Okay, so let's continue the conversation of meeting the recruiter. Having influences in your life can be positive and negative towards the decision of whether to join the military or not. If you want your journey towards the military as positive as possible, I always suggest inviting the important people in your life to meet the recruiter with you. There are multiple reasons on why you want to invite the important people in your life. If you are still young and living in your parents home, chances are they are still making, or helping make, large important decisions in your life. Joining the military is a very large decision in your life.
Also, if you are 17 and want to join the military, I hate to tell you but you are not going anywhere unless you convince your parents that this is the right choice for you and your future. You want to include them from the beginning, even if they are not all that excited about the whole idea. I will at some point drop a section into this blog on how to get your parents to take you seriously and how to get them to sit down with the recruiter. Also, if you have a significant other whether it is a girl/boyfriend or husband/wife, you will most definitely want to include them in the process of joining the military. In most cases, having the important people in your life with you through the whole process will make your life a whole lot easier.
Joining the military doesn't just affect you, it affects everyone around you. Having them there gives them the opportunity to directly ask the questions that are highly concerning to them. Also, when you are trying to figure everything out about joining the military, you are likely going to forget many questions that are very important due to the amount of information you have to retain and the fact that you are probably going to be nervous and excited. Also, by doing this, your most influential people will have a better understanding of what you are going to be getting into, therefore relieving a lot of tension that will bite you in the behind later down the road when they are constantly asking you tons of questions that could have been answered in the beginning. Also, it will alleviate much of the anxiety and nervousness your loved ones are going through by making them part of the process.
Trying to relay all of the information you are receiving from the recruiter to the ones that are asking will almost always result in a high level of mis-communication. In some instances of “the recruiter lied to me”, this is where it is generated. In this case, the recruiter will inadvertently look bad because you may relay to your parents that you are going to get $80,000 cash enlistment bonus regardless of what job you do in the military, but what was really said is that you may qualify for certain cash enlistment bonuses ranging from one amount to another and the $80,000 was college education money that you get so long as you join for a certain amount of time on your first enlistment. So after you enlist and come back home to proudly show your parents your enlistment paperwork, they will immediately assume the recruiter lied to you when he is completely innocent. If you don't listen to one thing that I write on here, at least listen to the advice I just gave you. Also, if you decide not to listen to this particular advice and go at it alone, drop me a line and let me know how that works out of you; I need a good laugh once in awhile.
Also, recruiters come from all walks of life so you can usually determine how they are going to treat you by the way they greet you. If they come off as rude or grumpy, in my opinion, that is when you turn around and find another recruiter. Yes I know we are military and this may be the stereotypical response you would expect; however, this is not the case. You deserve to be treated with the highest respect. Keep in mind, you should be returning the respect too so don't go getting a big head thinking you run the place. You should arrive with questions written down that you have already thought of and bring something to write on. I can assure you that if you don't, you will forget almost every question you thought of for the last 2 weeks. Ensure that the recruiter answers your questions fully and completely to your satisfaction. Do not let a recruiter okie dokie you and give you some half-assed answer. The recruiter should also be showing you basic stuff like the current pay chart, college money incentives, and different jobs you can do. Also make sure he gives you literature to read so after you leave, you can review some of the information you went over. Also, if something sounds too good to be true, challenge that recruiter. Write down whatever it is you are not sure of, go home, and look that stuff up on the internet. The internet is a world of information and you are sure to find your answer. If you find contradicting information, give him the benefit of the doubt and just ask him to show you proof of what he said. If he can't, walk out and never return. Go find another recruiter.
Also, if you are 17 and want to join the military, I hate to tell you but you are not going anywhere unless you convince your parents that this is the right choice for you and your future. You want to include them from the beginning, even if they are not all that excited about the whole idea. I will at some point drop a section into this blog on how to get your parents to take you seriously and how to get them to sit down with the recruiter. Also, if you have a significant other whether it is a girl/boyfriend or husband/wife, you will most definitely want to include them in the process of joining the military. In most cases, having the important people in your life with you through the whole process will make your life a whole lot easier.
Joining the military doesn't just affect you, it affects everyone around you. Having them there gives them the opportunity to directly ask the questions that are highly concerning to them. Also, when you are trying to figure everything out about joining the military, you are likely going to forget many questions that are very important due to the amount of information you have to retain and the fact that you are probably going to be nervous and excited. Also, by doing this, your most influential people will have a better understanding of what you are going to be getting into, therefore relieving a lot of tension that will bite you in the behind later down the road when they are constantly asking you tons of questions that could have been answered in the beginning. Also, it will alleviate much of the anxiety and nervousness your loved ones are going through by making them part of the process.
Trying to relay all of the information you are receiving from the recruiter to the ones that are asking will almost always result in a high level of mis-communication. In some instances of “the recruiter lied to me”, this is where it is generated. In this case, the recruiter will inadvertently look bad because you may relay to your parents that you are going to get $80,000 cash enlistment bonus regardless of what job you do in the military, but what was really said is that you may qualify for certain cash enlistment bonuses ranging from one amount to another and the $80,000 was college education money that you get so long as you join for a certain amount of time on your first enlistment. So after you enlist and come back home to proudly show your parents your enlistment paperwork, they will immediately assume the recruiter lied to you when he is completely innocent. If you don't listen to one thing that I write on here, at least listen to the advice I just gave you. Also, if you decide not to listen to this particular advice and go at it alone, drop me a line and let me know how that works out of you; I need a good laugh once in awhile.
Also, recruiters come from all walks of life so you can usually determine how they are going to treat you by the way they greet you. If they come off as rude or grumpy, in my opinion, that is when you turn around and find another recruiter. Yes I know we are military and this may be the stereotypical response you would expect; however, this is not the case. You deserve to be treated with the highest respect. Keep in mind, you should be returning the respect too so don't go getting a big head thinking you run the place. You should arrive with questions written down that you have already thought of and bring something to write on. I can assure you that if you don't, you will forget almost every question you thought of for the last 2 weeks. Ensure that the recruiter answers your questions fully and completely to your satisfaction. Do not let a recruiter okie dokie you and give you some half-assed answer. The recruiter should also be showing you basic stuff like the current pay chart, college money incentives, and different jobs you can do. Also make sure he gives you literature to read so after you leave, you can review some of the information you went over. Also, if something sounds too good to be true, challenge that recruiter. Write down whatever it is you are not sure of, go home, and look that stuff up on the internet. The internet is a world of information and you are sure to find your answer. If you find contradicting information, give him the benefit of the doubt and just ask him to show you proof of what he said. If he can't, walk out and never return. Go find another recruiter.
Nice post, things explained in details. Thank You.
ReplyDeletevery informative post for me as I am always looking for new content that can help me and my knowledge grow better.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your professional approach. These are pieces of very useful information that will be of great use for me in future.
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