# Made a mistake. I need your opinion



## international4455 (10 Sep 2018)

Hi Guys. I want to thank everyone here first for all the help everyone has been giving me you guys are great and I hope all of you make out to be good soldiers. My problem is slightly embarrassing. I Applied in the Regs in August 2017 and by March 2018 the background check calls were being made by this Corporate investigation service some private agency contracted by the forces to help out. However, my emails or calls were going unanswered by the local recruiting unit while the official at the front desk is extremely rude and won't let the applicant talk to anyone else. I got a very good response from the PRes local unit who would answer my emails and calls very quickly and were extremely helpful and assured me that the application process would be much faster like within two months. its been 5 months and I'm still nowhere. Would a file transfer back to the regular force be a good idea at this point or should I stick with the PRes hoping I can make it in the Regs at a later date? Thank you again for reading my post and again you guys are great I wish I had joined this forum before.


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## mariomike (10 Sep 2018)

kylemalik786 said:
			
		

> its been 5 months and I'm still nowhere. Would a file transfer back to the regular force be a good idea at this point or should I stick with the PRes hoping I can make it in the Regs at a later date?



For reference to the discussion,

From, Component Transfers (Reserve to Regular): Q&A 



			
				kylemalik786 said:
			
		

> Does anyone know how long a component transfer might take from reserve force to regular force ?



From, Reforms in processing time ? 



			
				kylemalik786 said:
			
		

> Does anyone know whether or not the Forces have a plan to cut back on the overall processing time or will this continue as is ?



From, How long does it take? (Merged)



			
				kylemalik786 said:
			
		

> Does anyone know whether Officers applications are processed faster even if enhanced security clearance is required?



kylemalik786, as an applicant, perhaps you should remove the rank insignia avatar.

As always, Recruiting is your most trusted source of official, up to date, information.


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## CBH99 (10 Sep 2018)

I MIGHT be able to offer a solution, but I've been out of the CF for a few years now. (Time flies, I was going to say a wee while, but wowa.)

This is simply what I would do if I were you.  You seem eager & like a committed applicant, and there isn't anything wrong with pushing to get things done sometimes, especially if people are unhelpful.

**Please keep in mind a lot has changed since I was doing recruiting & community relations years ago, so this advice may or may not be good advice.**


BUT...


If I were you, I would simply go straight to the local PRes unit & discuss recruiting directly with them.  Due to some recent changes, local reserve units have a LOT more discretion in their hiring process than they used to, and the goal now is to streamline recruiting so the applicant goes from initial handshake & chat, to being sworn in, in approximately 3 weeks.

I would go talk to your local PRes unit directly, and talk to them about applying with them directly.  Let them handle the application & get yourself sworn in as a member, kitted out, and a member of the CF.  It gets your foot in the door, officially.


Once your foot is in the door, if you choose to go Regular Force, there are avenues to do so.  But getting into the CF that way might be faster & less of a hassle, and then you can look at your options in regards to going full-time after.


**This may not be solid advice, as you already have an application in & changed your preference after you applied.  Letting the recruiter at your unit handle it would probably be much faster & better than you trying to do the following up...a phone call from a Sgt or MCpl would probably go more smoothly than a civilian calling & inquiring.   (Not saying there's anything wrong with that at all, I understand & support you staying ontop of it...just saying, it might be easier for one uniformed member to deal with another.)


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## Eye In The Sky (10 Sep 2018)

I think first you need to decide what you want to do;  Reg Force (full time) or Res Force (part time).  That is the first question as I see it.

Doing a component transfer from the Res to Reg can be very timely;  I think you'll find that discussed in the links MarioMike has posted above.  Do not go reserves to 'get in faster' assuming you'll simply be able to make a quick transfer to the Regular Force.

Additionally, the "front desk person" at the CFRC has a lot of people to deal with, and the more people applying call and email, etc, the more workload they have to manage.  

Consider, going Reserves or Regular Force takes time, you're an applicant and don't have the ability to make the timeline suit your personal needs.  Decide which component you really want to apply to get into, get the file to the applic recruiter/recruiting center, let them do their job and have some patience.  Going Reserve to get in faster and then 'switching' to Regular Force after isn't likely to get the results you're hoping/thinking it can if I am reading your post right.

 :2c:


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## CBH99 (10 Sep 2018)

I totally agree with EITS.

From my understanding his initial application was with the reserve force, and he switched to regular force, and was inquiring about potentially switching back to the reserves.  Hence just going in and discussing his situation with the reserve recruiter directly, to _see_ if that could help.  

I completely agree with EITS though -- do NOT go reserves just to get in faster, thinking a component transfer is quick.  It isn't always.


My suggestion was more along the lines of - since his initial application was to the reserves, and he was thinking of switching it back to the reserves - going in and seeing the reserve recruiter might be best - If it's simply a matter of handing the file back over to the reserve recruiter.  It also gets him sworn into the CF, and he can start doing his BMQ & basic unit courses, which gets him some momentum in his career.  

*^ In further agreement with EITS, you have to decide what you want to do and stick with it.  The more you change your mind about which component you want to go, the more you potentially delay your own application.  Make the decision, stick with it, and allow the recruiting centre to do it's job.*  

Changing your mind, then changing your mind again, then pestering them with phone calls is a good way to annoy someone.  (I realize as an applicant it can happen, and does happen often enough.  Just be aware of the volume of files recruiters have to process, and an applicant that changes his mind & creates complications can be irritating.)


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## runormal (10 Sep 2018)

Don't go reserves if you want full time work. The reserves are hurting for people, so I'm not surprised how responsive your recruiter was.

There are opportunities for full time work within the reserves, but your pretty useless (not employable) to everyone until you get fully qualified which will take a year, if not longer. Even if the tasking was for Pte (B), any pte (t) would be picked before you. You are maybe looking at 2 weekends a month of work while you do your basic which isn't a lot of money.

The file transfer is a gong show, it'll take years for it to be processed. I gave up years ago (you'll see my posts if you read long enough). I wouldn't ever recommend it and if someone was serious about going reg-f, I'd tell them to quit and reapply as a civilian.

Reserves are great for students, seasonally employed people and for people who want to do something different on the weekends. They are not good for people who want a full-time career. Even if you get a full time contract within the reserves, you'll be paid less than your reg-f counterparts.

Trust me, the wait will be worth it.


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## international4455 (11 Sep 2018)

I thank all of you for your help and straightforward answers. After taking your opinions I intend to shift my file back to the regular force and will decide to stick with it this time as the whole idea was to make a long-term career in the forces and ended up bungling the whole thing. Il get it right this time and will wait as long as I have to patiently. Thank you so much again.


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## Eye In The Sky (11 Sep 2018)

Good luck!  Don't spend your time wringing your hands - enjoy life and get in shape while you're waiting.


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## mariomike (11 Sep 2018)

Good luck,  kylemalik786.


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## kratz (11 Sep 2018)

Good luck.

You'll hear it often: you are your own 
best career manager.


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## Armystrong94 (11 Sep 2018)

You are your own recruiter at the CAF 😂


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