Good evening,
There is alot of information if the sites search ability is utlised.
'Hi, I revently did my SIFT interview for officers. I have some advice for others who are getting a bit worried, or just need some advice.
1. RELAX, don't fidget at all. Sit perfectly still with your hands on the arms of the chair on on your lap. Don't ring your hands or fiddle with anything. Just keep still.
2. EYE CONTACT!!! Try to give eye contact the whole way through, my interviewer actually complimented me on this, so it shows that its very important.
3. Dress very smartly. I was wearing a suit with a tie, and I was complimented on that as well, that it all shows your attitude to the recruitment process and how seriously you are taking it.
4. Try to alter the pitch of your voice, if you are like me, when you are talking to a group or at something similiar, your voice tends to go a bit monotone, try to vary it if you can. Might not happen to all.
5. Depending on the interviewer, try and slip a light hearted joke in, but make sure you do it subtly.
Thats about it really, above all enjoy yourself, I really enjoyed mine, I got to talk to someone who actually cared about why I want to join etc, unlike my friends who are sick and tired of me going on and on about the navy every 5 seconds!
Good Luck, ' -Courtesy of Lynx101.
'I've passed my Officer interview this week. I thought it best to write a few tips from my experience to benefit others.
1) Arrive early and know where your interview/AFCO is. I think it would come across as a poor show if you arrived late. Read the Navy News, especially the first page. This gives you up to date info as to where the fleet is during the month.
2) This is a formal interview, you will be judged on your appearance, manners etc. So act and dress accordingly.
3) Make a list of times you have lead a group/team, held a position of responsibility and faced/set a challenge. They ask about these times so it's worth noting them.
4) Know your stuff - Training pipeline, ships, weapons, return of service etc.
5) Be prepared for the killer question - Why join the RN?
6) Once the interview has commenced, remember the officer interviewing you was in the same place as you once. I was really nervous for the first 10 minutes, but calmed down eventually.' -Myself
Hi all, Im new to this forum and I passed my officer sift interview last week, the advice on this thread proved very useful so I thought it would only be right if I made my own contribution.
Heres a few things that helped me (without wising to restate other points already mentioned),
1) make sure you know about all branches of the navy, I applied for warfare officer (surface) and was asked questions about submarines, tHe fleet air arm and the royal marines.
2) Get your hands on the lastest copy of Navy news, or download it (just type navy news into google) and read up on any current deployments and why they are there. The map on the inside front cover and the fleet focus section are particularly usefull.
3) This has been said before but I think its important enougth to say again: they like to ask about time when you have showed leadership and responsibility, so it helps to prepare answers before hand so you are not caught off-guard.
4) as for the killer question, just be honest, think about it in advance and give your own genuine reasons for wanting to join. There is no killer answer because everyone is different and wil have there own unique reasons for wanting to join
5) Know your training pipeline. I was asked to tell all I kow about the AIB, inital officer training at dartmouth and training as a sub-lieutenant. Including approximate times of courses.
I hope this helps, I'll be putting together a similar post after my AIB -'Courtesy of Chris W.
I hope the aforementioned don't mind me quoting them. If they do, I will delete them. With respect to AIB dates, I filled in my forms after the sift interview at the start of April and i'm still waiting for a date. As to the time between getting the AIB date and attending, I think it's a month or two longer. I hope thats what helps.