During the Assignment Interactive Module (AIM) Marketplace in October, we wrote an article. The focus was how to be successful in the Marketplace to get your preferred duty assignment. What we didn’t tell you was that we were serving as unit managers in the marketplace. We were looking to fill vacancies in our own organizations. We found success through extensive preparation, active recruiting, personal engagement, and honesty. If you are serving as a unit manager in the AIM Marketplace, supporting your unit’s recruiting as an incumbent, or simply want to prepare for those eventualities, this guide will support you in bringing the right personnel to your organization.
Identify your Requirements
In coordination with the Deputy Commanding Officer or Executive Officer, determine how many positions will be vacant during the next movement cycle and provide duty descriptions for each of these vacancies. When calculating this, determine current and future vacancies by identifying officers conducting a Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Inter-Post Transfer (IPT), Expiration of Term of Service (ETS), or retirement. This will lead to a meeting with the Commander to develop the Order of Merit List (OML) for all vacant positions and determine which ones will be prioritized.
This is your chance to provide input and advocate why a certain vacancy needs to be filled as opposed to others. Following this discussion, the unit’s Mission Essential Requirements List (MER) is generated, identifying what positions the unit is requesting to be filled, and submitted to the Officer Personnel Management Directorate (OPMD). Prior to the opening of the marketplace, OPMD validates the requirements before populating the marketplace (Note: Not every request will be validated, so it is very important to prioritize vacancies appropriately).
Develop your Recruiting Strategy
Once you have the projected positions in the marketplace (which may change due to lack of validation), it is time to develop your recruiting strategy. First, determine the minimum qualifications and preferred experiences for each position. As an example, for CPT SGL positions, the MICCC required every candidate to have served as a Battalion S2 and to not be on profile, while Company Command, Assistant Brigade S2, and/or Observer Controller / Trainer (OC/T) experience was preferred. MIBOLC required CPTs that were not on profile and preferred KD complete with longevity in the Army.
Second, determine the preferred Year Groups (YG) that your unit is going to prioritize. In this last marketplace, we prioritized YGs 13-15 because this would provide us with SGLs that would have at least one to three years on platform before moving to Resident ILE.
Third, we determined how we were going to initially prioritize our candidates. We decided to preference in the following order: interested candidates with the minimum requirements and preferred experiences, interested candidates with the minimum requirements, available candidates with the minimum requirements and preferred experiences, and available candidates with the minimum requirements (thankfully, we had so many interested candidates with the required credentials, we never had to move away from the first group).
Lastly, coordination with your command group needs to be made to determine who is going to manage the AIM Marketplace and recruit for each position. This is to ensure there is a single point of contact for communication with officers, only one person making changes within the AIM Marketplace, and a single individual is making offers to candidates. The process can become extremely disorganized if there are too many people involved and/or everyone does not understand their roles and responsibilities.
AIM Marketplace Rules of Engagement
There are specific AIM Marketplace and OPMD rules that need to be followed by unit managers. As seen in the above graphic, these rules are there to protect both participants and units. First, do not ask an officer for their preference list. Do not ask for their #1. Do not ask for their top five. There is nothing wrong with a unit engaging with an individual specifically about that unit, using phrases such “Whereabouts do you have our unit in your preferences?” or “If we offered you a position in our organization, would you accept it?” We suggest you stay away from the more direct question though of “Where do you have us preferenced?”
Second, do not retaliate against an officer, even if they mislead a unit of their abilities or intentions. Seems pretty straight-forward.
Third, do not ask interview questions that could be interpreted as discriminatory. Get the interview questions screened ahead of time and ask every candidate the same questions from your approved list.
Fourth, do not ask for Officer Evaluation Reports. Yes, in our previous article, we absolutely advised you to provide them and we fully stand by that advice; providing them to a unit, even if they never look at them (which we do not), shows that you have confidence in your past performance. But as a unit manager, you cannot ask for them. In our opinion, experience and the interview weigh far more towards hiring an individual than evaluation reports.
