I am starting this thread in response to the thread earlier this week “Ask the _____”
(I am too lazy to find the link). I am an active duty Air Force enlisted accessions recruiter in Tennessee, so fire away.
Isn’t ‘firing away’ at members of the military one the reasons your job isn’t so easy?
Do you feel pressured to meet a quotia, and if so, how much?
How do you handle folks who want to speak to an Officer Accessions Recruiter? Is it policy to try to convince them to go enlisted instead, or just hand em over?
How much leeway are you given to bend the truth in getting a new recruit?
How much do you rely on people coming in and asking to sign up as opposed to cold calling or setting up kiosks at colleges and high schools?
Have you ever had an incident when you felt obligated to just flat-out tell someone “I’m sorry, I just don’t think you can cut it?”
As a recruiter, if necessary, can you be called up to active combat duty?
What steps did you have to take to become a recruiter?
Oh I have more, but they can wait (I’m the one who asked for this thread – thanks!).
Kuboydal, whoever said my job wasn’t so easy?
RT, In the Air Force, we don’t call them quotas, we call them “goals.” This is an important distinction because in the minds of TPTB, if I miss a quota, my performance reports will suffer. Not so with a “goal.” In practice, they are quotas and mine are usually 2-3 per month.
Hi billyb0b,
Is your job easy and, if so, how do you feel about that?
Is it harder to get people to sign up during times of war or other major military conflicts?
Do you “compete” with other armed forces? That is, for example, if someone says, “I was thinking about joining the Army…” do you use this as an opportunity to “sell” him on pointing out the advantages of joining the Air Force, disavantages of joining the Army, etc.?
What questions do potential recruits usually ask? What’s the most unusual question one has asked?
What percentage of potential recruits end up signing up?
At what point does a potential recruit reach the point of no return once he has committed to becoming a member? Is it upon signing a certain document?
In order:
Recently, the OA portion was handed over to EA recruiters, so I work with those applicants that are trying for non-medical commissions. It is policy to qualify individuals for the highest program that they are qualified for, and it is a policy that is usually followed.
According to policy, zero leeway. But, as I am sure you know, policy isn’t always followed. I have no need to lie to applicants, the Air Force is a great way of life that I love, so I can usually use persuasion instead of lying. In practice, recruiters can’t afford to lie to applicant or their parents because it is too easy to get caught. Once that happens, you can’t win the trust back.
I use all three about the same. They lead to each other, sort of. I cold call students the day before setting up in the school. If they don’t join while in school, those things help them remember me when they decide to.
ALL THE TIME! I would venture to 80% of applicants that I talk to are not qualified for the Air Force.
No, recruiters are locked into recruiting for three years minimum (it has recently been upped to four).
There are lots of steps. First, I decided that it would be a good thing for my career. Next, I submitted an application. After I made the first cut, I had a telephonic interview. After making that cut, I had to have a medical/records/psychological evaluation. After qualifying, I had to attend the Air Force recruiter’s school (one of the toughest in the AF).
All great questions, keep them coming. I’ll answer any that I am able.
I have a question and then a comment.
Q - What billet/training is most commonly requested by recruits (besides piloting)? Assuming such a billet is overwhelmed with people, how do you handle that request at your end?
C - As a recruiter for a liberal arts college, I frequently meet counterparts with the armed forces. Almost w/o exception the Air Force recruiters are the easiest to talk to and also the ones who have the most respect for the regulations at college fairs. I salute you, sir (sir, right? not ma’am)?
My job is easy in that I love my work. I like helping people that can benefit from the Air Force and that the Air Force can benefit from having. All in all, I’m satisfies with it. The paperwork involved is a booger, but other than that, my job is as hard as any other sales job. (BTW, I meant to put a smilely after that other reply, but forgot).
The other services try to compete with us 
When someone is “shopping” I usually tell them to go ahead and check out the other services and that I will call them back ina few days. I don’t trash the others, but they do try to trash the AF. When I call the applicant back, I refute what the others said and then help the applicant “compare and contrast” what they have learned.
The first questions usually asked is “What are the qualifications?” The most unusual: “How long will it be until I get to fly Air Force One?”
That is a hard question to answer, everyone between the ages of 17 and 27 is a potential recruit Really though, about 18% last fiscal year for me. I don’t have the numbers for the Air Force as a whole.
When an applicant goes to the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) they swear into the Delayed Entry Program (DEP). As far as they know, that is the point of no return (no one ever tells them this, but they take the oath of enlistment so they think it on their own. Who am I to disabuse then of that notion?) In actuality, when an applicant takes the second oath of enlistment on their ship day, that is the point of no return.
A - The most commonly requested jobs are medical jobs. I do not talk about jobs in my office because when they are here, I have no way of knowing what they are mentally, physically, emotionally, or morally qualified for. There are special jobs counselors that help with that.
C- Thanks, we try to follow the rules (sir is correct). Thanks for talking to the AF recruiters, those jobs fair and career days can be LONG. I am sure they appreciate it.
dwc, sorry, I forgot to answer the first one. I am not sure, I began recruiting during a time of war and have never had any recruiting experience outside of that.
Another one:
How does one become recruited for recruiting? Were you simply the most charming person and persuasive person around?
Do you get many female potential recruits? I ask because when my son was enlisting a few years ago (he’s finishing his hitch this fall), it seemed like every time we went to his recruiter’s office there were girls in there checking it out.
And my son was a bit of an exception job-wise – he qualified for a computer MOS that was a guaranteed job, although I understand they’re phasing that MOS out now, which is why he probably won’t reenlist since he really doesn’t want to retrain.
