Recruiter Bias?

[khkai]

I am currently applying for the 3 year AF scholarship. My recruiter seems pretty confident of me getting the scholarship, but he doesn't seem involved in the process at all. I had to chase him down almost every time to ask about when to turn in my forms. Then, the only time I didn't take the initiative to call, it took him 3 weeks to call and check on the process. I have sent him e-mail questions but after 2 weeks, I called and he said that yes he got it, and he couldn't remember what it said and asked me to restate my question over the phone. He had also quoted me the 03 pay WITH 4 years experience, but when I asked about it later, he changed what he said and said yes it was with 0 experience so it was much less. I am not sure whether he has any personal problems with me or does this seem normal for recruiters. I thought they are supposed to "recruit" and not wait for you to beg them and push them along. I am getting the feeling that he just doesn't want me in the military for whatever personal reason. As enthusiastic as I am about joining the AF, this doesn't give a good first impression of what's going to be my life in the next few years.

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[btizzels]

I kinda got the same thing with the AF..... they didn't seem like they really needed me or even wanted me to apply for their scholarship......so I went with the Navy instead..... plus there is a bonus

 

[hattrack04]

That's weird. I had the exact same situation with the Army. That's when I found an AF recruiter in my area. My AF recruiter was very organized, punctual, and efficient. He would always update me about my application, and tell me exactly when to turn in certain forms. I was very impressed with the way he managed my application. I'll PM you my recruiters e-mail, and maybe he can get ur recruiters a%$ in gear.

 

[UNR.Grad]

That's weird. I had the exact same situation with the Army. That's when I found an AF recruiter in my area. My AF recruiter was very organized, punctual, and efficient. He would always update me about my application, and tell me exactly when to turn in certain forms. I was very impressed with the way he managed my application. I'll PM you my recruiters e-mail, and maybe he can get ur recruiters a%$ in gear.

That worked initially for me, but now my recruiter has once again chosen to ignore my calls.

To the OP is your recruiter James Stevenson out of Utah?

 

[babyfish]

My AF recruiter is the same way...I had to read stuff on here and ask ppl and chase him down and confirm info with him...He doesnt seem to want to tell me anything that I need to know until I ask him...And for someone that has never been in the military like me, I dont know what to ask...and if I dont know anything or dont ask him, then I will never be able to find out from him...So frustrating!!!

 

[khkai]

I guess this really isn't an isolated incident, nor does it seem to only affect the AF. But on the plus side, you won't really have to deal with the recruiter once you have signed on, maybe afterwards things will get better (fingers crossed)

To UNR.GRAD, my recruiter is from the Philly area.

I think you just need to be on top of things and look at all the forums, ask questions, and figure things out yourself. It sucks, but it's better than joining and then realizing that their "promises" were not completely real or possible.

Any big "lies" or "half-truths" that you guys found out about what the recruiters said?

I'll start: you really DO start at the lowest O3 pay in the military salary chart. I know there's a lot of number getting thrown around. Also, it seems like you might be more limited in what you can do unless you complete their AEGD program. I've heard that you will get more respect and enjoy your repayment more afterwards, plus a nice pay raise.

 

[blankguy]

My AF recruiter is trying to make a habit of calling me mondays to update me on the alternate list. This is after a long time of not hearing from him concerning the boards.

 

[Midoc]

Guys, one thing to keep in mind is that recruiters have absolutely nothing to do with the day to day workings of the military. Whether one is real nice or a jerk shouldn't have a great impact on which branch you choose if you're doing the HPSP route.

 

[MaximusD]

I guess this really isn't an isolated incident, nor does it seem to only affect the AF. But on the plus side, you won't really have to deal with the recruiter once you have signed on, maybe afterwards things will get better (fingers crossed)

To UNR.GRAD, my recruiter is from the Philly area.

I think you just need to be on top of things and look at all the forums, ask questions, and figure things out yourself. It sucks, but it's better than joining and then realizing that their "promises" were not completely real or possible.

Any big "lies" or "half-truths" that you guys found out about what the recruiters said?

I'll start: you really DO start at the lowest O3 pay in the military salary chart. I know there's a lot of number getting thrown around. Also, it seems like you might be more limited in what you can do unless you complete their AEGD program. I've heard that you will get more respect and enjoy your repayment more afterwards, plus a nice pay raise.

I can give you contact info on someone based out of state college that is an excellent recruiter... just PM me for info. We've gotten my application together in under a month. As soon as my third letter comes in, I'm in business

 

[MaximusD]

You do start at O3/Captain (USAF) but you also get housing allowances and specialty pay (and some other minor stuff)...

