The Reserve Thread- A Merged Collection of Q & A's

[Smirnoff123]

I am afraid that all of the experience in the world would not help you because the age requirement was raised to 17. I was in the same boat

Best of luck
CGR

 

[tenguopr]

I am afraid that all of the experience in the world would not help you because the age requirement was raised to 17. I was in the same boat

Best of luck
CGR

. To be eligible for enrolment in the Canadian Forces, 1. Pour être admissible à l'enrôlement dans les Forces canadiennes,
you must meet the following minimal conditions: vous devez satisfaire aux exigences minimales ci-dessous :
- be a Canadian citizen - avoir la citoyenneté canadienne
- be 17 years of age or older (Note 1) - avoir au moins 17 ans (Nota 1)
(if you are under 18 years of age, Part I will require (si vous avez moins de 18 ans, votre parent ou tuteur
parental/guardian consent) doit accorder son approbation)
- have successfully completed grade 10 - - avoir réussi une dixième année -
Secondary III in Quebec (Note 2) secondaire III au Québec (Nota 2)
Notes: 1) There are two exceptions. You may apply and be enrolled
in the Reserves or as a Junior level Military College
applicant at 16 years of age.
2) Some entry programs have additional academic
prerequisites.

All I and, I think, anyone else here can say is that they look at your entire application to determine your competitiveness with other applicants. I don't believe it would disqualify you, but it may require you to have a stronger application in other areas. You may also have difficulty providing a good variety of references, which cannot be family.

Have you considered applying somewhere to get work experience/references, or volunteer somewhere?

I have considered part time employment. But, it is my mothers policy for her children to not work under the age of 16. Also, I have considered gaining volunteer experience. Would it have a vital effect on the application if I volunteered for the 7 months until I turn 16?

 

[tenguopr]

Volunteer experience is important, so is work experience. It makes your application more competitive.

If you had one position available, but had two applicants. Both were the same age, and had the same level of education but one of them had a lot of work/volunteer experience, and the other did not. Who would you hire?

Very good point there. But, I anticipate that with the new Harper majority there will be an increase in military recruitment in accordance with the Canada First Defence Strategy.

 

[tenguopr]

And what's your point? Even with an increase in recruiting, you're still going to need to have a solid application. They can't hire EVERYBODY. There's still only going to be a certain number of positions available each year....

My point is that there will be a decrease not an elimination in competition in the future. So, the application will not be as scrutinized as much as when there is a period of low recruitment. Lets say that this argument is over before a moderator locks the thread.

 

[ballz]

If you had one position available, but had two applicants. Both were the same age, and had the same level of education but one of them had a lot of work/volunteer experience, and the other did not. Who would you hire?

But he did say he has lots of extracurricular activities.

In all honesty, I don't know how the rest of the PRes units in the CF are, but I know the place I'm at now (a PRes Cbt Engineer unit) and the place next door (Pres Infantry) don't have a handful of applications to be considered at one time... they're happy just to get one applicant.

 

[TwoTonShackle]

It should have little to no impact on your application.  Your aptitude test, interview, and available trades normally dictate acceptance or not.

 

[tenguopr]

This could be the case. My application was Regular Force, and they were definitely interested in the work/volunteer experience.

I am considering applying for the primary reserve. Not the regular force.

 

[ballz]

Yeah, I can read. 

I have a funny feeling Regular Force, or Reserve, having work an volunteer experience makes you more competitive. If it didn't, why would it be on the application?  Like I said before...  There's really not much more to it.

Having said experience will only have a positive impact on your application.

Yes, obviously having experience at anything is a positive. So are extracurriculars. So are good grades. They look at the whole picture, lack of one thing does not rule you altogether, that would be stupid. Anybody that plays a high-level of certain sports (hockey for me) during high school doesn't have time for a job and certainly not volunteer work (although the extracurriculars might force you to do volunteer work like hockey did for me).

 

[Nauticus]

I am considering applying for the primary reserve. Not the regular force.

Just as the Canadian Forces website states, the Reg Force and Res Force both have extremely similar hiring requirements and at the same time, both are very competitive for the most part.

