First of all thank you for your kind words. My only objective is to alleviate some of the frustration and give all applicants a broader understanding of how the recruiting system works.
1. How does the "merit" or "selection" board work? (In regards to 1st and 2nd choice) - You are merited for first choice and then your second choice, third, etc. If you are selected for your first choice then the process stops but if not then onto the second, third, etc. If you turn down an offer for your first choice then your file is closed for six months. If you refuse an offer for a second or third choice then you can be re-merited one more time. However, the trade that you refused the offer for will be made inactive which means you will not be merited for it. All applicants will be merited for a minimum of twice and if they are not selected they will counselled to improve their education, experience level or any other possible shortcomings to improve their chances and those applicants will be removed from the merit list.
2. How often do they have a board selection? Approximately every month until they have filled the BMQ serials up to October.
3. Is there a separate board for every trade? Keep in mind there isn't really a board held but yes each trade is boarded individually. It is all done electronically and the night before a query is run on the recruiting reporting system of all the merited applicants and the trades they are merited for. Then every applicant for each trade is sorted by MP score from top to bottom and then the number of positions that are going to be picked for that board are chosen from that list.
4. Have you any idea when the next board will sit for these trades? End of April.
To the others if it seems I may have contradicted my previous posts its probably because I have. Direction from higher changes on a daily basis.