References Superthread [Merged]

[NomadWarriorSoul]

I did a search looking for answers (99% of the time I find what I need...) but couldn't find details on the finer points of what I need to know.

My credit isn't good.  It's not terrible.. no bankruptcies or anything that catastrophic, but employment has been a huge problem for me the past few years and there are bill payments missed all over the place.  I've cleaned most of the mess up, but I need to know how bad 'bad' is... not working at the moment and things are only getting worse the longer I wait.  I like referring to myself as a casualty of the east coast economy when I'm feeling dark humour kicking in.

I'm having problems with letters of reference because I've moved around most of my life, but I think it's something I can overcome.

Who is called exactly?  Do they call your recent employers whether you list them for contact or not?  What about places you've lived?  If two of my previous landlords are called it won't be pretty... if I'd been able to afford the court battle I should have sued them both for delinquency.  Instead I moved away.

I guess I just feel the past year and a half or so has been one of my lower points in my life (I'm 36) and I'm wondering how much it's going to hold me back.  I don't feel I have the luxury of waiting another couple years hoping for better days with the economy the way it is right now, plus my age. 

Can anyone give me more detail on the guidelines that I'll be judged on?  Right now this is the biggest issue I think I'm facing in terms of being given a job offer.  I'm in excellent shape, non smoker.. only owning a car two years my whole life is actually turning out to be a blessing.  I have no criminal record at all, absolutely clean driver abstract.. just not the kind of guy a bank would be ecstatic to have walk in their office and ask for a loan.

 

[Lil_T]

dammit - I had a whole long thing typed out and it got moved.

anyway - here it is again.

Speaking from personal experience, as long as you are doing something to rectify your financial situation, that should be considered a positive thing.

As far as references, I used friends and people I used to work with.  They do ask for your employment history for the last 5 years as well as your employers' contact information.  I haven't ever heard of former land lords being contacted unless they were used as a reference.

You will be judged on your CFAT, medical, interview, ERC (enhanced reliability check) as well as your references.

Good luck.

 

[NomadWarriorSoul]

Thanks, and thanks to whomever moved my post to an applicable thread.  I guess I shouldn't have used "background check" or whatever for a search phrase...

I'm probably overanalyzing the whole thing.  I'm not worried about the interview, or my background(very tame and boring non story there), or what my references will say. 

Previous employers.. well they're not going to be giving horror stories, but they're my previous employers instead of my current one for various reasons, mostly attendance while I sorted out a medical issue (suffered low blood pressure, since then aggressively dealt with and is no longer an issue), plus a lot of it is call centers that have policies not to give references.  It's more about tripping over something I could have prevented by knowing about it in advance.

 

[jmbest]

Did a search for this but nothing came up.. A new worry popped into my head recently before I start the application process. I was born and raised in Canada but my mother is a U.S. citizen living in the U.S. and she has a criminal record there. How, if at all, will this affect my possible application? Anyone have a similar situation by any chance? I can't imagine it would have an impact on it, but you never know.. Thanks for any info!

 

[George Wallace]

That may be a concern; but the main concern is DO YOU have a criminal record, and what are the charges.  It will depend on the 'degree' of the crime, what affect it will have on your application.

 

[jmbest]

I have no criminal record.

The charges for her are theft.

 

[SoldierInTheMaking]

I have no criminal record.

The charges for her are theft.

Then you should be fine..I would think.

 

[Lil_T]

Then you should be fine..I would think.

That's going to depend on what kind of security clearances her MOC requires.  They do ask for information on your immediate family and mother would qualify for that.  I'm just not sure how her criminal record would affect that.

 

[SoldierInTheMaking]

Yea you got a point, I guess she will just have to wait and see what happens....it might affect it, it might not...only time will tell.

 

[aparchma]

Hello everybody,

I recently submitted my application online for Logistics (DEO) and need to bring my references and a few other things into my local recruiting centre. My question is this: do all of my references need to have known me for at least 5 years (as per the instructions attached to the reference sheet .pdf file) or is only one of the references required to have known me for at least 5 years (as per the confirmation e-mail I received after submitting my application)? If it only requires one reference to have known me for at least 5 years, then I will have quite a different set of references versus if all of them are required to have known me for 5+ years.

Thank you for any input you are able to give!

- Alaina

 

[jerrycan]

I believe they all have to know you for a minimum of 5 years. I'm not 100% sure, but I would call the RC just to make sure before you spend all this time filling out the forms.

