Promotion lottery

[Raddaran]

What gets people promoted? I give up, starting to get ****ed off( I am not the only one). How can someone get promoted after 3 years? How can he have the command skills for snco post. I have been six years as a cpl , four moves to different units (pma choice, not mine) all assessments have been high rec, with good write up, with evidence to back it up, all have been written by different people. High profile secondary duty which does not affect primary duty, loads of ooa's? , commendations!

I know that I am not the only one , and many have more time in than me!DT_Xtremez_35:

 

[Trusty Adjusty]

If he/she has enough seniority in rank then they are eligible for promotion, if their 1st RO is
a) SJAR literate and writes well -
b) likes the subject personally/professionally or both and
c) then writes them a first rate SJAR with said skills, then they will have a good chance of getting picked up.

Of course the subject will still need to display all the qualities you have shown yourself and more - or - the 1st RO will need to lie - a lot. Indeed there is a chance that the latter may have happened, although fairly unlikely. What is more likely is that this person is actually very good, moreover, they have demonstrated this ability/potential very early on and to top it off has a 1st RO who has been able to communicate this to the promotion board.

I would venture from an unbiased point of view that it isn't them that has been lucky, it is probably you who has been unlucky. This happens across all ranks and many a good egg has been passed over before. Do not end up like the rest of the bitter and twisted conspiracy theorists out there, you are clearly doing well and your time will come.

Having moved 5 times in 8 years I feel your pain, try not to take out your frustrations with what is a pretty crap promotion system on other individuals selected, regardless of time served or your opinion on their ability - it is most definitely NOT their fault.

Good things come to those who wait.

 

[olliepop]

They are a law unto themselves... A few years ago I was in the same boat... I had 4 years of 6s' and spec recs, excellent write ups, AOC commendation and valedictory letters, high profile secondary duties etc etc..With high recs before that. Anyhow, got so disheartened at people getting promoted with high recs and bog standard write ups thought about leaving as it was a joke to be honest......
Went and spoke to my boss who kept asking why 'I wasn't promoted yet' to discuss leaving. He phoned PMA there and then to ask what was going on..... They said I quote ' because there has been no improvement in Sac ***** assessments. I was not getting picked up.' Now correct me if I am wrong but, how can you improve on 6s and Spec recs??

Luckily I was picked up and was 2nd on the board later that year. But really, how ridiculous!! How can people who have never met you, Know nothing about you except, what is written possibly decide that you are good enough or not for promotion??
I know that they obviously get a write up from your SNCO etc. But, lets face it not everyone is good at writing assessments and miss out those key words needed!!

Why not do in house promotions so, that people that actually do the work, are good at it and have leadership skills get promoted over those who, play RAF golf/football etc and are never in work... Or, the a**hole who, has his/her tongue up their bosses backside but never actually does any work but instead takes other peoples successes or, sh*ts on everyone to get promoted??? We have all met them!

Life would be alot simpler... Plus, we would not have an abundance of Yes men/women who cannot make a decision, lead, say no when needed. In charge of people that could do the job 10x better!!

Just a thought!!

 

[FOGHORN LEGHORN]

I can recommend the 'how to influence your SJAR' and 'SJAR writing' courses which run at RAF Marham and hopefully at other locations. Definitely opened my eyes as to the mistakes that had been made by myself and my RO's in the past. All of my spec rec's that I thought should have got me promoted weren't worth the printer ink to be honest. IMO these courses should be part of basic training, JMLC and IMLC and available to everyone at relevant stages of their career. I wish I'd done them sooner.

 

[Zeebad]

I can recommend the 'how to influence your SJAR' and 'SJAR writing' courses which run at RAF Marham and hopefully at other locations. Definitely opened my eyes as to the mistakes that had been made by myself and my RO's in the past. All of my spec rec's that I thought should have got me promoted weren't worth the printer ink to be honest. IMO these courses should be part of basic training, JMLC and IMLC and available to everyone at relevant stages of their career. I wish I'd done them sooner.

Well, if that is the case, questions need to be asked because there is now an unfair advantage which has been offered at maraham. I have not seen this course at my base. I rate myself as pretty good at writing SJAR's now and would like to qualify my optimistic view by attending said course. Why should peoples income for the rest of their lives (in certain cases) be effected by somebody who does not have literacy skills. There needs to be a standard that is worked to; 757 is only guide lines. Due to the importance of SJAR's there should be an auth.

In my last 2 SJAR's they did not attach an OOA slip, now lost and end of tour assessment in Nov which means I will not be reported on from Nov to May = 5 months missing! It can be covered up by saying it will roll over to the next year, however, will not be the same boss and will not matter because PSB will be after my exit date (takes 10 months for a board to sit!)

I guess I must now qualify as bitter and twisted or as I like to say, Let down again!

