If you were going to do a formal board for promotion to FS (for all sorts of reasons, like the wing requires WSO input into promotions still and to better prepare them for the jump to CWO, as well as formal interview practice) what sort of questions would you ask?
Does anyone have a template they’ve used before, or can anyone suggest good questions.
I’m not looking for whether you agree with the idea or not - I can’t do anything about that. I just want to see what people would include if they had to do one.
When we did these I used to cover :
How they see the role (if they are) of the senior cadet NCO on the sqn and or what do they think they can contribute in the role and or what do they think you want from them in the role
Understanding of the Corps and RAF structure - it amazes me having done cadet of the year screening interviews for the last 3 years how few SNCOs know much about this
How they would deal with a situation discip / welfare / dispute type of thing - pick a scenario that takes them out of their comfort zone. Assuming they’ve done a cadet BASIC they should be au fait with Corps rules on things, if not give them the relevant ACPs to peruse and ask a couple on these.
When we did these for FS it was always little more than a chat with a WSO. As our WSOs said they’re your cadet and you would in the old days just promote them, so they never saw it as them saying yes or no, just a check that you hadn’t lost the plot.
Is this a WIng requirement or are you “flying solo” on this because you have more than one candidate?
It’s a bit of both. It’s a wing requirement to have them checked by the WSO which usually takes place as an interview/chat. We have 3 candidates and haven’t been able to pick the one most worthy out of them. They have all had really good moments and mistakes over the past few months, so I wanted something formal to fall back on when questioned by the others as to why they didn’t get it. Having this would help that.
All you can do is prepare them the best you can and after that it’s down to them.
What never fails to amaze me is that some think all they’ve got to do is turn up. I was part of CWO board a few years ago and this one girl almost with more badges than jumper, was a little taken aback when she was told she wasn’t getting it. She came in cocksure with an obvious attitude of being the best thing ever and that without her as a CWO her squadron would fail to operate, which didn’t go down well with myself and the WSO. We gave her plenty of rope to hang herself and she duly obliged. We did another one that evening and they shone. They understood their role and responsibilities on and off the sqn, without coming across the big I am. The girl got it a few months later after, as her CO put it, a thorough briefing.
what about asking them what they are still looking to achieve?
we had ours recently and it was surprising some of the answers. JL and MOI were the “big hitters” as they were obvious “developments” to gain.
it would offer an indication of how they see themselves, what they still want to get out of the organisation, how long they intend to be in the organisation and offer any potential hints of becoming staff…
the “what can you offer the Sqn” question is so generic and easy to bllsht the answer. “i am a good leader, I have lots of experience in a variety of Sqn and Wing events, i have been on X, Y and Z camp and have thoroughly enjoyed A and B which i think makes me a better NCO”
[quote=“steve679” post=21287]what about asking them what they are still looking to achieve?
we had ours recently and it was surprising some of the answers. JL and MOI were the “big hitters” as they were obvious “developments” to gain.
it would offer an indication of how they see themselves, what they still want to get out of the organisation, how long they intend to be in the organisation and offer any potential hints of becoming staff… [/quote]
But this could equally be BS and just playing to the audience. MOI isn’t really a developmental step, but it seems that many have swallowed the hype and now invariably think that they can’t take lessons etc, so regard it as a developmental thing. If that’s the case I’ve had NCOs teaching drill for years, without any problems, who shouldn’t have been.
But does this make them more promotable? You can sit in an interview and talk the talk but due to real life not do what you said. There are a lot of things I’ve said in CPD chats at work that haven’t materialised for a number of reasons (mostly availability or financial) and but I’ve not missed out or been less “promotable”.
This doesn’t make them more promotable perhaps, but asking how they see these aspects contribute to what they do and will do on the squadron, does.
If you think they are ready for promotion why not just promote them?
The notion as implied by Matt B that they interview for Cpl and Sgt, is a scary thought. Would you have promoted them in the past after the time honoured process of watching them and staff discussion? If not what has changed to feel the need to introduce another admin step?
We’ve always had some sort of at least semi-formal process.
Having this process often gives a better result - the more structured the process, the less chance of getting someone unsuitable through.
Quite often the people we ended up promoting are not those whom we would have picked if it came down to a snap decision at the start of the process.
Having a formal process ensures that the process is not just fair, but is SEEN to be fair
It gives the cadets a good experience at actually applying for something and going through an interview - something which I would consider to be a skill “useful in both the services and in civilian life”
It filters out the biblically lazy who can’t even be bothered to return an application form.
we had “interviews” over the summer inviting NCOs to put their name forward…only 5 out of the possible 8 did…with one notable exception.
after discussion it turns out he is happy where he is, and doesnt want promotion…a factor we’d not have known without the process adopted.
To GHE2: although yes there is a level of BS in any answer there is the “management speak” BS which is generic, “i am a team player, I work well with others while adopting my own sucessful leadership style. with my X years experience i bring a lot of knowledge to the role” blah blah blah
and then actual measureable aspects which are developing. ok MOI isnt a big step. but it shows a commitment, another weekend away and the fall out is a merit for that Cadet. in the grand scheme of things the MOI means little to Staff…we can identify who will be able to run and a take a lesson, but the MOI means something to the Cadets, with a yellow lanyard they are included in the training program, IC lessons/training
if those Cadets then follow up their desire to MOI, JL, QAIC, BEL or whatever then you know it wasnt just interview BS, of course a good interviewer should be able to tell the difference but as Matt as said, it weeds out the lazy and gets them thinking about what the role “requires and expects” rather than just by time served…
