Autobiography Thread (merged)

[George Wallace]

In the family history of the current requirements of the autobiography, it does not request information on if you are married or if you have children.  Is it more important to give a complete picture of your family or more important to follow instructions to the letter and only mention your childhood family?

Thank you.

You are aspiring to become a PAO?  Perhaps you could pull out your Websters Dictionary and look up the meaning of "Autobiography" and then read the instructions given you on what is expected in your autobiography.  Don't forget your word count.

 

[Shamrock]

In the family history of the current requirements of the autobiography, it does not request information on if you are married or if you have children.  Is it more important to give a complete picture of your family or more important to follow instructions to the letter and only mention your childhood family?

Thank you.

As an officer, you will find yourself having to balance the letter against the intent.

 

[BlueDuck]

George W and Shamrock - I hear you and I agree. My family should be in there. Guess it's time to put my big girl panties on and be brave stepping to the edge of following the word-for-word rules. Thank you.

 

[trustnoone73]

In the family history of the current requirements of the autobiography, it does not request information on if you are married or if you have children.  Is it more important to give a complete picture of your family or more important to follow instructions to the letter and only mention your childhood family?

Depends on what you think is more relevant while you are on course.  As staff I would be far more interested in a current situation of say a pregnant wife and three kids than how Polka Dot Door was you and your siblings favorite show when you were six. 

 

[Michael OLeary]

George W and Shamrock - I hear you and I agree. My family should be in there. Guess it's time to put my big girl panties on and be brave stepping to the edge of following the word-for-word rules. Thank you.

Keep in mind that when those instructions were originally written, having a recruit trainee with spouse and children would have been a pretty rare occurrence. (And they probably won't be updated until you get to the School ten years from now as an instructor and, having had that experience, submit the revisions.)

 

[mrbill]

wow... being a recruit with a spouse and 3 children writing this autobiography is no easy task.. I got MOST of it completed including work experience and why I joined the CF, and I was still over 500 words.. Had to cut out a lot of stuff and I pretty much kept it to the basics... Not much detail...

 

[Offstar1029]

Well this sucks I had no idea you have to write an autobiography. I'm definitely not going to get anywhere in that area; autobiography's are the worst thing for someone who doesn't have many memories of their life and can't remember much about their past. Does anyone know how long they're supposed to be?

 

[RedcapCrusader]

Well this sucks I had no idea you have to write an autobiography. I'm definitely not going to get anywhere in that area; autobiography's are the worst thing for someone who doesn't have many memories of their life and can't remember much about their past. Does anyone know how long they're supposed to be?

You could have just looked through this thread...

Instruction attached.

But it is not needed fpr the Recruiting Process. It is for when you arrive at BMQ

 

[JSoff]

So I was reading over the package for Basic training and I noticed you're supposed to do an Autobiography about yourself, I was just wondering should it be done before leaving to BMQ?? Or would it be easier to write during BMQ?

 

[Moore]

So I was reading over the package for Basic training and I noticed you're supposed to do an Autobiography about yourself, I was just wondering should it be done before leaving to BMQ?? Or would it be easier to write during BMQ?

It's meant to be done before you go hence the reason it's in the Annex you need to complete before going to BMQ. Otherwise they would ask you to write it when you get there and have no mention of it in the Annex. I read on that thread that people usually have to redo them when they get there anyways if not redo it multiple times. It's used to give your staff an idea of who you are.

- mod edited to remove links that are now merged -

 

[cwatson91]

I'm currently on my BMQ course, don't put too much thought into it. Just do your best and closely follow instructions; your instructors will further assist you.

 

[SRM2014]

Does the autobiography have to read like a story or read like a wikipedia page. For example, "Did you ever join:
Cubs, Scouts, Cadets or Reserve (Marine, Army, Air);
how long?;
course taken;
rank; and
if not, what is the reason and previous military services?"

I was thinking of saying: I was in the Scouts for 8 years where I learned camping skills, orienteering, and first aid.

or should it be more like a story?

 

[krimynal]

it can be both , I had a girl on my SQ that wrote something along the lines of :

On a nightmarish and dark night a scary creature gave birth by ripping her stomach out . that little creature was me.

Or something along these lines .... so I wouldn't recommended that because she had to redo it , but lets just say the staff did find that freaking hilarious ... that was basically the only story they had for the full week lol !

 

[Ayrsayle]

I'd strongly recommend against going too far with the artistic flair - Keep in mind that while it may seem entertaining to write it like a graphic novel, it will most certainly reflect on your professionalism. 

Would you wear a costume to your first day of basic?

Your course staff are going to read it in order to get a better understanding of who you are and where you come from before joining and to be aware of particulars of your life.  Your staff will have lots of stories about what you get up to without anyone trying to draw attention to themselves.

Most military writing is concise and straightforward - a good habit to get into for later on in your career.

My two cents.

 

[krimynal]

yeah like I said , I wouldn't advise doing it , but some people did and it was okay.  Just stick with the regular format and no one is ever going to complain about it !

 

[Moore]

Does the autobiography have to read like a story or read like a wikipedia page. For example, "Did you ever join:
Cubs, Scouts, Cadets or Reserve (Marine, Army, Air);
how long?;
course taken;
rank; and
if not, what is the reason and previous military services?"

I was thinking of saying: I was in the Scouts for 8 years where I learned camping skills, orienteering, and first aid.

or should it be more like a story?

Keep it short and simple and under 400 words. I literally just finished mine last night and for that question I had something along the lines of "I never joined Cubs, Scouts, Cadets or Reserves because they never sparked interest in me until recently and I'm the type of person that would want the full experience so I chose the regular force"

 

[SRM2014]

Thank you for the help. Under "leisure: what do you do for leisure? (philately, reading, music, photography, etc.); "

Should I mention computer games? Or will that make me seem like a loser?

And if so should I mention i play CSGO or is that going to make it seem like I joined because of FPS games?

 

[Moore]

Thank you for the help. Under "leisure: what do you do for leisure? (philately, reading, music, photography, etc.); "

Should I mention computer games? Or will that make me seem like a loser?

And if so should I mention i play CSGO or is that going to make it seem like I joined because of FPS games?

I don't even have a leisure spot on mine I don't think? Lol

 

[fake penguin]

Thank you for the help. Under "leisure: what do you do for leisure? (philately, reading, music, photography, etc.); "

Should I mention computer games? Or will that make me seem like a loser?

And if so should I mention i play CSGO or is that going to make it seem like I joined because of FPS games?

I can tell you a lot of privates and corporals I knew were into computer games. Did they lose interest in them when they became a NCO?, nope. I would not be shy about telling anyone in the military (if he/she asks) what your interests are.

 

[Alderson]

Edit - Nevermind.