 

[tommo9999]

ACOS Manning staffs are in the midst of a visit schedule to advise on SJARs - they are training Unit staff to give the brief and it is very useful. Speak to your unit shineys and see when it is happening at your place.

 

[FOGHORN LEGHORN]

Well, if that is the case, questions need to be asked because there is now an unfair advantage which has been offered at maraham. I have not seen this course at my base. I rate myself as pretty good at writing SJAR's now and would like to qualify my optimistic view by attending said course. Why should peoples income for the rest of their lives (in certain cases) be effected by somebody who does not have literacy skills. There needs to be a standard that is worked to; 757 is only guide lines. Due to the importance of SJAR's there should be an auth.

In my last 2 SJAR's they did not attach an OOA slip, now lost and end of tour assessment in Nov which means I will not be reported on from Nov to May = 5 months missing! It can be covered up by saying it will roll over to the next year, however, will not be the same boss and will not matter because PSB will be after my exit date (takes 10 months for a board to sit!)

I guess I must now qualify as bitter and twisted or as I like to say, Let down again!

As soon as I completed the courses I spoke to my Sqn Ldr saying the exact same thing. I phoned the station training officer to follow this up and he was in agreement. In the interim we set the ball rolling on a section wide training event. Hopefully it will be a success and spread across camp and then to other stations. I was last at work some weeks ago as I've recently got myself a ball and chain but will chase it up next week. I completely agree that it is unfair that some have had the training and others not which is why I did what I did. As for OOA attachments I fell foul of the same thing when I completed a tour with the army only for the RAF to not accept the report. Cost me dearly and I only found out when I arranged a career brief. Threat of a service complaint later and it was considered this year. PM if you want some advice.

 

[propersplitbrainme]

I rate myself as pretty good at writing SJAR's now and would like to qualify my optimistic view by attending said course. Why should peoples income for the rest of their lives (in certain cases) be effected by somebody who does not have literacy skills. There needs to be a standard that is worked to; 757 is only guide lines. Due to the importance of SJAR's there should be an auth.

Absolutely. As one who took a degree that required writing assignments in a particular manner I was able to transfer this skill to the art of writing reports, F6000s back then, in such a way as to hit the right points using this complicated language we call English. This often required a bit of time spent with the dictionary and thesaurus searching for a single word to encapsulate a facet of someones character or performance that would keep the all important word/character count within limits. Taking such time and effort to structure the reports in such a way obviously worked as many of my troopers gained promotion at some point during the time I was reporting on them. However, should it really be that way?
As an alternative to your suggestion of an 'auth' I thought of using the system we employ at Cosford to assess our trainess on practical tasks. The task is broken down into identifiable areas and each is scored from, say, 1 to 6 with concisely worded statements defining what they should/should not be doing to gain a particular score; the scores from all areas are totalled up to give the overall mark. There is no scope for the assessor to use his/her own words, they simly have to find the 'best fit' statmenent and award the appropriate score. BUT, it is one thing having such a system in a controlled environment such as a two day hangar exercise, and quite another transferring it to the complexity that is an individuals life and performance over a year.

 

[The Masked Geek]

This often required a bit of time spent with the dictionary and thesaurus searching for a single word to encapsulate a facet of someones character or performance that would keep the all important word/character count within limits.

Unfortunately, you risk leaving the board confused as they will not have time to sift through a thesaurus to figure out your meaning.

A study in The Times asked people to rate the intelligence of the men who wrote two different paragraphs on the same topic. the man who plumbed for simple language scored much higher as people actually understood what he had written. They were, infact, written by the same man.

I keep my SJARs simple but with plenty of power when required.


A JT back in the 90s was sat on 9s and specs but got nowhere near promotion. then he got an MBE and funnily enough came off the next board at number one.

 

[raflad67]

Unfortunately, you risk leaving the board confused as they will not have time to sift through a thesaurus to figure out your meaning.

A study in The Times asked people to rate the intelligence of the men who wrote two different paragraphs on the same topic. the man who plumbed for simple language scored much higher as people actually understood what he had written. They were, infact, written by the same man.

I keep my SJARs simple but with plenty of power when required.

Having recently attended the SJAR Cse delivered by Manning staff this is very relevant indeed. You can use all the long words in the world but if the Prom Board don't understand them or it seems not to flow then you will lose them....they don't have time to look up words as they only have approx. 20 mins per candidate - keep it simple and ensure evidence is used to back up what you say and also that Potential is just that...not as is often seen, an extension to the Performance.

Subjects should also be savvy about their own requirements; ensure you have some 'eye catching' objectives but also ensure you deliver on these because if you keep the same objectives for years on end it doesn't show you in that good a light....oh and ensure the dates you set them are early (ie the start of your reporting period) otherwise it looks as though you have done it as an afterthought!

As Tommo said, Manning are going around Units and although this is typical of the RAF - being late in delivering training/education - it is better late than never. Speak to Chf Clk or TDF or if you want PM me and I will check the schedule and advise.

