Great thread. Thanks for posting, everyone. Really helps me gauge the process time. Here's mine thus far:
Recruiting Centre: Online/Toronto
Regular/ Reserve: Regular
Officer/NCM: Officer
Trade choice 1: Public Affairs Officer
Trade choice 2: Training Development Officer
Applied: Online, January 14, 2013
File sent to CFRC: January 2013
First contact: February 28, 2013
Contact for secondary paperwork: March 7, 2013
CFAT: May 2, 2013
Reliability Screening/Interview: May 21, 2013
References contacted: May-June 2013
Background check: May-present (Extra background check needed because I lived in the UK.)
Medical: TBD
Interview: TBD
Merit listed: TBD
Position offered: TBD
Swearing in: TBD
Basic Training: TBD
Next step for me as of the end of my RS/Interview is to wait for a call if more information is needed and/or to schedule the Medical and Interview.
Several things to note here as well. As I lived in another country for more than 6 months, there's an extra background check that has to be done. On paper, it says that it can take from 10-18 months, but my counsellors have informed me it shouldn't take that long, especially if the country is willing to provide that information. The CFRC in Toronto, particularly the counsellors I've been working with, have been doing their very best in putting my app through and, since it's England specifically, I don't think it should take that long. Nevertheless, I'll keep my eye out on the timeline for the background check with the extra step and update the post just in case anyone else has to have a further BG check. (What might also help is to provide your own criminal background check from the foreign country and submit it to the RC when appropriate.)
Another thing to keep in mind, as my counsellors have told me, is that the two positions that I applied for a) rarely open up - one or two just get hired here and there and b) only have one or two intakes per year. (If I miss the PAO deadline for June, the TDO opening is in November, which isn't too bad since I still have a lot more steps to go through anyway. For the case of TDO, I've been informed that Basic will most likely start after December, around the spring of 2014.) So I guess if your application is taking a while, the factor might not be related to your credentials or experience, but related to when the hiring time is for your trade(s).
From some of the other applicants I spoke to, the timeline for their application pretty much matched mine. Not sure of the intake dates, frequencies, and quantities of their chosen trades, but it's good to know that my app's process is similar to others'. Keeping my fingers crossed I'm still found suitable to serve and prepping hard in the meantime!
