FoverF's recruiting process saga

[FoverF]

Each applicant now has to be processed, tested, interviewed, medicalled and selected to either proceed or not proceed to receiving an enrolment offer.  Then each applicant has to accept/decline that offer.    So, despite over 1000 appications being received in one month, how many of those 1000 applicants eventually become members is in the hands of the CF Recruiting Group.

Just a personal anecdote;
I walked into a recruitment centre. Physically fit, second year university student, lots of relevant training and job skills, very clear idea of what I want to do. Not just spur of the moment, 'hey, what's this army thing about', but all my paperwork squared away to the best of my knowledge, letters of reference, etc. I came in, ready to sign up.
That was over a year ago.

My current status?
Well, they should be able to schedule my interview in about six months time.

As a personal opinion, I think I'm a fairly good candidate for the CF. Everyone at the recruiting centre also says this, over and over. And it's still going to be pushing 2 years from the time I walked in, ready to go, before I even get sent to basic.
Granted, I *am* a high risk case. I was involved in questionable activities, like spending a few months teaching English in Japan. This is, of course, highly suspect, and warrants a full background check through the Japanese government. Also, my vacation in Australia on the way home will probably require that the Australian government do a securtiy clearance as well (I suppose that's up to CSIS or whoever). I stopped over in Fiji on the return flight, so maybe they'll have to be notified too. And I did sit next to a guy from Kenya on the bus once, so god knows where that'll lead...)

Between people at the recruiting centre not knowing what they're talking about, beauraucratic delays, "we'll call you by the end of the week" leading to phone calls 2-3 weeks later, ridiculous background checks taking 6 months or more, it kind of seems to me that for an organization with serious manpower shortages, they sure don't act like it.

I'm just trying to imagine jamming an extra 27,000 or so people through there...

 

[aesop081]

I feel your pain.  We should, as an organization, do better.  But , your sarcasm asside, i'm certain that you can see that the security checks are a necessary evil.

 

[kincanucks]

The checks are there for a reason and there is nothing wrong with checking to make sure that someone is not going to be a security risk because of overseas travel, regardless how harmless that person thinks it was.

 

[FoverF]

Obviously background checks are necessary.
But I really do think that this is going waay too far. The officer I was talking to said that if I had gotten a visa to go to China instead of Japan, I could reasonably expect to be waiting several years.

I wasn't in any country that has any sort of 'terrorism watch' or anything, and it would be far easier for me to come into contact with any kind of 'subversive' elements in Canada than in Japan or Australia. Heck, spending a few months in T.O. should justify more security screening than being in Japan. 

And it isn't just the security screening either (that just happens to be the last major hurdle I smacked my shins into at full tilt).

As a comparison, in the US recruiters actually GO to places, like universities, colleges, high schools, sporting events, and try to RECRUIT people. When you show up and say "I want to go to Afghanistan" they can generally accomodate that fairly conveniently.

If I was American, I'd probably be in Iraq by now. (not that this is a major ambition of mine, it's just a comparison)

(EDIT)
-I just noticed that I have my own thread now  8)
I really don't have all that much else to say. I was just whining in another thread, and pointing out that with all of these ideas abounding about expanding the CF by another 5,000 people over the next few years, I'm having difficulty seeing it. Even if, somehow, the government provides the funding, and somehow the training streams were able to accomodate them ( for example, even at the present trickle, if I get selected as a pilot I can expect to take 3 years or more to complete less than 18 months of actual flying training, even at the present trickle of people), they still have to get in the door. And that's assuming that several thousand extra people just up and decide to join the military all of a sudden. Because other than a few posters at my university, I haven't seen ANY indication that the CF is looking for people.
Other than talking to people in the CF, you'd have no idea there was a personnel shortage.

Just thought I'd put my whinging into context.

And one more thing on the topic of recruiting;
I want to know what my CFAT score was! I know I didn't ace it (I got at least one wrong), but I still want to know what I got. 

 

[aesop081]

As a comparison, in the US recruiters actually GO to places, like universities, colleges, high schools, sporting events, and try to RECRUIT people. When you show up and say "I want to go to Afghanistan" they can generally accomodate that fairly conveniently.

If I was American, I'd probably be in Iraq by now. (not that this is a major ambition of mine, it's just a comparison)

And here in BC, the CFRC in vancouver gets protesters at its doors demanding, get this, that canada end its illegal occupation of Afghanistan.  This is AT the CFRC !!  Now imagine what happens if recruiters show up at schools ( York U anyone !!).  You are stuck between a rock and a hard place, it sucks and i sympathise but dont take it personaly.  You are not the only one.  I am in the CF and so far its taken 2 years to process my Top secret clearance and no resolution in sight.  You are not the first one to come on this site and complain about this or that and how it shouldt be happening to you. This thread will rapidly de-evolve into a whine fest soon.......

 

[Fishbone Jones]

-I just noticed that I have my own thread now   8)
I really don't have all that much else to say. Just thought I'd put my whinging into context.

And one more thing on the topic of recruiting;
I want to know what my CFAT score was! I know I didn't ace it (I got at least one wrong), but I still want to know what I got. 

Thanks for the heads up........and they don't tell you your score.