Benefits (How this will benefit the server and game as a whole): After dozens and dozens of rounds that I have played in this server, I've noticed that the most fun ones I have ever had were the ones where I spawn as a member of a squad that has several players that I've known for a while and love to play with. I don't think this is just me because other players have also manifested this opinion. Playing with friends is a universal interest in multiplayer games, no matter which one, and this server isn't an exception, therefore imo we should be able to find a way to make this easier.
A living proof of this interest is how in the pre-Alpha edition, where squad selection was a thing, friends would usually join the same squad, and ask each other in which squad they were in and should get assigned too, etc.
Details (Description of how you think this would work, the benefits, etc): In the job preferences, for squad marine, squad specialist, etc, add an option to choose the squad the player would prefer to join in as; either Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, or Delta, though only one should be able to be chosen. This would mean that the player could select Bravo, for example, if the player's friends usually preferred to play in that squad, making his chances to play with his friends higher. Alternatively said group of friends could just tell each other to all select Bravo before joining the game; either way, this is a rather easy solution.
Implementation (Optional, if you have an idea how to implement it): I saw in other servers, that in the job preferences, on each job there was a specific area that the player could choose. For example, you could select the preference to be Scientist to low/medium/high, though if you clicked on it it would bring you to another menu where you could choose the specific area, such as xenobiologist, telescientist, etc. For marines and squads it could work in the same manner if such implementation was possible. If not, however, there's always other ways. The most basic solution would be to simply place the squad name before the squad title; for example, instead of just the option to choose Squad Marine, there would be Alpha Squad Marine, Bravo Squad Marine, Charlie Squad Marine and Delta Squad Marine.
EDIT: A full explanation with picture included follows: