Hello,

I graduated college last year and was speaking with a recrutier toward my end months.  I remember the recruiter saying "I dont usually handle officers let alone potential pilots".  After hearing that I felt a little worried and did some months of research.  I did not continue communications with this recruiter since it got hectic at the final months of college and I had an issue to take care of at home.  Now I contacted a new local recruiter (I moved since college) with hopes of taking the AFOQT since I've been studying, set up an interview and have my information go to the board.  This second recruiter told me "Ah well I'm new to this actually just a few weeks, you'll be my first officer, none of us ever get pilots really in our recruiting career so this should be great".

My worry is from what I've read on these forums is that your recruiter can be a huge influence and can help if they are good and be detrimental if they are poor.  Should I politely inform my new recruiter what I know of the process from a year of research and speaking to my old recruiter or would it not matter?  I am going to meet with him for the first time next week and he wants me to bring in my diploma that in a plaque(sp) which seems extremely odd for the first time talking (I did not have to do that with my old recruiter and he did mention he's trying to meet a quota).

 

Thanks

P.S   Sorry if my grammar and spelling is not superb...I've ben studying and jogging for the past 6 hours strait and its 3 a.m so my brain is a little fried.

Bottom line: nobody cares about you as much as you.

You are correct that many recruiters do not understand the process very well, and that lack of knowledge can be very detrimental to the success of your application.

So, read the forums here, at www.airforceots.com, and at www.baseops.net, and make yourself as smart as possible on all aspects of the process.

This is not the last time you'll have to study up on a topic that /should/ be someone else's responsibility in order to make sure you don't get shafted -- this will be a recurring theme for you during a career in the USAF.

Posted By Hacker on 09 Jun 2009 06:02 AM
Bottom line: nobody cares about you as much as you.

You are correct that many recruiters do not understand the process very well, and that lack of knowledge can be very detrimental to the success of your application.

So, read the forums here, at www.airforceots.com, and at www.baseops.net, and make yourself as smart as possible on all aspects of the process.

This is not the last time you'll have to study up on a topic that /should/ be someone else's responsibility in order to make sure you don't get shafted -- this will be a recurring theme for you during a career in the USAF.

^^Best advice you can get.^^  I had a recruiter that was a complete ding bat and didn't even try to act like she's never put an officer through.  She'd say she was going to check on something and call me back, but I always had to call her back for the answer after doing the research myself.  I spend hours a day on the 3 forums Hacker mentioned, reading anything and everything I can to make my package that much stronger.  I now have a new recruiter who is, as we speak, at a conference for recruiters to learn how to put officers through (they used to have Officer only recruiters, now all of them do it and don't have much experience if any).  I feel much more confident now with my application. 

Also, take things into your own hands if you have to.  If they say they'll call you back on Monday, and it's 1500 and still no word, start calling them.  I'm in a position where I have access to military installations, so I scheduled my own AFOQT and can go without the recruiter present.  Just don't feel like the recruiter controls it all.  You do. 

Great thanks.  Yea he also told me he is at a conference this week as well, I wonder if they are at the same one.  So basically the first step is taking the AFOQT, then get an interview, then my information goes to the board is that correct?  I've read a bunch into it at those websites you mentioned, I just want to make sure if there is anything else I should tell him what needs to be done.

It sounds like he thinks I'm going to sign a 8 year commitment on Monday without knowing if I make UPT and before I even take the AFOQT.  I mean he sounded like a cool guy and all, just very unprofessional and immature.  I'd feel much more comfortable talking with someone about the next 15 years of my life, who knows whats going on or has more than a GED.

Again I just want to double check the steps so I can point him in the right direction. 

AFOQT--> BAT--->Interview-->Information to board?  Any way to prepare for the BAT?

 

Thanks again!!

I hope I don't have to tell you this, but don't sign SHIT until you get accepted INTO OTS as a pilot or whatever it is you want to go for. If you don't you will have probably signed an 8 year commitment to enlistment. I don't know fully how OTS works, but I have never heard anyone signing on the dotted line as any sort of requriement or incentive for acceptance into OTS. If your recruiter tries that on you, time to get a new one.

Agreed - don't sign any commitment until you've been accepted to go to OTS.

My recruiter told me as far as a "timeline goes" this:

Take your AFOQT. When you get your results, you'll go get your physical, assuming you didn't royally screw up your AFOQT scores. You'll also get scheduled for your TBAS (formerly BAT) at this point. This + your AFOQT makes your PCSM score. After you have all of these checkpoints done, your paperwork filled out, and your Letter's collected, that's when you'll have your interview. After your interview you'll finalize and check your package for errors about 7 million times, then it'll get sent off to the board. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK YOUR PACKAGE FOR ERRORS! Don't just let the recruiter look over it. Have a friend, co-worker, teacher.. whatever.. look at your package with fresh eyes to find spelling mistakes, missed check boxes, etc.

Absolutely DO NOT sign ANY commitments to serve in ANY capacity other than as a pilot on his/her way to OTS with a follow on to UPT. DO NOT fall for the enlisted switch unless that is something you would be OK with.

As far as the TBAS (BAT), there isn't much you can do to prepare for it. Look at the information on this site about it, the actual TBAS site, and read other forums about it. You'll need to have spatial orientation ability for the compass part. I would suggest getting a first person shooter game for your PC (Unreal Tournament or Quake type games) and using an inverted joystick to practice. Inverted so that pushing forward on the stick moves the cursor down on the screen. Play a few hours like that and that will help you with your airplane tracking part. I play a couple hours a week right now to get good at it before I take my TBAS in a few weeks.

Last thing to add. If you do not like your recruiter or you think he is not answering your question correctly, please call another recruiter or get a new one completely. I've called a recruiter 800 miles away from me to verify information my local recruiter was telling me/screwing up completely. Now I have a new local recruiter who seems to have a little more SA than the old one. Don't settle for someone who's just out to meet quota.

Posted By ChrisA on 12 Jun 2009 01:14 PM
My recruiter told me as far as a "timeline goes" this:



Last thing to add. If you do not like your recruiter or you think he is not answering your question correctly, please call another recruiter or get a new one completely. I've called a recruiter 800 miles away from me to verify information my local recruiter was telling me/screwing up completely. Now I have a new local recruiter who seems to have a little more SA than the old one. Don't settle for someone who's just out to meet quota.

 

I've called other OTS recruiters before and was told I can only work with the one in my region....Any ways around this?

Matt, I have had the same thing happen to me. Every time I try to get ahold of another recruiter...even to simply as a question... I end up getting directed right back to the recruiter for my region.