How long to wait for recruiting appointments? [Merged]

[Hojung]

Hello all,

I've taken CFAT in Sept21st and still waiting for the interview date.

Does it normally take some time(month or so?) until they give me a interview date?

Should I call and check on my application with them or am I being hasty?

Your experience is my guidance.

Thanks all

 

[George Wallace]

Everyone entering the Recruiting Process to join any Element of the Canadian Forces, Regular or Reserves is an individual.

Timings for each individual going through the process will be different and there is no control on how long the following will take:

Medical reviews.

Enhanced Reliability Checks.

BackCheck.

The complete application process will vary in length depending on many factors.  Those who are in perfect physical condition, perfect health, no Criminal Record, good Credit Rating, good education credentials, good references, good marks on the CFAT, and fill the major criteria to join the CF will progress faster than those who may have a problem or two in those matters.  There is no guaranteed time that any part of the process will be completed.

The same goes when it comes to the Staff at a CFRC.  Factors there are things like: how busy are they, how many candidates do they have to process, do they have the people qualified to make assessments, is it a holiday, are the staff on Course or perhaps on Leave, are there better qualified candidates than you, etc. 

No one can give you a precise time line.

Just ensure that you keep in contact with the CFRC on a regular basis to let them know that you still have a keen interest to join the CF.

 

[FDO]

Depending on the occupation you want it could take a while. Give the RC a call and ask them for an up date on your file. While you at it ask for an interview date. One key thing to remember is do not get miffed or upset with whoever you talk to. The person on the other end is rarely the person who has any control over your file.

 

[OkanaganHeat]

Also, depending on your occupation choice, there may be no further work done on files in process. Personally I have to wait until the new year before I can call to see if I can then book my interview. This is the last step for me to be merit listed and included having to be medically air crew qualified which took some time.

As has been said though, each file is unique and will take a different path. Mine just happens to be long and windy but does have a foreseeable end in the new year.

 

[bobo42591]

I handed in all my paperwork and application back in January and I'm still waiting to hear about making an appointment for my CFAT, Medical and interview.  I have called the recruiting office a few times and each time they tell me that they are still processing my application.  Is this normal for the application process to take so long? or Is anyone else having the same issue?
Thanks.

 

[Sample2K7]

Try the thread "application process samples" in the the recruiting process section. Hundreds of examples of the application and timing for appointments

 

[Trick]

As others have said, there are places for you to find answers here. In terms of a simple answer, I would say that processing the backcheck can take a very long time depending on some things. They won't schedule an Interview or Medical (and perhaps CFAT) until that part is complete. Also, if your trade is closed, don't expect a whole lot of movement...

 

[Ayrsayle]

As long as it takes?

If you are applying for a trade that is not open, the processing seems to take forever (I applied as an INT Officer first - and went nowhere). It takes as long as it takes. Why not ask them WHY it is taking so long?

And seconding the others - there are LOTS of threads regarding how long something takes during your application. My personal favorite: http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/81054.0.html

That answers ALL of your questions - AND it was stickied so you couldn't miss it, if you looked.

 

[Bartan]

So I sent in my online application to the CAF on Thursday, March 12th and I'm wondering how long it normally takes for them to decide whether or not to further process my application and then notify me? I understand everyone's application is different but I'm just curious if there's an average waiting time, how long did it take for you guys to get that notification email?

 

[runormal]

http://army.ca/forums/threads/13064.0.html

198 pages of samples.

Enjoy the reading.

Honestly though I'd start at like page 160 and read forward, reading something from 2003 isn't relevant.

All you can control is yourself, so make sure you are are competitive as possible.

As per this article

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/03/18/christie-blatchford-canadian-militarys-woefully-inept-recruiting-system-blasted-in-stinging-report/

"As the last Canadian soldiers returned from Afghanistan Tuesday, those who would follow them into uniform are being stymied by a woefully inept recruiting system where it takes an average of 166 days to be processed.

That’s the ludicrous length of time it takes from the moment someone walks into a recruiting office, wanting to sign up to become a soldier, until he or she is put on the “merit list,” which means all the necessary boxes have been checked."

You'll see some people waited less, some longer and some a lot longer.

Good luck.

 

[Bartan]

Yikes

But yea after seeing many members on the forums and their experience it looks like it can be really hit and miss.

