Trouble trusting recruiter...

by OAmbr

Aug 5, 2019

Hi all, 

My son (I'll refer to him as Li), who is entering his senior year in high school, met with a recruiter for the second time a few days ago. We were given some responses that raised red flags for me. I have a tendency to be skeptical of information I'm given when it results in a binding contract so I wanted to see what some of you might think!

First off, we were told that Li should probably settle for an ASVAB score of 51. His high school hosted the ASVAB back in April and he scored 51 without any effort for preparation. His idea was to take it then (during his Junior year) to see what it was like, then study and retake it at MEPS when he was ready to enlist. The recruiter told us that 51 is good enough for a lot of MOS, that people tend to do the same/worse when they retake it, and that "you don't want to take it too many times", but didn't explain why beyond saying that he could score lower. 

Second, he encouraged Li to go to MEPS and enlist ASAP, the latest within two weeks, "Because there are a lot of jobs open right now but they will be closing soon". It just seemed like a weird push to me. Li wouldn't even be able to go out to bootcamp until he finished his senior year, so why skip the opportunity to score higher and rush to sign the contract within two weeks. Is this something recruiters are known to do in effort to meet quota?

I would love to know what you all think. Am I being overly paranoid? 

Thanks!

O

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  • up

    Katymom5

    The recruiters in my sons office told him to us "ASVAB for Dummbies" to study.  They laughed and said the title sounds bad but its the best book to use.  My son did good with it.  My middle son is using it now getting ready for the ASVAB. 

       

    Aug 6, 2019

    • up

      NavyMomofJM

      Recruiters main job is to get people in and yes some times they can come across as pushy and such. They have quotas too, I hate to say. When we were with my son on Monday in the recruiter before he went to meps to ship. They were talking about how this one young man was their third. So they do feel the pressure. That being said, if your son wants a specific job do the research and find out what he needs to have on the asvab for the job. When my son was first starting in the process he did the research for what he needed for hospital Corpsman a d other jobs he wanted to try for. It helps when talking to the recruiter, and dont settle for a job. That is coming from personal experience. Best advice, I can give you is be upfront with the recruiter and dont let him pressure you or son into something you dont want to do.

      Aug 15, 2019

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        Dana

        They have a list of all the jobs in a database that the future sailors can put on their contract. Some take the test at home however all have to complete it at MEPS so if he didn't take that test at MEPS he should and then look what he can do and they have job description for each job. You both should answer as many questions and don't rush into it. They were trying to talk my son into some jobs and even with big bonuses after he signed his contract so don't have them pressure him at all.

        Aug 17, 2019