As an aside, you get O1/2ndLt pay during ADT while in med/dental school for 45 days.

 

[Chachito]

I guess this really isn't an isolated incident, nor does it seem to only affect the AF. But on the plus side, you won't really have to deal with the recruiter once you have signed on, maybe afterwards things will get better (fingers crossed)

To UNR.GRAD, my recruiter is from the Philly area.

I think you just need to be on top of things and look at all the forums, ask questions, and figure things out yourself. It sucks, but it's better than joining and then realizing that their "promises" were not completely real or possible.

Any big "lies" or "half-truths" that you guys found out about what the recruiters said?

I'll start: you really DO start at the lowest O3 pay in the military salary chart. I know there's a lot of number getting thrown around. Also, it seems like you might be more limited in what you can do unless you complete their AEGD program. I've heard that you will get more respect and enjoy your repayment more afterwards, plus a nice pay raise.

Nice pay raise?? I'm not so sure about that...

 

[baddog]

You need to find out who this recruiters boss is--usually a Master Sgt. or possibly a Capt and express your dissatisfaction so they will light a fire under his a--! There is no excuse for a recruiter to treat medical and dental candidates like that--go up the chain of command until you find someone who can help you, and if they won't /don't help you--go to another service!

 

[jfitzpat]

You need to find out who this recruiters boss is--usually a Master Sgt. or possibly a Capt and express your dissatisfaction so they will light a fire under his a--! There is no excuse for a recruiter to treat medical and dental candidates like that--go up the chain of command until you find someone who can help you, and if they won't /don't help you--go to another service!

At least in the Navy, the Med and Dental recruiters aren't low ranking enlisted. I had a terrible recruiter who was an O-4. I'm guessing he was coming up on retirement because he could have gave two sh*ts if I signed up. However, I called another office (500 miles away) and got a great recruiter (who was also an O-4). He offered to drive down the next day to talk with me. I guess it just depends on who you get.

 

[jfitzpat]

I have no idea who the CDR (O-5) was, but CDRs are not usually medical recruiters. The LCDR (O-4) are most of the time either very junior when they go to the command or they put on LCDR when they are there. You usually don't have senior LCDRs as recruiters because that would hurt their careers unless this is the last duty before getting off active duty for good or they are retiring. Most of the time the medical recruiters are either LT (O-3) or Chiefs (E-7). But, there are also E-6 (HM1) that also are medical recruiters. They are the same rank as the SSGT that recruit for the Air Force. So, don't go bashing the Air Force for having E-6 recruiters. We, the Navy, have them too.

And by the way, E-6 is not considered a low ranking enlisted personnel in any branch of the military. Don't let any of those "low ranking enlisted' catch you calling them that because they are the ones who will save your @ss or break your @ss when you actually start practicing dentistry in the navy. For a while, they will know more about your job than you will. You will need them to help make your life easier. Just a heads up!

That was a typo. They both should have been O-4. However, both were former nursing corps guys that were in over 20 years. And I talked to another recruiter who was a former pilot that was an O-5 (he was the head of the office) so I guess I just had a couple of strange offices.

Please show me where I said an E-6 was low ranking. My air force recruiters were E-4, which I consider to be pretty low ranking in the whole scheme of things, just like I consider a O-3 dental officer to be low ranking as well. I guess I shouldn't have equated my experience across the board because it sounds like I had a unique set of recruiters.

I'm not sure what made you give such a salty response other than I know you prior enlisted guys get pretty touchy about stuff like this. Don't worry, I respect NCO's and won't ever think I'm better than them because the Navy is hard up for dentists and willing to give rank to get them. However, on the other side, I get a little tired of the chip on the shoulder thing. No NCO will ever know more about dentistry than me (because they aren't a dentist), so don't tell me they'll know more about my job than me. They will surely know more about the military, but not more about dentistry. My grandpa and dad were both enlisted Navy and I meant no disrespect, so I'm sorry if it came off that way. In fact, if I did mean to disrespect, my grandpa would probably come back from the dead just to kick my @ss.

 

[jfitzpat]

At least in the Navy, the Med and Dental recruiters aren't low ranking enlisted. I had a terrible recruiter who was an O-4. I'm guessing he was coming up on retirement because he could have gave two sh*ts if I signed up. However, I called another office (500 miles away) and got a great recruiter (who was also an O-4). He offered to drive down the next day to talk with me. I guess it just depends on who you get.

And if anyone else took this as some sort of shot at the Air Force, that is not at all what I intended. What I meant was that it was hard for me to complain about my bad recruiter because he was an O-4 and there weren't a whole lot of people higher up where I could take my complaint.