Key Questions Asked to Borderline Candidates

Borderline candidates are those whose performance is neither clearly recommended nor unsuitable. During the conference, officers often ask targeted questions to clarify abilities, personality traits, and potential.

Typical Questions Include:

• “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
• “How do you handle stress or failure?”
• “Describe a situation where you led a team.”
• “How do you handle conflicts within a group?”
• “What motivates you to join the Armed Forces?”
• “How will you improve on areas where you performed weakly in GTO or psychology tasks?”
• “What have you learned from past experiences or failures?”

The purpose of these questions is to observe self-awareness, confidence, problem-solving ability, and potential for growth. Officers are looking for candidates who can demonstrate learning, adaptability, and maturity.

How to Convert a Doubtful Case into a Recommendation

A doubtful candidate is one whose performance raises questions or inconsistencies. Converting such a case into a recommendation involves demonstrating confidence, self-awareness, and clarity of thought during the conference.

Tips to Convert a Doubtful Case:

• Stay Calm and Composed: Do not panic if your case is being debated for longer.
• Answer Questions Clearly: Be concise, honest, and confident in responses.
• Highlight Improvements: Emphasize areas where you have learned or improved.
• Show Positive Attitude: Display optimism, teamwork, and adaptability.
• Reinforce Strengths: Remind officers of your key capabilities, leadership potential, and motivation.
• Demonstrate Self-Reflection: Admit past mistakes or weaknesses and explain how you are addressing them.

A doubtful candidate can increase chances of recommendation by maintaining a consistent, positive, and self-aware approach. Officers value candidates who learn from feedback, show composure under pressure, and demonstrate the potential to grow as future officers.

Pro Tip: If you are a borderline or doubtful candidate, treat every question as an opportunity to show clarity, confidence, and readiness. Your attitude and thought process often make the difference between “doubtful” and “recommended.”