Prepare for the Filter (SHINE) interview
The aim of this interview is to find out more about you, what qualities you possess and how effectively you can present information about yourself in a formal interview setting. It is preparing you for OASC.
16 subjects · run by a single recruiter over Microsoft Teams · comes before OASC
How it runs
A single recruiter asks the questions one at a time — not a two-officer board like OASC.
Run remotely over Microsoft Teams. Treat it as formal: camera on, tidy background, dressed as you would for an in-person interview.
It is a suitability/filter interview — the questions are about your life, motivation and how you present yourself, not deep RAF doctrine.
Almost every subject wants a specific, concrete example with YOU in it. Vague answers get followed up until a real one appears.
What it covers
Every subject the recruiter can ask about. Have a specific, concrete example ready for each — vague answers get followed up until a real one appears.
Who you are, how you got here, and what you were like as a student and outside the classroom.
Your jobs so far and what you took from them — responsibility, teamwork, dealing with people.
Expeditions, awards and qualifications, and what challenged you in them.
What you do with your time and how deeply you're into it.
Where you've held responsibility or led — captain, prefect, team lead, shift lead, committee, coaching. Examples WILL be asked for.
Your sport, level played, and what it shows — commitment, teamwork, competitiveness, resilience.
Any charity, volunteering or community contribution.
Your actual current fitness routine and self-discipline.
A genuine, positive reason for the RAF specifically, and why you chose your role.
The RAF's values and what they mean to you.
Awareness of RAF stations and what happens at them.
What your training looks like: initial officer training and your role-specific pipeline.
That you understand the road ahead and are actively getting ready for it.
A realistic, mature view of the demands — not a rose-tinted one.
That you understand the length of the commitment you're making.
A clear, simple sense of what the RAF is for.
Practise it with a recruiter, out loud
Knowing your examples isn't the same as delivering them under a recruiter's questions. The SHINE mock interview puts a single recruiter across the table who works through these subjects one by one — then gives you a full breakdown of how you came across.