When considering promotion - what does it mean to you…?
Does it mean a reward for your achievements and how well you’ve performed as a cadet? Does it mean this is your opportunity to be recognised for helping the staff with the smooth running of the Sqn? Does it mean a bit of authority / superiority over other cadets? Does it mean responsibility? Does it mean the beginning of a path towards further promotion - and in which case do you have a goal in mind…
Have you made it known to staff what you would like to try and achieve while you’re a cadet…? Is it about particular activities, camps, courses or helping to participate within the structure of the Sqn and its CoC?
Do you see promotion as something that future employers might look favourably on - shows leadership skills…?
Next - is there a particular member of staff or cadet SNCO that you can talk freely to?
You could try and be very passive - and ask what attributes the staff look for in candidates, but frankly that can change just as easily as which way the wind blows.
Each squadron runs differently, some have structured criteria for promotion, others will look at the team dynamic.
For instance, if the existing corporals are relatively quiet and someone loud and confident is being considered for promotion - how might that affect those existing corporals…?
That first step to corporal is probably the hardest, because enthusiasm often outweighs ability - how would becoming a corporal change what you already do for the squadron? It sounds like you’re ALREADY behaving like a model corporal… and frankly, showing many attributes of a potential sergeant.
You made a comment that at times it feels like the staff are testing you… I think you could be on to something - but rather than overthink the reasons behind it, I would suggest either you recognise that you are being tested and act appropriately - which demonstrates that you are capable of telling right from wrong… or, if you’re feeling confident enough, call it out… it may just be that the staff are trying to help you to stand up for yourself and giving you opportunities to do just that…
But rather than play these games, perhaps point out your strengths, how you could use these stereo both your benefit and the squadron and how you could enrich the NCO team…
In other words - tell them why they should stop wasting time and promote you…
Above all the attributes staff normally look for among candidates, the most common are responsibility, respect, appearance & presentation, attention & focus, ability to work in a team, ability to communicate - but what is often considered, but rarely mentioned is how much is the cadet enjoying being a cadet…
I’ve seen too many instances of cadets that were seen to be at risk of leaving, being given a promotion to encourage them to stay… this almost never works and usually backfires.
It should be apparent to staff which cadets are ready for promotion - but the staff will also be considering what effect that promotion might have on the individual as well as the team.
You have your GCSEs coming up. Every adult in the organisation recognises how important these are. In terms of workload - they’re probably the most intensive part of your education you’ll ever have, because of the breadth of subjects, the amount of coursework and exams at the end.
As such, squadrons up and down the county invariably see their JNCOs start to thin out / attend less often etc during the summer months while they first prepare for end of yr 10 tests, then mocks, then exams…
Many staff will be concerned about the impact all this will have on cadets that are freshly promoted, then start to frazzle…
Based on your experience, how well does your squadron support cadets while they’re doing their GCSEs…?
I’ve seen staff take the attitude of “if you can’t balance your coursework at the same time as maintain your commitments to cadets, then you shouldn’t be an NCO…”
On the other hand, I’ve known staff make exceptions and suggest that GCSE students should perhaps reduce their time at cadets to just one evening and the occasional weekend activity - as a way of letting off steam…
As the other commenters have mentioned, there are LOTS of threads and comments about promotions etc.
What is right for one cadet / unit, isn’t necessarily right for another.
What is probably going to be the most successful, will be talking to either your CO, Training Officer or Adjutant.
Ultimately, they have your best interests at heart - or at least they should - and they should be interested in hearing your thoughts.
If they have genuine reasons for holding off on promotion, they should be able to articulate this in a way that is both reasonable and fair, while also being constructive.
If on the other hand, they’re just playing games to see how you’ll react, then personally I’d be questioning their leadership style - but I hope this isn’t the case.
The fact that you’re invested enough to ask here for advice on how to improve shows your willingness and enthusiasm - I suspect most of all, your staff want to see your confidence in asking them…
You sound exceptionally committed and enthusiastic - both of which should be justification enough for being eligible for promotion.
