I've been working on my paper work for enlistment and it seems the more I do the more the pit in my stomach grows. Hundreds of doubts, thoughts and questions are always circulating in my mind but the ones that are bothering me the most are as follows:
1. I have had sporadic jobs up until the last two years, never even working a full year, most of them I quit to find greener pastures except the job I was fired from around this time last year. Since then I have stuck with the company I am currently with (early April will be 1 year). I can only imagine what kind of picture this paints for me. I do admit that my priorities in the last few years were severely misplaced. But I have worked hard on maturing my mind and attitude, placing my job before all else and trying to take the initiative whenever I can, though none of that can be determined on paper. I feel that until I am able to plead my case and in any way, shape or form prove that I am not the same person I used to be, I will just be overlooked as just another civvy who thinks that joining the army is the "cool thing to do" just because of the glamour that movies and video games give it.
2. How crucial is getting the dates correct on all of my employment history and activities? I can't exactly remember the dates I started and finished my first few jobs, and do not wish to supply incorrect or unfinished information ( eg. only supplying months, instead of dates). Would it be unreasonable of me to expect my former jobs to still have my ROE (dating back to 2006)?
3. If any info on my forms is incomplete or incorrect, will my application be tossed and my name blacklisted? By "incorrect" I mean having the dates of employment or social activities wrong, not intentionally supplying false information. If not, what are the means for permanent refusal (besides failing the CFAT twice)
4. My academic history is not exactly sterling either. Growing up with ADD was a challenge, not making excuses, but the disorder came with lots of baggage. It would factor into almost my entire academic life from my study habits to paying attention in class to the stigmata that is carried with it as well (eg. being branded "that retard who had to take his `retard pills` every lunch"). All of that plus other outside influences contributed to my negative attitude towards school, but not learning (your typical "I am intelligent, I just never got good grades'' case). I should also ask, when filling out my education history, should I include that I dropped out of my high school in grade 12? I finished my education the following year (under my own desire) at a different institute. The one thing that should stand in my favour on this subject is that I did quite well on my CFAT (my job options barely fit on 1 side of the paper and included NCO and Officer occupations)
5. Will I be seen as having ADD still (I have been off medication since grade 11)? It certainly doesn't affect me the way it used to, and I had to work at it for many years for it to be that way. I consider any sort of ''residual effects'' of the ADD to be character flaws, and, like any other character flaw, can be ironed out with hard work and the fact that I want to become a better person/soldier (should I get the chance) and change those flaws. Also, I pray that it won't, but will it cause any sort of special treatment in any way at all?
But the biggest question I have overall and the one that all of my other questions and fears tie into is, Why Me? The way I look at it is, there have got to be thousands of people applying for the CF, why would someone as seemingly unqualified as myself be considered when I'm sure there are hundreds out there with better looking grades/applications? I mean its not as if there is a draft going around, there isn't exactly an abundance of positions available, why me?
I think the fact that this is the thing that I want to shape my future with is causing me to be more concerned than I should be, but the thought of never being able to serve honestly scares the living s*** outta me. The fact that I am up at 6:12 local time writing this, after working a 9 hour day plus taking an extra strength sleep-aid and haven`t slept yet should say enough.
I do realize that a lot of these questions can be answered by a recruiter and I do intend to talk to one, but I would also like to hear the community's thoughts, just so I know the right questions to ask when I go down to the Armories.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I desperately need to put my mind and body to rest (mostly my mind).
P.S. I should include that I am applying in the reserves to begin with, figure its better to get your legs wet than to jump in head first. And does anyone else have similar concerns or am I just being a pansy?
1. I have had sporadic jobs up until the last two years, never even working a full year, most of them I quit to find greener pastures except the job I was fired from around this time last year. Since then I have stuck with the company I am currently with (early April will be 1 year). I can only imagine what kind of picture this paints for me. I do admit that my priorities in the last few years were severely misplaced. But I have worked hard on maturing my mind and attitude, placing my job before all else and trying to take the initiative whenever I can, though none of that can be determined on paper. I feel that until I am able to plead my case and in any way, shape or form prove that I am not the same person I used to be, I will just be overlooked as just another civvy who thinks that joining the army is the "cool thing to do" just because of the glamour that movies and video games give it.
2. How crucial is getting the dates correct on all of my employment history and activities? I can't exactly remember the dates I started and finished my first few jobs, and do not wish to supply incorrect or unfinished information ( eg. only supplying months, instead of dates). Would it be unreasonable of me to expect my former jobs to still have my ROE (dating back to 2006)?
3. If any info on my forms is incomplete or incorrect, will my application be tossed and my name blacklisted? By "incorrect" I mean having the dates of employment or social activities wrong, not intentionally supplying false information. If not, what are the means for permanent refusal (besides failing the CFAT twice)
4. My academic history is not exactly sterling either. Growing up with ADD was a challenge, not making excuses, but the disorder came with lots of baggage. It would factor into almost my entire academic life from my study habits to paying attention in class to the stigmata that is carried with it as well (eg. being branded "that retard who had to take his `retard pills` every lunch"). All of that plus other outside influences contributed to my negative attitude towards school, but not learning (your typical "I am intelligent, I just never got good grades'' case). I should also ask, when filling out my education history, should I include that I dropped out of my high school in grade 12? I finished my education the following year (under my own desire) at a different institute. The one thing that should stand in my favour on this subject is that I did quite well on my CFAT (my job options barely fit on 1 side of the paper and included NCO and Officer occupations)
5. Will I be seen as having ADD still (I have been off medication since grade 11)? It certainly doesn't affect me the way it used to, and I had to work at it for many years for it to be that way. I consider any sort of ''residual effects'' of the ADD to be character flaws, and, like any other character flaw, can be ironed out with hard work and the fact that I want to become a better person/soldier (should I get the chance) and change those flaws. Also, I pray that it won't, but will it cause any sort of special treatment in any way at all?
But the biggest question I have overall and the one that all of my other questions and fears tie into is, Why Me? The way I look at it is, there have got to be thousands of people applying for the CF, why would someone as seemingly unqualified as myself be considered when I'm sure there are hundreds out there with better looking grades/applications? I mean its not as if there is a draft going around, there isn't exactly an abundance of positions available, why me?
I think the fact that this is the thing that I want to shape my future with is causing me to be more concerned than I should be, but the thought of never being able to serve honestly scares the living s*** outta me. The fact that I am up at 6:12 local time writing this, after working a 9 hour day plus taking an extra strength sleep-aid and haven`t slept yet should say enough.
I do realize that a lot of these questions can be answered by a recruiter and I do intend to talk to one, but I would also like to hear the community's thoughts, just so I know the right questions to ask when I go down to the Armories.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I desperately need to put my mind and body to rest (mostly my mind).
P.S. I should include that I am applying in the reserves to begin with, figure its better to get your legs wet than to jump in head first. And does anyone else have similar concerns or am I just being a pansy?
