Has anyone done this?

[hertwigs]

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I came across this post from a couple years ago on here and I'm wondering if anyone else has done this.

The post talks about how this person got their top choice duty station. TobyKeithFan wrote in Feb 2009:
"you should make contact with HR right away and tell them where you want to go. they will annotate it in your excel file and even if the HR person changes, the replacement will know what you want. this is what i did. it worked out. contact them every six months or so, and more frequently closer to graduation. if you are near virginia, i would consider dropping by and saying hello with some notice obviously. if you want hawaii or monterey ca then that might be tough, but washington dc, west point, seattle might be available with persistence. "

Has anyone done this or know of anyone who has contacted HR ahead of time to increase their chances of getting their top choice? Does that actually work? And if so, what is the best and most professional way to go about doing this (phone call/email/set up a meeting)?

I'd appreciate any input you may have. Thanks.

 

[krmower]

I came across this post from a couple years ago on here and I'm wondering if anyone else has done this.

The post talks about how this person got their top choice duty station. TobyKeithFan wrote in Feb 2009:
"you should make contact with HR right away and tell them where you want to go. they will annotate it in your excel file and even if the HR person changes, the replacement will know what you want. this is what i did. it worked out. contact them every six months or so, and more frequently closer to graduation. if you are near virginia, i would consider dropping by and saying hello with some notice obviously. if you want hawaii or monterey ca then that might be tough, but washington dc, west point, seattle might be available with persistence. "

Has anyone done this or know of anyone who has contacted HR ahead of time to increase their chances of getting their top choice? Does that actually work? And if so, what is the best and most professional way to go about doing this (phone call/email/set up a meeting)?

I'd appreciate any input you may have. Thanks.

Doesn't hurt to ask - but I wouldn't start any earlier than the beginning of your senior year. The reason is that they don't even know what spots need to be filled until November of your senior year. I think a friendly call or email is fine - let them know what you are interested in. Ask them if it would be OK to send a follow up email or call in a few months once they see what's open.

The best advice is to give them a geographic location - not a specific base. Much easier to match someone up if they are open to options close to where they are trying to go. An example would be if someone wanted to go to Europe or Germany rather than a specific base that may not have an opening. If your goal is to get to Texas - tell them that - not necessarily Ft. Sam Houston.

They are now located at Ft. Knox, KY - not Virginia. One thing to remember - the assignments officer for new dentists and general dentists has to coordinate about 500 dental officers. Not all of them are moving in a given year - but at least a 1/3 of them could be. Don't be too persistent - could backfire.