 

[Ibbotson84]

Hey guys i hope i am posting this in the right forum.....i recently started my application process and just on May12th i wrote my aptitude test...and was eligible for all the trades i chose (infantry,artillery,) after we wrote the test they called us into the office to give us our results ...i was the last person to get called in and they then told me i qualified for my trades and i picked infantry...they then went on to ask me about my criminal record and credit history..i do have a criminal record but have not had a carge in 5 years now...and i also have debts on my credit report to which are in the process of being removed..now everyone else that was there was schedualed for their medicals but i was not he just told me that if i did not hear from them in a month to give them a call...what does this mean?....and what do you think my chances are and what would the worst case scenario be for me?...does it mean my backcheck is just taking longer than th other candidates did? thanx in advance

 

[Otis]

Hey guys i hope i am posting this in the right forum.....i recently started my application process and just on May12th i wrote my aptitude test...and was eligible for all the trades i chose (infantry,artillery,) after we wrote the test they called us into the office to give us our results ...i was the last person to get called in and they then told me i qualified for my trades and i picked infantry...they then went on to ask me about my criminal record and credit history..i do have a criminal record but have not had a carge in 5 years now...and i also have debts on my credit report to which are in the process of being removed..now everyone else that was there was schedualed for their medicals but i was not he just told me that if i did not hear from them in a month to give them a call...what does this mean?....and what do you think my chances are and what would the worst case scenario be for me?...does it mean my backcheck is just taking longer than th other candidates did? thanx in advance

Not knowing your exact situation or where you are currently doing your processing, I can only guess, but I suspect that your CFRC is attempting to manage expectations and avoid getting your hopes up before they get all the info ... they are PROB. waiting until the results of your criminal record check before figuring out whether or not they can/should continue your processing... it's also dependant if you're joining full time or Reserves as there are no more available Army Reserve BMQ's for this summer, so there's no point in using resources performing a Medical that won't actually be required for (possibly) months ... but again, I am guessing ...

 

[Ibbotson84]

Yes i am joining Reg-Force....the recruiter told me after my aptitude to choose one of the three choices and i chose Infantry he said i would get it..as there are alot of combat arms positions especially infantry avaiable..so i dunno i am just very anxious to get this going and being lft with no real answer just wondering is terrible..what would the worst case scenario be do u think?

 

[Ibbotson84]

like i dont have alot of charges i have 2 young offenders theft,mischef
and for adult i have possesion of pot, assault and a failure to appear i belive....and have been free of the judicial system for 5 years now...the recruiter also said something about that policy changing?

 

[Otis]

Yes i am joining Reg-Force....the recruiter told me after my aptitude to choose one of the three choices and i chose Infantry he said i would get it..as there are alot of combat arms positions especially infantry avaiable..so i dunno i am just very anxious to get this going and being lft with no real answer just wondering is terrible..what would the worst case scenario be do u think?

WORST case scenario? You don't get a job in the CF. I don't suspect that to happen PURELY based on your backcheck, but you never know.

As for the policy you're talking about, the CF used to use set "Spent Periods" after a conviction before you could join. This policy is currently in the process of being recinded but I don't yet know if it's being uniformly applied accross the country. 

 

[runningnowhere]

Hey there,

I'm putting in an application for the Army Reserve School Co-Op program for next year and I have a question about one part of the application. I'm thinking maybe you guys can add some insight.

In the application they are asking for 5 personal/professional/educational references (in total, not each). The application states:

Any adult, who is not immediate family or a relative, can act as a reference. Your references must have known you for at least 5 continuous years of coverage (or to age 16, whichever comes first).

I'm not entirely clear by the "or to age 16" part. I ask because I do have a few references who I can list who I have known for 5+ years, but only two or three. So, does that mean I can list a teacher who I have known for 4 straight years, but they have known me since before I was 16 (I'm 17 now).

Hopefully someone can help me out.  :camo:

 

[Biohazardxj]

Yes.  You can use your teacher, family doctor, priest, best friends mom, or the milk man.  As long as they have know you for 5 continuous or up to the age of 16.    So if your present family doctor has only know since you were 13 that is fine. 

 

[martr]

It means that if you're 17, then you can put down someone who's known you only for 1 year (from when you turned 16), instead of 5 years.

Same for the security clearance papers, you only need to go back to when you were 16. So instead of putting down addresses for the last 5 years, you only need to put down addresses from the day you turned 16.

Martin

 

[runningnowhere]

It means that if you're 17, then you can put down someone who's known you only for 1 year (from when you turned 16), instead of 5 years.

Same for the security clearance papers, you only need to go back to when you were 16. So instead of putting down addresses for the last 5 years, you only need to put down addresses from the day you turned 16.

Martin

Mmhmm, that's was I had thought. Just wanted to ensure I wasn't risking rejecting the application by filling something wrong... First impressions, you know