Employer and the CAF Application

[Roger123]

Good day everyone,
I was looking to get some feedback with regards to my future course of action. I have my update medical and interview coming up. They are scheduled on back to back days. I need time off of work to attend said appointments. It would be nice if they were both on the same day but that is not the case. Essentially my partner and I are needed to work together. If one guy doesnt show up, the other guy is not able to perform the work and hence no pay for said days. I am debating telling him the truth or making up some excuse.
I feel the truth would strain our working relationship moving forward. I am in essence apprenticing for him and if I were to state that I am an aspiring CF member, he would probably conclude that I am not worth the time, even though I show up every day and am the guy he decided to keep after some other people either quit on him or he decided to fire. I can try and get him to work the next two Saturdays to make up for lost time and money.
    The converse is of course making up some excuse. Either a funeral or a couple of sick days. With a funeral, I can give him advance notice and we can potentially make up lost time on the weekend. Personally I do not like this type of lie. With the medical route, I essentially call him up on the day and say I am too sick. He doesnt get much of an advance warning and an abrupt schedule change.
    I make a good living at this current job. A future in the CAF is definitely not a given, but is something I really want to do with my life. Any advice or opinion is welcomed.

 

[runormal]

Lying is never a good idea. You said it yourself "I wish that they were on the same day". So why not ask the CFRC to reschedule your medical and interview to same day? Yes it will ultimately delay your application, but there is no sense in lying about attendance for a job that you may never get.

 

[mariomike]

I can try and get him to work the next two Saturdays to make up for lost time and money.

That sounds like a good idea.

Also, as runormal suggested,

So why not ask the CFRC to reschedule your medical and interview to same day?

 

[Ludoc]

Integrity is very important in the CAF. We trust our people at their word all the time for a lot of different things.

If you are the type of person that lies, especially about something as inconsequential as why you are not at work, perhaps the CAF is not a good fit for you. We want people who will suck it up, tell the truth and face the repercussions.

If we can't trust you to tell the truth about the little things, how will we ever be able to trust you when it actually matters?

 

[brihard]

Integrity is very important in the CAF. We trust our people at their word all the time for a lot of different things.

If you are the type of person that lies, especially about something as inconsequential as why you are not at work, perhaps the CAF is not a good for you. We want people who will suck it up, tell the truth and face the repercussions.

If we can't trust you to tell the truth about the little things, how will we ever be able to trust you when it actually matters?

This.

I would suggest trying to get CFRC to reschedule. Your reasons are perfectly understandable- you're scheduled for work with someone else depending on you.

 

[Roger123]

Thank you for all your feedback. I plan on rescheduling my medical and interview to fall on the same day. I also plan on being upfront about my application to the CAF. I debated the issue based on previous experiences where I have been upfront.

I've learned throughout this lengthy application process that many people in the civilian world have very limited beliefs about people in the military and those that aspire to join. From personal experience, some look down on you, others, in a working capacity, have a very different working relationship with you. I've heard partial jokes such as ' so you want to kill innocent people?'. Others are jealous or for some reason or another want to start, for lack of a better word(s), a pissing contest ( ie. 'when I was younger I got into all kinds of fights', etc.) Since I have to work with said individual, and have no real understanding of his opinion of people in uniform, I like to avoid the above scenarios that I have encountered in the past.

My debate of whether to tell some story regarding my absence was not fueled by my personal propensity to spin the truth. It was fueled by the fact that there are employers who have a low opinion of people who want to serve. To add to that, they can easily spin the story that they are looking for a long-term fit and that your application to the CAF does not fall in line with their future objectives, even though said position has a relatively high turn-over ratio.  The end result is that you can be left still waiting for the call, while you are left without a job and dwindling savings while you search for another opportunity.