Actively Recruit Personnel
When the Marketplace opens, unit managers need to look through the Officer Record Briefs of interested officers. They should pay particular attention to the officer’s résumé, and build an OML for potential candidates. Next, they should send a standardized, semi-personal email out to interested candidates. This will show them that you have seen their file and are interested in them as well for the position. Below is an example of an initial email:
Greetings from Fort Huachuca! I am MAJ Robert Calkins and am the Military Intelligence Captain’s Career Course (MICCC) Committee Chief. Thank you for showing interest in being a Small Group Leader (SGL) / Instructor at the MICCC. We view teaching and developing our junior MI CPTs as a truly rewarding job. This job will increase your chances of promotion to MAJ and acceptance into Resident ILE. Serving here will set you up for success as a Brigade Combat Team S2. Additionally, opportunities for command and professional development schools / courses are available. As a former Battalion S2 and Company Commander, you have the skills and experience that we are looking for. I would like to talk to you about being part of the MICCC Team. Please let me know if you are available for an interview. We will arrange a good DTG on MS Teams. Look forward to hearing from you!
In this initial email, we highlight a few things. Firstly, we show interest in the officer. Since most units do not seem to reach out to individuals, this holds a lot of weight with prospective candidates. While briefly mentioning the duties and responsibilities of the position, it quickly transitions to the benefits of the assignment. Almost everyone wants to promote to MAJ. Most want to attend Resident ILE and schools. And the majority want to succeed in one of the hardest jobs in the MI Corps.
Highlight the Benefits
As such, we highlight these benefits to candidates. Lastly, by mentioning the experience we are looking for by position, we show the candidate that we have personally looked at their ORB. In the initial email, we show them that we are actively recruiting them for a position with great potential benefits. We demonstrate that our leaders care enough to look at their file. Anyone who has been part of a unit’s mass email to the entire marketplace can understand the significance of this. This initial email to interested officers will almost always lead to a response to set up an interview.
Interviews
Interviews, while time consuming, are surprisingly one of the easier parts of the whole AIM process for unit managers. Schedule an interview with the officer on Microsoft Teams or telephonically. Ask a set of pre-screened questions, and allow them to ask questions in return. Gauge the candidate based on what you value for the position, whether it be expertise, confidence, etc. As an example, for MIBOLC SGLs, we are looking for confidence in front of students. They can develop expertise during the instructor certification process. After reading a candidate’s file, we can usually determine by the second or third question if we have a fit.
Stay Organized
Keeping track of the prospective candidates and where they are at in the process will make recruiting much easier. Develop the list of candidates by position. Include OML ranking, YG, expected arrival date, experience, and any relevant notes (e.g., Married Army Couples Program). Keep track of where they are at in the recruiting process (i.e., initial email sent, interview scheduled, interview conducted, etc.). Include the last time you contacted them. Staying organized will help you follow the process without missing a step. It also helps you remember pertinent information about an officer, demonstrating a level of care for the individual .
Ensure that you have the minimum number of officers preferenced for each position in the AIM Marketplace. You must preference a minimum of five officers or 10% of the personnel in the marketplace, whichever is greater, to validate the position. Thankfully, the AIM Marketplace alerts unit managers when they reach this threshold. If the unit doesn’t reach the minimum, they will either lose the fill or will get any qualified/available officer for the assignment.
Provide Honest Follow-ups and Feedback
With an approximately month-long marketplace, we reached out to candidates about once a week. We let them know that we were still pursuing them (or not… more on that below) and generally where they were at on our OML. We didn’t tell candidates they are our #1. This is an extremely overused practice. We didn’t even tell them their specific ranking on our OML. We used phrases such as “Top 3” or “Top 8” to signify where they are at on our preference list. This showed the candidate that we are being honest, rather than indicating everyone is our “top choice.”
Sometimes a candidate doesn’t make it into the top group for the number of positions you have available. Or, sometimes their interview indicates that they are clearly not the right officer for the position. Do the hard (albeit right) thing and be honest with the officer. For the former, there is nothing wrong with telling a candidate the following:
“You are in our Top 12, but we only have eight positions available. I will let you know if that changes. But, my advice is to look at other assignment options in case we cannot find you a position on our team.”
You and your unit gain credibility by being honest with a candidate. For the latter, it is also best to be honest with them, but to provide them with feedback as well to why they may not be the right person for the position. As an example, we had to tell a candidate we interviewed that they lacked confidence after they stumbled over the starter questions of “tell me a little about yourself” and “tell me about your strengths.” We mentioned that confidence is paramount as an SGL, as students will routinely judge the credibility of instruction based on the confidence of the instructor, and they should be better prepared for common interview questions. The officer thanked us for being honest with them and for providing them with specific feedback on their interview.
Making the Offer and Keeping your Word
Once the Market Review occurs and your unit knows how many requisitions they are getting in the marketplace, now is the time to start securing your candidates. Using another standardized, semi-personal email, make an offer to the officer. Below is an example:
Good afternoon. We would like to offer you an MICCC SGL position that we currently have in the AIM Marketplace. You interviewed very well and I think you would be an amazing addition to our team. Please let me know if you would like to accept this offer and I will provide you with the specific REQ Cat ID to ensure a 1-to-1 match. Thank you very much for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.
Make the number of initial offers for the number of requisitions that you have in the marketplace. If the officer accepts your offer, provide them with the REQ Cat ID for a position, preference them #1 for that position, and trust that they do the same (Do not request a screenshot!). Use your tracker to ensure that you don’t make other offers against that REQ Cat ID. If an officer has already accepted a position or does not want to commit, very politely thank them, let them know to contact you if they change their mind, and then provide an offer to the next officer on your unit’s OML. It is best to lock in officers immediately after the Market Review. Unless you are recruiting for a “duty station of choice,” unit managers that are late to the Marketplace will certainly not be getting their choice of officers.
Once the officer accepts the offer – you, the unit manager, absolutely must keep your word and preference the officer #1 for that position. Honesty makes the marketplace function efficiently. Without it, you cannot be a successful unit manager. After your lock-in your preference, don’t change it. This means you stick to your pick even if your former #1 draft pick changes their mind and reaches out to you. Politely thank them for their interest, but let them know that you filled the position.
Welcome to the Team
Once Human Resources Command (HRC) sent out notifications and they generate Request for Orders (RFO), immediately reach out to these officers (they will likely beat you to it). Let them know that you are looking forward to them joining the team and provide them with a general way-ahead for when they arrive. This assures an officer that you have not forgotten about them once you have secured them for your organization, and it allows them an opportunity to ask more detailed questions about their future assignment. It is not only good practice, but it also pays dividends in getting the officer excited about working for you and your organization.
Good luck in the upcoming Marketplace and hope this guide aids in bringing talent to your organization!
Maj. Robert A. Calkins is currently the Committee Chief for the Military Intelligence Captains Career Course in the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Huachuca, AZ. He has previously served as a Battalion Executive Officer, Battalion Operations Officer, Company Commander, and Battalion Intelligence Officer. He holds a Master’s Degree in Policy Studies from the University of Washington and a Bachelor’s Degree in History from The University of Texas at Arlington. His next assignment will be as the Division G2 Chief of Operations for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, KY.
Maj. Joshua J. Kandybowicz is currently the Committee Chief for the Military Intelligence Basic Officer Leaders Course in the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Huachuca, AZ. He has previously served as a Battalion Operations Officer, Battalion Intelligence Officer, and Division G2 Operations Officer. He holds a Master’s Degree in Security and Intelligence from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Arizona State University. His next assignment will be as the Junior Major Career Manager, Military Intelligence Branch, for Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, KY.
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