 

[Smirnoff123]

Quote from: C.G.R on Today at 20:07:34
I am afraid that all of the experience in the world would not help you because the age requirement was raised to 17. I was in the same boat

Best of luck
CGR
. To be eligible for enrolment in the Canadian Forces, 1. Pour être admissible à l'enrôlement dans les Forces canadiennes,
you must meet the following minimal conditions: vous devez satisfaire aux exigences minimales ci-dessous :
- be a Canadian citizen - avoir la citoyenneté canadienne
- be 17 years of age or older (Note 1) - avoir au moins 17 ans (Nota 1)
(if you are under 18 years of age, Part I will require (si vous avez moins de 18 ans, votre parent ou tuteur
parental/guardian consent) doit accorder son approbation)
- have successfully completed grade 10 - - avoir réussi une dixième année -
Secondary III in Quebec (Note 2) secondaire III au Québec (Nota 2)
Notes: 1) There are two exceptions. You may apply and be enrolled
in the Reserves or as a Junior level Military College
applicant at 16 years of age.
2) Some entry programs have additional academic
prerequisites.

What are you trying to prove? See the policy posted by the previous member which states that
you must be 17 unless selected to go to the RMC, it is relatively new. I believe the one which you posted is outdated.

 

[tenguopr]

What are you trying to prove? See the policy posted by the previous member which states that
you must be 17 unless selected to go to the RMC, it is relatively new. I believe the one which you posted is outdated.

You have misread the previous post. His post says

OR OTHERWISE MAINTAINS FULL-TIME STUDENT STATUS UNTIL AGE 17

Since I am planning on the reserve force I will maintain full time status at my high-school. Thus, allowing me to join the reserve force.

 

[RecceApplicant]

You have misread the previous post. His post saysSince I am planning on the reserve force I will maintain full time status at my high-school. Thus, allowing me to join the reserve force.

You still need to be 17 in order to be enrolled into the Pres.  I currently have a complete file and am awaiting my 17th birthday.  I am not 100% sure about this, but you may be able to apply and complete the pre-enrollment procedures at 16, which is what I had done.  Then again I applied before the new policy so it may have changed.  Best bet is to speak with a recruiter.

Good luck with your application.

 

[chrisf]

In all honesty, I don't know how the rest of the PRes units in the CF are, but I know the place I'm at now (a PRes Cbt Engineer unit) and the place next door (Pres Infantry) don't have a handful of applications to be considered at one time... they're happy just to get one applicant.

I say this with all confidence... I'm 100% certain the recruiter from one of those two units was filling a van with homeless people and enrolling them a few years ago...

To the original poster, it's not that hard to join the reserves... visit the unit recruiter, if there's vacancies, they'll accept your application and process it. If there's no vacancies, they'll tell you. My unit for example, has close to 60 vacancies. Other units, not so much.

 

[ballz]

I say this with all confidence... I'm100% certain the recruiter from one of those two units was filling a van with homeless people and enrolling them a few years ago...

Hahahahaha I'll bet I can guess which one...

 

[chrisf]

Hahahahaha I'll bet I can guess which one...

He's not the recruiter any more, but if you actually do guess, bet you didn't know he's my cousin...

 

[Sgt_McWatt]

To get back to the actual discussion.......

I am a recruiter for my unit and the policy for joining the PRes has changed slightly.

First, as there are now much stricter caps on line serials, units interview individuals and select who they would like to send to the CFRC to go through the process (a form letter is given to the individual to take or the CFRC will not begin the process) 
With that in mind the unit interview is very important because, using my unit as an example, we have had over 60 applicants come in this year and only have 17 spots, as such we can be very picky as to who we send to do the process. Experience is important, but it is only one part of the complete package. We look for balanced individuals who know what they want and are fully aware of what they are getting into. For example, if you haven't done any research on the CF or the trade/unit you are interested in, don't bother applying. However, we have taken students currently in high school (who are 17, but we'll get to that in a bit) who have impressed us with their maturity, attitude and yes, experience.

