That quick?

I left my AST appointment with a selection of job discriptions for the various technical trades that were recruiting, but still thinking about Aircraft Tecnician as my trade of choice. The only others i could really choose were Avionics Tech (avionics are far too fiddley and boring) or ICT Tech (which sounded like the guy at the end of the technical support phoneline)so I'd already pretty much decided to wait it out.

My mother had other ideas. Being a careers advisor she gave me the 'look into all your options before you decide' talk and so I had to actually read though the information I was given. Avionics Tech still look like a crappy job so I tossed it aside.

ICT Tech on the other hand, started to look quite good. I won't go into the boring detail of the job or anything, but it was the bit that said about going into areas before the rest of the troops to set up RADAR and communications. Sounds like the kinda job where I could see some action to me.

Anyway, a couple of days after my AST, I had just made my mind up to go for the ICT Tech job when i received a phone call from the AFCO themselves. That was Tuesday night. I told the careers guy I wanted to apply for the job and he arranged an interview for me....... for Thursday morning.

This is where those notes I told you to take come in. Unlike me you should have been reading them from the moment you got them so you're prepared for a rush interview like this. Luckily from all my experiance from cadets and knowing a great deal about the forces and RAF, I got through it fine with a bit of blagging. That said there were a few things I really should have remembered and would have if I had read my notes.

The interview is not hard. Mostly it's questions about you and your life, family, school, holidays, hobbys etc etc. so just relax and be confident about your answers. The only bit you have to think about really is the bit about your chosen trade and why you want to join the RAF. Remember the RISE (Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence) thing, its always good to have as an answer, as is the role of the RAF.

One thing not to do, is tell them you originally wanted to do a different trade, or thought about officer. As far as the interviewer is concerned this trade is your first choice and mentioning other trades leads to more questions that you really have to blag your way out of. I fell into this trap and had to explain why ICT Tech was not 'second best' to Aircraft Tech and once again that joining as enlisted ranks was not second best to having a commission. Believe me, even for a seasoned blagged like I am, it's not easy.

At the end of the interview you'll be told how you got on. It's not official but your interviewer will either recomend you for RAF service or not, simply as that. They'll also go over any points bought up in your interview, mainly bad points.

You'll also be given one final piece of good news. You now have to have your medical done within 14 days and your fitness done within 14 days after that. That gives you a total of 4 weeks to get your fitness together so if you haven't already joined a gym and started running on a treadmill (it look some learning for me) you might want to think about it now.