, went well, he asked me mostly about the rn, current operations etc, asked me to identify a ship on the wall

he then asked me to tell him times i have shown leadership, and in my short life there havent been any that stand out

need to think of or do something before the AIB it seems