How to prepare for your ADF YOU session

Understand the conversation

ADF Careers describes the virtual YOU session as a conversation with a Careers Coach about your background and possible roles. Topics include education, fitness, sporting history and relevant leadership experience. Follow your invitation and Candidate Hub instructions.

Research your preferred roles

Read the official pages for the roles you are considering. Write down what interests you, what the work involves and which parts you want to understand better. Research gives you a useful basis for questions rather than a script to memorise.

Choose truthful examples

Think about examples from work, study, sport or community activities that show how you approach responsibility and teamwork. Describe your actual contribution and what you learned. Avoid using a model answer that does not reflect your experience.

Organise your questions and documents

Check the forms and documents requested in your Candidate Hub. Keep a short list of questions about your role options, training and next steps. A preparation workbook can help you organise these notes before the conversation.

Build a role research worksheet

Use one page per role preference with headings for duties, training, your interest and questions. Read the official information, then summarise it in your own words. If the summary is too vague to explain aloud, return to the part you have not understood.

Keep a source beside each factual note so that you can verify it again. This is particularly useful when comparing similar roles across services. Your personal reasons belong in a separate field: a fact about the role and a reason you like it are both useful, but they should not be confused.

Develop an answer from a real example

Choose a situation involving responsibility, teamwork or a task you completed. Write a few words about the situation, what you did and the result. Then practise explaining it without reading a paragraph. The details should remain the same even if you use different wording each time.

If you do not have a dramatic example, use a modest one accurately. A casual-work or school experience can still be described clearly. Avoid copying someone else's model answer, because it cannot represent your history. These are optional communication exercises, not a claim about the exact questions you will be asked.

Prepare questions that matter to you

Look at the uncertainties in your worksheet and turn them into direct questions. For example, ask where to verify a detail about training or what action is needed next in your application. Give enough context for the Careers Coach to understand which role or issue you mean.

Listen to the answer before moving to the next prepared question. If it resolves several points, update your notes accordingly. A conversation is more useful when you respond to the information being given than when you try to complete a fixed list regardless of what has already been discussed.

Use the course as a sequence, not a script

The Service Prep YOU Session course includes ten modules, eight embedded videos and a workbook. Work through a topic, complete the related research and use the prompts to organise your own response. Return to the lesson when you identify a gap, rather than trying to memorise everything in one sitting.

Before the appointment, use your official instructions for documents and practical arrangements. After it, record agreed actions. The course supports preparation and organisation; the Careers Coach and later assessors handle the actual recruitment process. Keeping those roles clear helps you use the resource for what it provides.