At some point in your military career, you will have to do an interview to get the job you want. As you move up through the ranks, there might even come a point when you sit on an interview board to hire someone else. In those cases, you will ask the interviewee several questions to see if they are qualified for the job.
As the interviewee, you should be prepared to answer a wide variety of questions about your military experience and how you are qualified for the job. You also need to show that you know what the job entails and be able to show that you are capable of performing those tasks. And as the interviewer, you need a good list of questions to ask the candidates to determine who is best qualified for the job.
What I want to do in the paragraphs below is share some of my favorite military interview questions. These are questions I have been asked during military interviews throughout my career. I’ve also included a few questions that I normally asked candidates when I was the interviewer.
Your key to success as the interviewee is preparation. You should learn everything you can about the job, the unit and interviewers. You should also know how to answer the questions listed below AND clearly be able to explain why you are the right candidate for the job. These questions are listed in no particular order.
- Why should we hire you?
- Tell us a little bit about yourself?
- Why do you think you are qualified to do this job?
- Why do you want this job?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- What do you know about this duty position?
- What are the primary duties and responsibilities of this duty position?
- What do you know about our unit history?
- What is the hardest military job you have ever had and why?
- Why do you think you would do well in this job?
- What makes you more qualified than other applicants?
- What part of this job do you think you would enjoy the most?
- What part of this job do you think you would enjoy the least?
- What is the best job you have ever had in the Army and why?
- Are you MOSQ for this job? If not, how long would it take you to get MOSQ?
- When would you be available to start?
- Have you had any similar jobs in the past?
- Do you have experience is high stress situations? If so, please explain?
- What have you heard about our unit?
- How long can you see yourself in this job?
- What are your career goals?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
In most cases, you will also be asked very specific questions about the job, such as the duties and responsibilities. I’ve found that the “position” you are applying for really dictates the type of questions you will get asked. Obviously, leadership and command positions will get asked different questions that someone applying for a staff position or technical position.
On the enlisted side of the house, it’s really important to know the intricacies of the job. These are the MOS and job specific tasks that you will be doing day in and day out. As an officer, you will typically be asked more questions about your leadership style and experience.
The bottom line is to prepare for the interview. Make a list of 20 or 30 questions that you think you might get asked and spend some time to answer each question ahead of time. Share your list of questions with your boss or peers and get their insights as to what type of questions you might be asked. Answer all of the questions ahead of time and study the information until you know the answer for each question.
What are your thoughts? What are some of your favorite military interview questions? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
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This is a great list to keep and review. Interview preparation is important for any job, and these are perfect questions to be familiar with before an interview. The strengths and weaknesses question is very common, and while most people can recite their strengths, they aren’t always able to describe their weaknesses. Along those lines, people don’t think about what part of the job they would like the least.
Reviewing these questions and knowing the answers ahead of time will definitely put you in the driver’s seat.
I wanted to also mention that role playing before the interview is not a bad idea. Have a buddy, spouse, or someone else play the part of the interviewer and ask these questions that Chuck put here. You may even want to tape record it so you can hear how you answered.
It can make a huge difference, because essentially you are putting yourself in the interviewer’s shoes. Would you hire yourself after listening to the tape?
Yes, doing some role playing before you do a job interview is always a good use of your time.
I too believe preparing for an interview is important, but there is also the case of over doing it too. Sometimes we create a big bag of nerves and we show it during the interview. It is wise to research the job you are applying for, and when you are asked a question, consider your answer before saying it. Be brief and to the point with your answer. Some people have a tendency to ramble with answers and that can give interviewers a bad impression also.
If you are sure of yourself, it will show. As an employer, this is one thing I will take above others. The person that doesn’t know everything, but has a great attitude is better than the one that knows a lot but has a terrible demeanor.
Be brief and to the point is some great advice.
These are all very important, but I must mention that no matter how prepared you are with questions and answers, if your attitude and demeanor are not good, the odds of getting hired are nil to none.
Even if you are putting on a fake smile, interviewers can see right through it. Before you go to an interview, make sure you attitude is right.
The other part is your attire. If you do not look the part and you are dressed with pride, that will be noticed too, and it will hurt your possibilities.
Preparation is huge, as much of it as you can reasonably do, before an interview.
You need to know something about the unit and the job you will be doing before you take that responsibility.
If you have prepared for the interview by knowing at least some of these things, it will show.
Preparing for the interview is the most important and maybe hardest part of an interview, in my opinion. I think, of the questions you listed, the hardest ones are “tell us about yourself”, “what makes you more qualified than others”, “what have you heard about the unit”, and “how long do you see yourself in this job”. The first two are kind of subjective, especially the first I mentioned. What kinds of things does a possible employer want to know about you? What your hobbies are? What your values are? The answer is that you should tell them anything about yourself that relates to the job or performing the job well or ties into their mission as a unit. Example: I’m applying for a desk job at a company starts a lot of charity initiatives for single parent families and I just happen to be big into giving to charity and helped organize a homework night/parents’ night out at my church– I need to make sure to tell my interviewer this as I align very well with part of their mission.
Great points. The real key is to prepare ahead of time, to believe in yourself, and know how/why you are qualified for the job.