Do you have any suggestions that I might have missed about making myself more competitive?

I'm 19 years old and had to put that I'm unskilled on my application for my 3 trade choices. I graduated high school on honour roll but I didn't take any of the hard subjects like grade 12 math, chemistry, biology etc. I finished 1 out of 2 years of my college diploma but I dropped out in the 2nd year because I moved across Canada to Alberta. However I did finish the first year with over a 3.0 GPA but I doubt that will help me out at all since I never actually finished the diploma. I don't have any volunteer experience and I'm not sure if it's even worth my time for making myself for competitive. I do have a good work reference from a temp agency that I was with for 1.3 years where I worked in their office for 7 months doing data entry to help them out when they were short staffed, and the 6 months prior to that I was doing general labourer temp jobs through them.

I'm just banking on studying for the CFAT and doing well enough on it that I would qualify for at least one trade since I'm interested in 7 trades. My biggest fear is just how long this entire process will take because I haven't lived in Canada continuously for the past 10 years even though I'm a Canadian citizen and I was born here. Because of that I MAY have to do the Pre-Enrolment Security Clearance Pre-Assessment Questionnaire which says that on the website it could take up to 6-18 months.

I'm not going to school anymore at the moment and I'm not working so I just wish they would give me some sort of indication of how long getting to even step 2 ("Once your application has been received and verified, we will send you an email asking you to contact your local recruiting center to make an appointment to take the aptitude test.") of the application process will take so that I can think about maybe doing an IT cert or upgrading some high school credits. I'm also trying to find a part-time job that won't suck.

 

[runormal]

My biggest recommendation would be to take some additional courses, especially your maths and sciences. If you search or browse enough you will see applicants who are missing the grade 12 math requirement and as a result delay there application because they didn't realize they needed the math. If you are going to be waiting you might as well be productive. I have no idea which trades require what, it should be on the website but if not I'm positive someone here can help you.

i know how you feel about trying to make your application competitive in such a short amount of time. I felt the same way when I was 17 ROTP, lucky for me I had managed to work at the same grocery store throughout highschool and went from being a meat clerk to a supervisor with keys to the store, atm passwords, alarm passwords and responsible for doing cash drops/getting cashiers change, many of whom who where much older than me. Because at your age and hell even mine, we have so little life experience unless "the seeds have been planted" there is very little that you can do that will be overly impressive in a short term.  Granted I never got into ROTP, but if I didn't have that job as well as my hockey throughout highschool I would of been screwed.

As for when you should hear something the rule of thumb when I was applying was to check in about once a month just to see if they have anything. I'm not sure if that is the rule of thumb any more as it has been awhile since I applied.

I honestly have no idea about the background check so I'll leave that to someone else. Try searching on google site:army.ca "question here". Perhaps you will be able to dig something up. How hard would it be to transfer the credits and finish school? I imagine that wouldn't be easy, but once you figure out if you are going to need the extended background check it might be something to look into.

Good luck, and get your grade 12 math credit.  ;D

 

[DAA]

So I sent in my online application to the CAF on Thursday, March 12th and I'm wondering how long it normally takes for them to decide whether or not to further process my application and then notify me? I understand everyone's application is different but I'm just curious if there's an average waiting time, how long did it take for you guys to get that notification email?

Every online application is initially processed.  If you submitted your application on 12 Mar, I wouldn't expect to receive the second email with the details on how to schedule your testing until the last week of Mar or first week of Apr at the earliest.  After you have been tested, the next call you get will depend on how well you have done on those tests.

 

[Bartan]

Every online application is initially processed.  If you submitted your application on 12 Mar, I wouldn't expect to receive the second email with the details on how to schedule your testing until the last week of Mar or first week of Apr at the earliest.  After you have been tested, the next call you get will depend on how well you have done on those tests.

Ok thanks, this is what the automatic response email said after I sent in my online application " Good day. This notice is to confirm the receipt of your on-line employment application to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and to inform you that your file has been opened at the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group. Based on your eligibility, CAF recruiting priorities and occupation availability a decision will be made whether or not to process your application. Should it be determined that your application will be processed, you will be notified by us and your file will then be transferred to the recruiting centre closest to you. Thank you for your interest in the CAF." So basically I'm wondering how long it usually takes for them to make that decision whether or not to process my application. If my application is processed and they notify me that my file will be transferred to the recruiting centre closest to me, is that what people on here usually call "first contact"? Because I know that's one of the important dates that people list to see how long the entire process took for them.

