Thanks for the insight. IP seems to be ultra competitive. I have certs, leadership, a Master's Degree in Cybersecurity, over 20 years experience in IT including supervisory roles, and plus 20 years in the Navy with the last few of those being in LPO roles for multiple units. The last time I did my OIC Board I did not know all the Information Warfare Designators so he graded me a 6. My recruiter told me not to submit this time because even though I got 10's across the board on my panel the OIC grade would not get me selected.
Honestly the only designator I fall close to even qualifying for is 1825. For some reason he also told me to apply for Intel because of one of my certs and Master's Degree but when I spoke to the OIC who happened to be Intel he said "Yeah none of that relates to what we do." Hopefully I can bump my OIC grade up quite a bit from a 6 because I seem to do fine on the panels as they all liked me. The IP Officer had nothing but praise and said I had multiple things they are looking for in the community.
Everything I'm going to say, is my humble opinion and in no way represents the 1825 community or RESFOR as a whole.
Grading you a six because you didn't know all of the IWC Designators sounds suspicious. It's hard for me to believe this would happen unless in your interview you spoke a bit too highly to your vast experience and when challenged failed to deliver.
During my interviews I openly admitted that I read the PA's and overviews, but I had no tacit knowledge outside of "these jobs exist" and I was lauded for being upfront and honest. How would you know? You're not even selected yet. Knowing all the designators is the point of IWO down the road.
For those of you going 3+ times:
"We" don't want someone coming into the community who knows it all (or better yet thinks they do). We want accessions that have the strong technical foundation and are confident in their ability to lead. This allows us to get you quickly spun up on specifics to lead that assured C2 mission with the limited time we have with you part-time.
Priors are great because we don't have to invest as much time in Sailorization.
I'd really look at your motivational statements. Are you speaking to your leadership? What do you want to DO when in uniform? If the answer isn't a resounding "I want to lead", that's a red flag. There's a reason CISSP is valued, but SEC+ and others aren't. CISSP is a mile wide, inch deep, and intended for top level leadership.
Remember, your job isn't going to be to configure CANES or setting up an HF shot. It's ensuring your work center can, and when you run into problems you can source the way to remediate and provide the succinct explanation up the chain.
Additionally nothing quite turns me off more than someone who's next question is "CAN I COME ONBOARD AS A LTJG OR LT?". What so you can get hammered and not know a darn thing? I think its a total disservice to bring folks on higher than ENS.
I've watched countless LTJGs and LTs get hammered and wash out. I'd also avoid asking if you can waiver IPBC or other training requirements. The answer should be NO. If you can't commit to the training pipeline, that's an easy pro-rec no from me. Navy school houses are much more than basic curriculum.