This is my tale of how my recruitment process has gone so far and where I have ended up, Enjoy.
I applied to the CAF back at the end of February 2013 while I was in my final semester of School. After sending all my paper work off to where it had to go, the waiting game began. I stayed in touch with northbay calling every month to see the status of my application, every month was the same answer "Your application is still being processed". That was until I called near the end of August to have the NCM to tell me that "your application has been processed and was sent to your recruitment center back in may". Contacting the recruitment center to find out if they did receive my application was greeted to the news that they were switching all their systems over, and would take up to three weeks to start application processes.
After the three week waiting period I phoned the recruitment center to inform them that i had all my paper work and wanted to continue in the process to be hired (My main choice was med tech). To my luck I had a great recruiter and he pulled my file to the top of the list before telling me to come in ASAP to drop off my paper work. The next day I was in the office handing in all my paper work needed and filling out additional paper work as required. Soon the ball was rolling and every week was something new: aptitude test, interview, medical; that's when the issues started. My blood pressure and pulse were very high during the examine (white coat syndrome), my hearing was needing to be tested by a specialist and a former injury had to be cleared before hand.
Doing my part to ensure I quickly move past this hurdle and to continue my dream since I was twelve years old to join the CAF, I did what I was instructed to do. Getting my doctor to check my BP on three separate occasions (Comming back perfectly fine), getting cleared from my injury (also perfectly fine), and having an hearing test performed. I sent away all the paper work only to have a rejection letter come back saying "I did not meet the minimum enrollment standards due to my hearing" (my post: H2 hearing but does not meet medical enrollment standards). I reviewed the standards, appealed the decision, and won my appeal being moved onto the next step.
That step was to call my recruitment office and confirm the next step in the recruitment process. During the phone call with the recruiter i was told I was merit listed for all my selected trades. When I asked if I had to fill out any additional paper work or do anything else the recruiter said "just sit there and wait for a job offer", that was this past February. Excited and relieved that my hard work for one whole year was over (or so I thought) I relaxed and enjoyed myself.
Then the dreaded phone call came next.... It was a member from the recruitment center that had told me that I was no longer merit listed for the one trade I wanted the most (Med Tech), but was still merit listed for my other two trades. At this time I was confused and weary of what was going on and wasn't believing this to be true. Asking the question of WHY? the answer I received was "you need to submit additional documents". These documents included: A detailed resume, a letter of reference from my current employer, proof that I had graduated from paramedic school and my certifications I held. Seeing as I am AEMCA certified and not wanting to argue with this potentially new process they were doing, I did what I was told once again.
Only to be called back saying that they now needed all my documents (school transcripts, diplomas, certifications) sent to them. When asking WHY? again and telling them I did what they had asked, the recruiter told me they needed all of those documents to continue the process. Frustrated and not enjoying what I had to do, I sucked it up and sent them what they wanted. A few days went by before I phoned the recruiter dealing with my file and was told "now you have to wait for them to review your file, it could take a few weeks or a few months".
Now it comes to where I am today... I am in a different province working. A friend of mine that I am working with has put his application into the military out where I am. From his experience with dealing with the recruiters out here and how fast his application is being processed, I phoned the recruiters he was dealing with. On their recommendation and advice, I transferred my file. So far it is now a waiting game again with hoping that I get into basic training this summer, hopefully along side my friend.
I applied to the CAF back at the end of February 2013 while I was in my final semester of School. After sending all my paper work off to where it had to go, the waiting game began. I stayed in touch with northbay calling every month to see the status of my application, every month was the same answer "Your application is still being processed". That was until I called near the end of August to have the NCM to tell me that "your application has been processed and was sent to your recruitment center back in may". Contacting the recruitment center to find out if they did receive my application was greeted to the news that they were switching all their systems over, and would take up to three weeks to start application processes.
After the three week waiting period I phoned the recruitment center to inform them that i had all my paper work and wanted to continue in the process to be hired (My main choice was med tech). To my luck I had a great recruiter and he pulled my file to the top of the list before telling me to come in ASAP to drop off my paper work. The next day I was in the office handing in all my paper work needed and filling out additional paper work as required. Soon the ball was rolling and every week was something new: aptitude test, interview, medical; that's when the issues started. My blood pressure and pulse were very high during the examine (white coat syndrome), my hearing was needing to be tested by a specialist and a former injury had to be cleared before hand.
Doing my part to ensure I quickly move past this hurdle and to continue my dream since I was twelve years old to join the CAF, I did what I was instructed to do. Getting my doctor to check my BP on three separate occasions (Comming back perfectly fine), getting cleared from my injury (also perfectly fine), and having an hearing test performed. I sent away all the paper work only to have a rejection letter come back saying "I did not meet the minimum enrollment standards due to my hearing" (my post: H2 hearing but does not meet medical enrollment standards). I reviewed the standards, appealed the decision, and won my appeal being moved onto the next step.
That step was to call my recruitment office and confirm the next step in the recruitment process. During the phone call with the recruiter i was told I was merit listed for all my selected trades. When I asked if I had to fill out any additional paper work or do anything else the recruiter said "just sit there and wait for a job offer", that was this past February. Excited and relieved that my hard work for one whole year was over (or so I thought) I relaxed and enjoyed myself.
Then the dreaded phone call came next.... It was a member from the recruitment center that had told me that I was no longer merit listed for the one trade I wanted the most (Med Tech), but was still merit listed for my other two trades. At this time I was confused and weary of what was going on and wasn't believing this to be true. Asking the question of WHY? the answer I received was "you need to submit additional documents". These documents included: A detailed resume, a letter of reference from my current employer, proof that I had graduated from paramedic school and my certifications I held. Seeing as I am AEMCA certified and not wanting to argue with this potentially new process they were doing, I did what I was told once again.
Only to be called back saying that they now needed all my documents (school transcripts, diplomas, certifications) sent to them. When asking WHY? again and telling them I did what they had asked, the recruiter told me they needed all of those documents to continue the process. Frustrated and not enjoying what I had to do, I sucked it up and sent them what they wanted. A few days went by before I phoned the recruiter dealing with my file and was told "now you have to wait for them to review your file, it could take a few weeks or a few months".
Now it comes to where I am today... I am in a different province working. A friend of mine that I am working with has put his application into the military out where I am. From his experience with dealing with the recruiters out here and how fast his application is being processed, I phoned the recruiters he was dealing with. On their recommendation and advice, I transferred my file. So far it is now a waiting game again with hoping that I get into basic training this summer, hopefully along side my friend.