As for age there is a bit of a discrepancy here as the DAOD was amended in January 2011 to read:
“in the Res F:
- age 16, if the applicant is selected for education and training at a Royal Military College;
- age 18, if the applicant enrols in the COATS or the Canadian Rangers; or
- age 17, in any other case”

However, a CANFORGEN came out in February 2011 which read:
“B. AGE 16, IF THE APPLICANT IS SELECTED FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING AT A ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE OR OTHERWISE MAINTAINS FULL-TIME STUDENT STATUS UNTIL AGE 17”

While I can see how this may be confusing, however, the long and short of it is that the full-time student status outside RMC is as a step towards RMC (i.e. finishing grade 12.

So, the long and short of it is you need to be 17 now, sorry, but one year isn’t that long and it will give you the time to prepare yourself to be the best possible candidate you can be.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[tenguopr]

To get back to the actual discussion.......

I am a recruiter for my unit and the policy for joining the PRes has changed slightly.

First, as there are now much stricter caps on line serials, units interview individuals and select who they would like to send to the CFRC to go through the process (a form letter is given to the individual to take or the CFRC will not begin the process) 
With that in mind the unit interview is very important because, using my unit as an example, we have had over 60 applicants come in this year and only have 17 spots, as such we can be very picky as to who we send to do the process. Experience is important, but it is only one part of the complete package. We look for balanced individuals who know what they want and are fully aware of what they are getting into. For example, if you haven't done any research on the CF or the trade/unit you are interested in, don't bother applying. However, we have taken students currently in high school (who are 17, but we'll get to that in a bit) who have impressed us with their maturity, attitude and yes, experience.

As for age there is a bit of a discrepancy here as the DAOD was amended in January 2011 to read:
“in the Res F:
- age 16, if the applicant is selected for education and training at a Royal Military College;
- age 18, if the applicant enrols in the COATS or the Canadian Rangers; or
- age 17, in any other case”

However, a CANFORGEN came out in February 2011 which read:
“B. AGE 16, IF THE APPLICANT IS SELECTED FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING AT A ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE OR OTHERWISE MAINTAINS FULL-TIME STUDENT STATUS UNTIL AGE 17”

While I can see how this may be confusing, however, the long and short of it is that the full-time student status outside RMC is as a step towards RMC (i.e. finishing grade 12.

So, the long and short of it is you need to be 17 now, sorry, but one year isn’t that long and it will give you the time to prepare yourself to be the best possible candidate you can be.

GOOD LUCK!

Thank you for that helpful post. At least now I can get over a year of work experience in order to make my application more competitive. Also, if you don't mind me asking this, what is your unit?

 

[Sgt_McWatt]

4 RCR

 

[Vyscaria]

Hello, everyone.

I called a few army reserve units and forwarded myself to 'Recruiting', only to get voice messages saying that all reserve recruiting inquiries are now dealt with by the local CFRC. For me, this is the CFRC Toronto.

So I called the CFRC, and they told me right off the bat that there were NO reserve positions available for all of Toronto until 'the budget lifts' or something similar. They said that there was no point in going down to any of the reserve units because there were no openings at all. I'm a little confused, because I think I spoke with someone from the 25th Service Battalion last week, and they said they were hiring. Unfortunately I was redirected there, so I don't know their extension. When I try to contact them, I get automatically referred to the CFRC and I get told that there were no openings.

Because I've seen different things posted on this site, I'm wondering: is this a new change in policy? I thought that independent reserve units were in charge of their own hiring?
I know it might be a while until new trades open up, but does anyone know a general time frame? Months? Years? I'll always be here until they need me, but the folks at CFRC had no estimates for me. By the way, I am interested in cook, intelligence, sig op, and some technician trades. (My eyesight doesn't disqualified me for combat arms)

Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance.

 

[Michael OLeary]

Go visit the unit in person. Ask who their recruiter is and when you can speak to that person. Most Ontario Reserve units have very few open positions (and likely similar elsewhere in the country at the moment). In my area the CFRC won't process an applicant unless the unit forwards the name to them and confirms the position they are being recruited to fill. Start with the unit; in person, not by phone. Many unit recruiters are not full time staff and their phone messages will usually refer applicants to the CFRC because that was always the next point of contact for interested applicants when CFRCs would start processing with or without a confirmed unit for the person to go to is suitable.