 

[DAA]

Ok thanks, this is what the automatic response email said after I sent in my online application " Good day. This notice is to confirm the receipt of your on-line employment application to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and to inform you that your file has been opened at the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group. Based on your eligibility, CAF recruiting priorities and occupation availability a decision will be made whether or not to process your application. Should it be determined that your application will be processed, you will be notified by us and your file will then be transferred to the recruiting centre closest to you. Thank you for your interest in the CAF." So basically I'm wondering how long it usually takes for them to make that decision whether or not to process my application. If my application is processed and they notify me that my file will be transferred to the recruiting centre closest to me, is that what people on here usually call "first contact"? Because I know that's one of the important dates that people list to see how long the entire process took for them.

That is the standardized "server" generated email response.

Yes, you have the terminology correct.  "First contact" will be once your application is transferred to your local CFRC to schedule the testing and at the present time as stated above, it will be 2-3 weeks before you receive that email.

 

[Bartan]

Ok cool, thank you

 

[Jesdeleau]

Hello all,

I've taken CFAT in Sept21st and still waiting for the interview date.

Does it normally take some time(month or so?) until they give me a interview date?

Should I call and check on my application with them or am I being hasty?

Your experience is my guidance.

Thanks all

Hi, just wanted to ask if you eventually got a call. I applied as a DEO and "aced" my aptitude test a week ago. According to the recruiter, I did very well and got a perfect score on the spatial test. If it helps, I applied for 3 engineering positions. I heard that these positions are not in demand. What could be the reason for delaying my interview? He said that I will be interviewed next month but he has not specified a date. Is it okay to call them? Or am I being hasty?

 

[OceanBonfire]

You'll eventually get an answer, but expecting one only a week after your CFAT? That's beyond expectation. I'd suggest to contact them once every month or two and preferably by email. The recruiters are overloaded with people contacting them. When I applied back then, the recruiting center didn't bother answering the calls anymore.

 

[da1root]

What could be the reason for delaying my interview? He said that I will be interviewed next month but he has not specified a date. Is it okay to call them? Or am I being hasty?

You are 1 of approximately 30,000 files between application and the competition list, this is on top of the approx 12,000 files that make it to enrollment (this includes PRes & Reg Force).
To put a number to that, your file represents approx 0.002% of the individuals currently in the system

Files can be "held" for a variety of reasons, between your occupation isn't being processed, or the CFRC that your file is with is at max processing capacity (remember it's human beings who work 8-4 and get to each lunch and do PT and take bathroom breaks that are taking care of the files); or that Recruiting Group Headquarters has said "hey CFRC's, we get it you're busy - but for the next two weeks all you're going to process is ROTP files" or MOTP files or ..... as per your own post you said the positions you applied for are not in demand; so putting that against occupations that are in demand; those files would be processed quicker.

It's not a situation where because you wrote the CFAT before the guy who wrote it the day after you that you'll be processed first.... hope this makes sense.

 

[coffeeaddict]

You are 1 of approximately 30,000 files between application and the competition list, this is on top of the approx 12,000 files that make it to enrollment (this includes PRes & Reg Force).
To put a number to that, your file represents approx 0.002% of the individuals currently in the system

Files can be "held" for a variety of reasons, between your occupation isn't being processed, or the CFRC that your file is with is at max processing capacity (remember it's human beings who work 8-4 and get to each lunch and do PT and take bathroom breaks that are taking care of the files); or that Recruiting Group Headquarters has said "hey CFRC's, we get it you're busy - but for the next two weeks all you're going to process is ROTP files" or MOTP files or ..... as per your own post you said the positions you applied for are not in demand; so putting that against occupations that are in demand; those files would be processed quicker.

It's not a situation where because you wrote the CFAT before the guy who wrote it the day after you that you'll be processed first.... hope this makes sense.

These are some of the coolest info I have come upon in this recruiting subsection. Thanks Buck! For my application process (im not jessi), everything has been happening very quickly against my expectations. So by reading these stats, I definitely am even more impressed with the efficiency of the people that processed me every step of the way so far (Toronto detachment).

My 2nd post here...im usually a lurker.

Edit: I wish there is a way to "like" posts here and give users more points. Your comment deserves some!