 

[propersplitbrainme]

Unfortunately, you risk leaving the board confused as they will not have time to sift through a thesaurus to figure out your meaning.

Risked perhaps, but not too detrimentally, I'm only talking about finding words I knew existed to make a specific point and save on the word count.
As I said, enough of my lads got promoted to suggest I got something right.

 

[The Masked Geek]

Subjects should also be savvy about their own requirements; ensure you have some 'eye catching' objectives but also ensure you deliver on these because if you keep the same objectives for years on end it doesn't show you in that good a light.

Objectives and aspirations are a powerful part of the SJAR. It's your chance to sell yourself and usually the first thing that gets read.

 

[The Masked Geek]

Risked perhaps, but not too detrimentally, I'm only talking about finding words I knew existed to make a specific point and save on the word count.

Fair call but all too many 1st ROs throw inauspicious and oft inappropriate words into an assessment to the denigration of their subject. These are the guys that my warning is aimed at; afterall, SJARs are not intellectual linguistic contests.

 

[Trusty Adjusty]

Another area to pay close attention too is the President Reports post board. Having read a few over the years they aren't just generalizing what they've seen but are often very specific with what they were impressed by and what they found detrimental in that years assessments. As a subject this is particularly poignant and is something you must make sure your 1st RO is aware of.

A recent report I read contained a snippet effectively saying the board did not want to see statements such as "this man cannot do anything more to get promoted" and "SAC A is the best JNCO the RAF doesn't have" etc etc etc.

Whilst snooping in the Snecs office I caught him writing one of our best lads assessments and he asked me to read it for my opinion - it contained almost all of the things the President Report had viewed negatively from last years board! This is a prime example of what someone else alluded to earlier in the thread - to you your assessment might make you look like you can walk on water, but to the board it isn't worth the ink because your 1st RO hadn't researched the areas off the report, and thus structured his/her assessment of you to meet their agenda.

This is basic stuff that happens most of the time - with best intentions, unfortunately we all get one shot a year and it needs to be on the money. I wholeheartedly agree that the SJAR writing/influencing courses should be mandatory, although I would also like to see 2nd RO's becoming more involved - they should know if a 1st RO is weak at writing and should be giving more advice and support instead of becoming a glorified spell checker as I have witnessed in some cases (I know, not all of you out there!)

 

[The Masked Geek]

I would also like to see 2nd RO's becoming more involved - they should know if a 1st RO is weak at writing and should be giving more advice and support instead of becoming a glorified spell checker as I have witnessed in some cases (I know, not all of you out there!)

Very good point. One of my guys out here asked for my opinion on his finalised SJAR. It was an absolute disgrace and basically said "he plays basketball".

I have no idea how good he is in his primary role but there were literaly two lines on the subject.

My other SAC followed suit and his wasn't much better; his 2nd RO had even misspelled his trade. He was an ITC Tech apparently.

 

[Mug?]

Naive

Naive

Sorry but I fear you are all being a bit too trusting.
There are elements above that will get you pre-boarded and will help you get to the A grade table, but the actual promotion is down to the specialist members. If they worked in your area/ type then you have an advantage if you were liked/ known.
I see the drop to three as being very bad move. Yes it will save a bit of time but when you have people telling lies on sjars, it leaves little room for the bitter and twisted amongst us.

 

[Roobsta]

To the OP (and the rest in the same boat)

Go and see your Unit Careers Advisor. I've taken 2 of my lads [SAC(T) ]to see the one at MRM and she's been brilliant. Ripped their last 3 SJARs apart (from other sections). Big words - empty contents, contradictions, the list goes on. What she did do was to give the lads a clear direction forward.

Her Top Tips were:-

1. Use the Objectives to state what could be achievable in 12 months - and state on them if you have completed the course or have one booked.

2. Aspirations should be achieveable within 3-5 years. These can be moved to the Objectives section if you are making progress and will complete them in the current reporting period.

3. Get on a leadership course/Influencing SJAR/OJTIT course

4. MEANINGFUL secondary duty (NOT tea-bar) - preferably with community involvement.

So there you have it, in a nutshell...

 

[Raddaran]

Just looked on manning website, they want 88 cpl to sgt for 2011 - 2012, let's see what will happen this year.DT_Xtremez_21:

 

[Sospan]

Just looked on manning website, they want 88 cpl to sgt for 2011 - 2012, let's see what will happen this year.DT_Xtremez_21:

How far off were you this year? How long have you been in?

 

[Harry B'Stard]

Just looked on manning website, they want 88 cpl to sgt for 2011 - 2012, let's see what will happen this year.DT_Xtremez_21:

Which trade? Heavy or Fairy?

Anyone know off the top of their heads when the heavy board sits? I seem to remember July being mentioned.

Mind you, I'm just hoping the redundancy board overlooks me!DT_Xtremez_30:

HTB