Do you find that a lot of folks look to join the Air Force because they want the benefits of being in the military without necessarily putting their lives on the line in the process?
And do you find that you can take your choice of applicants to a certain extent like happened during Vietnam? My husband was able to get into the Air Force quickly when he got drafted because he was that rare breed in 1969, someone with computer training, but at that point the waiting list for the Air Force was something like 18 months.
And how long is the wait for basic training now? For my son it was, as I remember, 5-6 months before a slot opened up for him. He was able to fill a cancellation and got in a bit sooner, but we were still surprised with the delay in his being able to go to basic.
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From what I’ve read, the U.S. military strenuously denies that it’s lowered recruiting standards, but nonetheless they seem to be enlisting a lot of people who would have been rejected five years ago. Is that your impression, and if so, do you worry about a decline in the quality of personnel?
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Assuming that there’s increased pressure on recruiters in wartime, have you observed any increase in unethical or questionable behavior by recruiters to meet goals? (examples might be, making misleading statements to a recruit about the likelihood of combat duty, or coaching a recuit so that he passes tests he might normally fail)
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Iraq/Afghanistan casualties have been much lower in the Air Force than in the Army and Marines. How much difference do you think there is between your current experiences, and the experiences of an Army or Marines recruiter? Do you think Air Force recruiting is benefiting, by virtue of people who want to serve in the military, but who, under current circumstances, might decide to go Air Force (or Navy) instead of Army or Marines?
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There is sometimes controversy over the claim that military recruiters “target” kids in poorer neighborhoods or schools more than kids in wealthier areas. Not surprisingly, recruiters respond (again, from what I’ve read) that, statistically, these kids are more likely to join the military, and so it only makes sense to focus on them. And, of course, it’s an all-volunteer military, so it’s not like anyone’s being forced into it. Still, do you think it’s a problem that the human cost of war is not borne evenly across society? (i.e., doctors, lawyers, and executives are much less likely to have a family member in harm’s way than blue-collar workers)
Hi Billyb0b.
Some years ago (maybe around 2004 or so), when Canada’s role in Afghanistan was somewhat more limited than it is today, many of my colleagues in our local reserve army unit were considering joining the US army in order to get in on the Middle East action before it was all over (in hindsight, that fear was unwarranted). We contacted recruiters, and the response was universally positive, as many of us have had previous experience in the Balkans and other places, but I don’t think any of us went through with it all the way.
Opportunities in Afghanistan have since opened up, with Canada stepping up its’ presence. It’s much easier to get to Afghanistan now than it was back then, so I don’t imagine any of us will be revisiting that particular path, but suppose one of us did end up pulling the trigger, what would have been the procedure? Would the recruiting branch of the US Armed forces have been of any assistance with immigration proceedings? My limited understanding is that one must at least be a legal resident to join.
When I have to go to the airport, I notice a lot of military recruiters (sorry, don’t know what branch) wandering the subway station where I transfer. It’s a sketchy place in a bad part of Brooklyn – in the projects, lots of crime, rampant poverty.
Do recruiters specifically target these types of areas? Is the success rate in poorer areas better than average?
(I am not attempting to pick a fight. This is something I’ve noticed and would like further commentary on.)
ETA: Looks like my question was asked upthread!
Wow, Lots of questions. I’ll try to tackle them in order:
kuboydal:
I wasn’t recruited for recruiting duty. In the AF, it is strictly on a volunteer basis. I volunteered, and was chosen.
Mama Tiger:
Yes, I get lots of female applicants. My statistics roughly match the AF as a whole, that is, approximately 20% females.
Yes, I can and do take the “pick of the litter.”
Some applicants come in thinking that, but I make sure to let them know that they are putting their lives on the line when they join. Keep in mind, someday I will return to the regular AF and I might be supervising these people. I don’t want anyone going in with rose colored glasses.
The wait for basic is approximately 4-6 months for a regular, well qualified applicant. That probably won’t change any time soon, either.
TJVM:
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I am an Air Force recruiter, and we have not lowered our standards. As a matter of fact, we have raised some of the standards and taken a less lenient stance on others that have been liberally interpreted. As such, I am not worried about the quality of applicants. I cannot speak from experience on the other services, but I haven’t seen where any are denying the lowering of some standards.
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I have seen unethical behavior from other service recruiters, but due to my lack of experience outside of the current war, I cannot lay blame on the current situation. A quick Google search will turn up plenty of examples of recruiters cheating.
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I know there are a lot of differences between their experiences and mine right now. It is difficult to recruit for the Army and Marines even during peacetime. The Air Force may be benefiting, but only marginally. The Air Force traditionally fills its ranks from a more qualified applicant pool than the other services, so those who want to serve in the “Chair Force” during times of war or conflict typically aren’t qualified.
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I think you made a faulty assumption in this question, i.e. the uneven burden. My zone, that is the area that I assigned to work, covers a variety of socio-economic areas. There are poor agricultural areas and several well-to-do cities that I work. The Air Force as a whole is well represented in those terms. “Those kids” are more likely to join because there are more of them out there.
Throatwarbler Mangrove: For the Air Force, an applicant must be a resident alien at least to join. The AF won’t let us help with immigration, but once in the Air Force President Bush’s EO takes effect, and citizenship is easier.
TheMerchandise:
See above.
The success rate is approximately the same whether in my well-to-do cities or my poor agricultural areas. I do not work any projects like you have in Brooklyn in my zone, so I can’t answer that one.
Waaaay back in the dark ages (well, okay, during the Cold War) when I chose to go Navy, I was told that the Air Force, in particular, couldn’t guarantee what kind of training that recruits would get. First, was this ever true? If it was, is it true, now?