Long Unemployment Period & Application

[sunowl]

(I did a cursory search on this but didn't find many results, so apologies if this question has been answered somewhere before.)

I realize the "whole person" concept is stressed, but will a relatively long unemployment spell severely hurt my chances of getting selected for OCS? Or do I just need to be ready to talk plainly about it? Does anyone have experience with applying to OCS with a history of unemployment?

I've been unemployed since I graduated last May ('11) with a degree in Economics & Japanese (3.8 GPA), and only got a few interviews out of about 50+ applications (including one I was flown out for...close, but no banana!). But, I still have confidence in my abilities and have been keeping relatively busy with some math/science classes at community college, maintaining/increasing my physical fitness, and starting to help lead a campus volunteering club. I am hoping this might mitigate the blemish of unemployment but am still unsure.

Thanks in advance for your help. Best regards.

 

[BackOrdered]

I had two modest jobs when I applied. I used them as reference but I didn't recall a requirement to be employed. So long as you haven't racked up debt (that will hurt your clearance) you shouldn't have an issue.

 

[natheo]

I don't think it will be an issue, since your GPA and your volunteering activities should indicate that you've kept busy. I was employed when I applied, but I hadn't had a full time job for 3 years at the time. I don't think my retail experience, whatever it might have been, did much for me.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I have had guys get selected that hadn't done anything for the past year or so but live at mom and dads house and work out, so it should be a problem.

I will say most board deadlines have closed so you might want to look for a job in the meantime.

 

[sunowl]

Thank you tiz84, natheo, and NavyOffRec for your inputs. Yes, I will continue to look for work and find ways to improve myself since I will probably end up be waiting for FY13 boards...

Regarding loans, will $27k in federal student loans hurt my clearance? I don't have any credit card/private debt, however, and I did graduate within 4 years.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Is your credit in shambles? Are creditors turning you over to collection agencies? If you can answer no to those questions, I'd think you will be ok, but then again, I'm not in the business of granting security clearances. That seems like a pretty standard amount of debt for a lot of folks who have not had the military pay for their school (or even those of us who took out the USAA starter loan when we commissioned). They just want to make sure that your financial situation doesn't make you a security liability. Common sense stuff.

I was thinking the same thing, in addition what are the monthly payments and have you looked at if that is sustainable on an O-1 paycheck? I have seen people with more debt get in without issues, but each person is different.

 

[sunowl]

Nope and nope, no loan delinquencies here (student loan forbearance is great ). I don't think my loan repayments would be unmanageable unless I was making minimum wage or something.
Thanks MIDNJAC and Navy OffRec again.

 

[natheo]

Just looking around, it seems that there are tons of options as far as student loan debt goes once you get picked up. Starter loans, SCRA, and my private lender in particular gives me as an active duty service member as well. I plan on utilizing the USAA starter loan to knock out my private student loan debt, as the interest is less than half of what my lowest private loan rate currently. Just make sure you stay on top of it, especially if they will be going into repayment before or while you are at OCS, not that this seems to apply to you here.

 

[zippy]

(I did a cursory search on this but didn't find many results, so apologies if this question has been answered somewhere before.)

I realize the "whole person" concept is stressed, but will a relatively long unemployment spell severely hurt my chances of getting selected for OCS? Or do I just need to be ready to talk plainly about it? Does anyone have experience with applying to OCS with a history of unemployment?

I've been unemployed since I graduated last May ('11) with a degree in Economics & Japanese (3.8 GPA), and only got a few interviews out of about 50+ applications (including one I was flown out for...close, but no banana!). But, I still have confidence in my abilities and have been keeping relatively busy with some math/science classes at community college, maintaining/increasing my physical fitness, and starting to help lead a campus volunteering club. I am hoping this might mitigate the blemish of unemployment but am still unsure.

Thanks in advance for your help. Best regards.

Just be ready to talk about it- its one thing to try but not be able to land a job in a tough economy. It's another completely to be unemployed because you felt like spending your summer after college playing video games (Yes, this actually happened to someone I know who applied for a LE job- the hiring was not impressed and they were passed on because they lacked ambition/motivation). Keep yourself involved in other meaningful activities while you job hunt and things shouldn't be held against you by a reasonable person.

 

[KBayDog]

It's another completely to be unemployed because you felt like spending your summer after college playing video games...

You just described 98% of boat deployments.

 

[sunowl]

Thanks for the loan info natheo.

I can't deny having played videogames during my unemployment (and judging by how often I see my unemployed friends on PSN playing CoD I guess I'm not alone) but I'll be sure to avoid adding "I feel Ace Combat 5 has really prepared me for a career in naval aviation" to my personal statement.

(Well, maybe it's helpful for spacial apperception practice... maybe )

 

[Renegade One]

This isn't what you want to hear...I understand that. But if your degrees in Eco/Japanese aren't getting you the dream job....there are lots of other jobs out there. Get one. Do your best. Laugh about it later in the Ready Room.

 

[sunowl]

This isn't what you want to hear...I understand that. But if your degrees in Eco/Japanese aren't getting you the dream job....there are lots of other jobs out there. Get one. Do your best. Laugh about it later in the Ready Room.

Actually, that is good to hear. Thanks. In fact that Netflix customer service job has been looking oddly inviting lately...